Previously known as the Victoria or Imperial diamond, the Jacob diamond is rightfully the biggest diamond of India. Scroll down to know about its origin and history.
1. The Jacob diamond is around 187 carats and is almost double the size of the famous Kohinoor diamond of India that weights 106 carats.
2. It’s ownership has been transferred only twice in the history of its existence.
3. The diamond has a rectangular cushion cut with 58 facets and measures around 39.5 mm in length and 29.25 mm in depth.
4. The Jacob Diamond is the fifth biggest polished diamond in the world and is worth $150 million.
5. It was found in Kimberly mines in South Africa in 1884 and was sent to Amsterdam in 1887 for polishing and cutting.
6. Before it was sent to Amsterdam to be cut, the uncut diamond is believed to be of 400 carats in weight.
7. It was first put on sale in 1891 by Shimla-based diamond dealer Alexander Malcolm Jacob who sold it to the Nizam of Hyderabad, Mahboob Ali Khan for ₹ 46 lakh. Since then it is also known as Jacob diamond.
8. The Nizam found the original diamond smaller than the glass replica that Mr. Jacob showed him at the time of fixing the deal. After a lot of dispute, when Mr. Jacobs declined to give the money back, the angry Nizam got the diamond embedded in one of his shoes to show disrespect.
9. After Nizam Mahboob Ali Khan’s death, his son and the last Nizam, Osman Ali Khan, found the diamond and used it as a paperweight for a long time.
10. In 1995, the Government of India purchased the diamond for a sum of $13 million from Nizam Osman Ali Khan.
Currently, the diamond along with other valuable jewels of the Nizam family is kept in the Mumbai branch of the Reserve Bank of India and is exhibited in the National Museum of Hyderabad and Delhi every year.