Necklace "mirror diamond Mogul" put up for sale for $ 20 million

Necklace "Mughal Mirror Diamond", consisting of the five royal diamonds with emerald pendants were exhibited in April 2012 at the auction house Bonham for $ 20 million. It is believed that the "brilliant Mughal Mirror" is a wonderful example of colorless rough diamonds mined in ancient Golconda mines, the Sultanate of India, during the heyday of the Mughal Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries, and were kept in the royal family.

Central 28-carat stone - it is the largest known surviving mirror or plane-faced, diamonds and five diamonds (16 to 28 carats) - it is the largest known diamond sets of plane-17th century, belonging to the Mughal Empire. Most likely, diamonds belonged to the Emperor.

"Presentation necklace" Mughal Mirror Diamond ", consisting of five excellent matched to each other mirror-polished, produces great excitement in the world of scientists and jewelers, as well as among potential buyers," said in a statement Matthew Geerling, chief executive officer of the house Bonham.

Properties stone

As for the emperors of the Mughal Empire, and for the Indian maharaja, the quality and size of the stones were of paramount importance, and the flat-cut diamonds are prized for their purity and size above all other diamonds. While cutters only sought to remove areas with cracks and inclusions, so the shape of rough stone determines the final outline of the polished stone. As a result, the stones were irregular and asymmetrical shape as Cutter tried to preserve the maximum possible size.

The whole weight of diamonds is about 96 carats, and skillfully executed flat cut stones emphasizes their beauty, while maintaining their size. The flat cut is a thin piece of stone with a flat top and bottom, where diamonds and polished around the edges. This resurfacing is the boundary around the uneven shape of the diamond, creating the effect of refraction.

Gemological Institute of America speculated that the five near colorless diamonds were cut from a single crystal.

Colombian emerald pendants were added later, probably in the late 18th or 19th century. Charms as a necklace itself, were an important element of jewelry Mogul, and used to decorate turbans and armbands.

It is noteworthy that, as the changes of political regimes, tastes and fashions, a necklace, "Mughal Mirror Diamond" persisted even undergone changes. Many of the crown jewels have been changed according to the fashion of the 19th and beginning of the 20 th century, when the old jewels replaced with a new, Western-style, and reworked faceting stones. And when the Mughal Empire weakened and collapsed, many of the crown jewels went to the world and were lost.

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