REMARKABLE DIAMONDS AND GEMS
the eighteenth century—cut by a much slower process-required two years.
The Koh-i-nur is now preserved in Windsor Castle. A model of the gem is kept in the jewel room of the Tower of London.
GREAT MOGUL
The
Great Mogul has been referred to as the diamond of "a stormy birth and
a tragic end". At the time of its discovery Roundheads and Cavaliers
were fighting for supremacy in England. The Great Mogul challenged the
wonder and admiration of the world from 1650 until the last days of the
Indian Mutiny.
We learn from Jean Baptiste Tavernier that this diamond had been found by persons unknown, about 1650 a.d. in
the Kullur mine on the River Kistna in India. He states that he saw it
in 1665 in the possession of Great Mogul of India. The stone was so
named after the Mogul dynasty in India. The year that the first
European saw this diamond was 1665.
In the rough the Great Mogul weighed 900 carats. It was as large as a hen's egg. After it was cut it weighed 280 carats.
Mirginola,
who betrayed his king, Golconda, presented this stone to Shah Jehan,
when it was in the rough state and weighed 900 carats. Shah Jehan
virtually ceased to reign from about 1657 till his death in 1666. But
his successor, Aurung-Zeb, allowed him to retain possession of the
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