Famous Diamonds

The Great Mogul Diamond

The Great Mogul diamond is the world's third largest gem-quality diamond found. Found in the mid-seventeenth century in Hyderabad, India; the diamond was named after Shah Jehan. He is the person who built the Taj Mahal. When the diamond was discoverd it was roughly 787 carats. It was said that the stone was so badly cut that the Venetian lapidary, Hortensio Borgis, instead of the being paid by the Shah, was forced to pay a heavy fine. When Tavernier saw the Mogul, he described it as looking like an egg and weighing about 280 carats.

Presently, the whereabouts of the diamond are not known. Some believe it may not exist anymore while others believe it was recut either into smaller diamonds or possibly recut to be the Orlov diamond. The Orlov diamond is described as a faintly blue rose-cut stone. There is no known existence. View More