Here’s the truth behind these legendary Golconda diamonds.

When the great French explorer and merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier made his first voyage to India in 1638, he was mesmerized the region’s magnificent natural diamonds. He described them in his journal as “gems of the finest water,” likening their pure transparency to a pool of water.

Over Tavernier’s six trips to India, he brought back what would become the world’s most famous diamonds—the Hope Diamond, the Black Orlov, Idol’s Eye, the Koh-i-Noor, and Beau Sancy among them. His treasures ignited an insatiable desire for diamonds with European and Russian royalty and nobles, who coveted them as symbols of power and glory. Some were deemed talismans of protection and good fortune; others were omens of bad luck. Some reside in museums and in the British Crown jewels; others mysteriously disappeared.

“Golconda diamonds have a way of capturing the imagination—representing not only physical beauty but also an enduring connection to history,” said Lee Siegelson, owner of Siegelson in New York, which specializes in rare jewelry and stones. “Golconda diamonds possess an ethereal luminosity that has long been described as ‘of the finest water’—a term reserved for stones with a purity and brilliance that seem almost otherworldly.”

Even the most seasoned jewelers are awestruck by a Golconda diamond’s scintillating beauty.

“They have a purity and softness that is hard to describe,” says Glenn Spiro, the exclusive London jeweler who has handled some of the world’s most exceptional stones. “They are in a class of their own.”

Click HERE to discover more intriguing stories behind the fascinating diamonds of the Golconda region in India…

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