The Jacob Diamond is a large diamond, ranked seventh in the world, known earlier as the Imperial Diamond, believed to be the same stone as the Victoria Diamond, formerly owned by the The Nizam of Hyderabad and currently owned by the Government of India.

It has a rectangular cushion-cut diamond with 58 facets, measures 39.5 mm long, 29.25 mm wide and 22.5 mm deep. The diamond weighs 184.5 carats (36.90 g).

It was only several years after the death of his father that the last Nizam, Osman Ali Khan, found Jacob Diamond by chance, in the toe of his father’s slipper at Chowmahalla Palace.

History

The uncut diamond was said to be over 400 carats in weight before it was sent to Europe to be cut. The diamond was then put up for sale in 1891 by Alexander Malcon Jacob (hence the name), where it was offered to Mahbub Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad. However, initially the Nizam was quite uninterested in the diamond, and offered a mere 46 lakhs (4 million) Rupees for it. The Nizam was asked to make a safety deposit if he was to go through with the transaction. The European jewel cutters did not like this offer, but were forced into court when they lost track of the safety deposit. Ultimately, the Nizam was rewarded the diamond for almost half of his original offer, 23 lakhs (2.2 million) Rupees (approx. $50,000 by 2005 rates) when the case was resolved.

Nevertheless, since then, the Nizam still showed little interest in the diamond, and the object was used for a variety of household objects such as a paper weight for many years. This continued until the diamond’s true value was realized and it was stored away as another of Nizam’s treasures. After much litigation, the diamond was forcibly purchased by the government of India from the Nizam’s trust for an estimated $13 million in 1995, along with other Jewels of The Nizams, and is held at the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai. On occasion as part of the Nizam’s jewellery exhibit, the diamond can be viewed at Salarjung Museum at Hyderabad, where it may become a permanent exhibit.

Further reading

Jewels of the Nizams (Hardcover) by Usha R. Krishnan (Author)ISBN 81-85832-15-3 [1]