The
Shah
Diamond was found in India around 1450. It has a slightly
yellowish tinge, making it not quite of the highest quality. Originally, it is
said to have weighed around 95 carats, but when it was cut, it lost 9 carats.
Its shape is an elongated octahedron and is often referred to as being
coffin-shaped. On three of its original faces are the names of three of its
owners, engraved in Persian along with corresponding dates.
The
names are:
Nizām Shāh:
The original known owner, who ordered his name carved on one of the faces in
1591.
Jahān Shāh:
The grandson of the Great Moghul Akbar, ruler of Northern India. He had his
inscription carved in 1641.
Fath 'Alī Shāh:
The second Qajar Emperor/Shah of Persia. He had the third inscription done in
1826.
A few years later, after the murder
of a Russian diplomat, the diamond was given to Russian Tsar Nicholas I, and it
remained amongst the crown jewels. The Shah Diamond can currently be found in
the Kremlin.
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