gems, diamond, antique diamond, table cut, India

In June 1983 a large, flat diamond of octagonal outline was shown to Miss Anna Somers-Cocks of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, who suggested that it should be taken to the Geological Museum for further examination; the owner had wondered if it might be part of the ‘Great Table’ shown to the explorer Tavernier at Golconda, India, in 1642. We quickly assured him that this was unlikely in view of the convincing study carried out by Meen, Tushingham & Waite (1967) in Teheran in 1967. The study showed beyond reasonable doubt that the Darya-i-Nur diamond and a pink brilliant, both among the Iranian Crown Jewels, were derived from and comprise the major part of the Great Table shown to Tavernier. The history of the present important stone is not known before 1893, when the father of the present owner is reported to have had it in his possession during a visit to Paris.