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The Pink Diamond.
Daria-i-Noor (Sea of light), is one of largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing an estimated 182 carats. Its colour, pale pink, is one of the rarest to be found in diamonds.
The Diamond known as the Pink Diamond, part of the Crown Jewels Collection currently lies in the vaults of the Central Bank of Iran in Tehran.
The largest pink diamond in the world, it measures 41.40mm × 29.50mm × 12.15mm and weighs around 182 carats.
This diamond was mined in Kollur mine in Andhra Pradesh, India.
It was originally owned by the Kakatiya Dynasty (12th-14 Century CE). Later it was possessed by the Khilji Dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate (1290-1320 CE) and passed on to the Mughal Emperors (1526-1857 CE). The diamond was part of Shah Jahan’s Peacock Throne (1635 CE).
In 1739 CE, Nader Shah of Iran invaded Northern India, and occupied Delhi. As payment for returning the kingdom to the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah, he took possession of the entire fabled treasury of the Mughals, including Daria-i-Noor, in addition to the Koh-i-Noor diamond and the Peacock Throne.
After Nader Shah’s death in 1747 CE, the diamond was inherited by his grandson, Shahrokh Mirza. Later it fell into hands of Lotf Ali Khan. After Lotf Ali Khan’s defeat at the hands of Mohammad Khan Qajar, who established the ruling Qajar dynasty of Iran, Daria-i-Noor entered the Qajar treasury.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar was said to be very fond of diamond, often wearing it as an armband, aigrette, or as a brooch.
In 1965, a Canadian research team concluded that the Daria-i-Noor may well have been part of a large pink diamond that had been studded in the throne of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666 CE), which has been described in the journal of the French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in 1642 CE. It was called the Great Table diamond (“Diamanta Grande Table”). This diamond may have been cut into two pieces; the larger part is the Daria-i-Noor; the smaller part is believed to be the 60-carat (12g) Noor-ul-Ain diamond, presently studded in a tiara also part of the Iranian Imperial Collection.
