Origin of name
Shah Jahan Diamond gets it's name probably from the
strong resemblance of the diamond to an Octagonal shaped diamond in the
turban ornament of a portrait of the Great Mughal Emperor Shah Jahaan, who
reigned between 1628 and 1658. Shah Jahaan's court was one of great pomp and
splendor and his collection of jewels was probably the most splendid in the
world. He was also a patron of the arts, and literary activities, painting,
and calligraphy flourished during his reign. Above all Shah Jahaan had an
insatiable passion for building. He built two great mosques in Agra, the
Moti Masjid and the Jami Masjid, and the world renowned mausoleum in memory
of his favorite Queen Mumtaz Mahal-the Taj Mahal. He also built in Delhi a
huge fortress-palace complex called the Red Fort and the Jami Masjid, which
is among the finest mosques in India today.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The diamond is a light pink, table-cut stone, with a
weight of 56.71 carats and dimensions of 44.6 x 33 x 3.6 mm. The clarity of
the diamond is also exceptional in keeping with the characteristics of
diamonds originating from the Golconda mines. The table-cut diamond is also
technically known as Lasque.
Being a pink diamond, the Shah Jahaan diamond is a rare
Type IIa diamond. Type IIa diamonds are Nitrogen free or contain
undetectable quantities of Nitrogen. Being free of impurities and having
perfectly formed crystals these diamonds are absolutely colorless and are
known as the "purest of the pure" of all diamonds. Such diamonds constitute
only about 1-2 % of all natural diamonds. However, a small percentage of
Type IIa diamonds have undergone plastic deformation due to the twisting and
bending of the tetrahedral crystal units as the diamonds rose from the
earth's mantle to the surface. Such plastically deformed diamonds can assume
a range of rare fancy colors such as pink, red, purple, orange, brown etc.
Therefore pink diamonds are plastically deformed Type IIa diamonds. The
occurrence of pink diamonds is less than 0.1 % of all naturally occurring
diamonds.
History
A unique feature of the diamond, which identifies it as a
gem of the Mughal Court, is the presence of a pair of drilled holes on
opposite ends of the stone, which enabled the stone to be sewed on to a
turban or a garment of the emperor in order to impart pomp or
courtly fashion. The origin of the diamond is without any doubt the Kollur
mines of Golconda, in Southern India, considering the period in which the
stone made it's first appearance- pre-18th century- when the only source of
pink diamonds in the world was the Golconda mines of southern India.
Moreover the color and clarity of the stone is very characteristic of pink
diamonds that originated in these mines.
Jean Baptiste Tavernier, the famous French traveler and
diamond dealer who visited India on six occasions in the 17th century,
reports in his book "Travels in India ", that he had the opportunity
of seeing a very rare pale pink, enormous diamond of more than 400 carats,
which he referred to as "Diamanta Grand Table", the "Great Table Diamond".
The whereabouts of this diamond is unknown, but it is believed to have been
cut and fashioned into two or more diamonds along the course of
history. Diamond historians had all along been interested in identifying the
diamonds that originated from the "Great Table Diamond." Pink diamonds being
exceptionally rare, the number of historically famous pink diamonds of
Indian origin were also few, so much so that the tendency of diamond
historians to equate any historic pink diamond of Indian origin, with the
missing "Great table diamond" has always been very great. Even the
Shah Jahaan diamond had been identified with the missing "Great Table
Diamond". The only expert opinion concerning the identity of the "Great
Table Diamond" comes from Iran, when in 1965, a team of Canadian
experts from the "Royal Ontario Museum" conducted research on the
Iranian Imperial Jewels, and postulated that the Darya-i-Nur weighing 186
carats is the major portion of the "Great Table Diamond", the other part
being transformed into the oval pink 60-carat brilliant, known as the Nur-ul-
Ain.
The Shah Jahaan table-cut is more appropriately equated
with another pink table-cut diamond, that weighed 60 ratis (about 54
carats), shown by the last of the Great Mughal Emperors Aurangzeb, son of
Shah Jahan, to Jean Baptiste Tavernier, in 1665. This stone correlates very
well with the Shah Jahaan diamond, in respect of shape, cut, clarity, color
and weight.
The Shah Jahaan diamond like many other famous Mughal
diamonds such as the Koh-i-Nur, the Darya-i-Nur, Nur-ul-Ain, the Shah
diamond, etc. left India in 1739 after the sacking and plunder of
Delhi and Agra by the invading forces of Nadir Shah the ruler and conqueror
of Persia.
The course of migration of the diamond from Persia to a
country in Europe is only a matter of speculation. However the long lost
Shah Jahaan diamond suddenly made it's appearance at an auction at
Christie's in Geneva in 1985, but was withdrawn from the sale as it failed
to realize it's reserve.
Present owners of the
diamond
Nothing has been heard about the diamond after it's last
appearance at Christie's in Geneva in 1985. The present whereabouts of the
diamond is unknown.
List of the famous pink
diamonds arranged in descending order of carat weights.
|
S/N |
Name |
carat weight |
color |
shape/cut |
|
1 |
Darya-i-Nur |
186.00 |
light pink |
table |
|
2 |
Nur-ul-Ain |
60.00 |
light pink |
oval |
|
3 |
Steinmetz Pink |
59.60 |
fancy vivid pink |
cushion |
|
4 |
Shah Jahan |
56.71 |
light pink |
table |
|
5 |
Pink Sunrise |
29.79 |
fancy pink |
modified heart |
|
6 |
Mouawad Lilac |
24.44 |
fancy pink |
emerald |
|
7 |
Graff Pink Orchid |
22.84 |
fancy purplish pink |
marquise |
|
8 |
Mouawad Pink |
21.06 |
fancy pink |
radiant |
|
9 |
Hortensia |
20.00 |
light orangish pink |
pentagonal |
|
10 |
Conde Pink |
9.01 |
light pink |
pear |
| |
|
|
|
|
Pink diamonds are extremely rare. In the above list only
five pink diamonds are historic diamonds of Indian origin. The only
known source of pink diamonds in the world prior to the 18th century were
the Kollur mines, of Golconda, in southern India. Later, after the discovery
of diamonds in South Africa, the premier mines in Transvaal, South Africa,
became the main source of pink diamonds. Today, the main source of pink
diamonds in the world are the Argyle mines of western Australia. However the
diamonds are small having an average size of about 1.0 carat. About 50
carats of pink diamonds are produced in these mines every year, and are sold
at special auctions known as tenders.
