United Kingdom Kohinoor India
The Kohinoor is one of most celebrated diamonds in the world. Its name translates to ‘Mountain of Light’. It was owned by Indian kings before the British took possession and today it is part of the Crown Jewels of the British royal family.
The Kohinoor was mined in India around 1100 AD in what is now the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, although the earliest authenticated mention of the diamond is dated 1304 AD. The diamond has a long savage history of being passed from one ruler to another. The last Indian owner of the diamond was Ranjit Singh, ruler of the state of Punjab.
In 1849, the British annexed Punjab and the Kohinoor was acquired as part of the seizure. The deceased ruler Ranjit Singh’s eight-year-old son was made to travel to Britain to present the jewel to the Queen Victoria. The jewel was the most symbolic spoil of the British Empire’s subjugation of the Indian sub-continent.
Originally weighing 191 carats, Queen Victoria had the Kohinoor cut to 109 carats and incorporated as the central jewel in the Imperial Crown, where it rests even today at the Tower of London. The current value of the diamond is inestimable. British queens Victoria, and Elizabeth II have worn this diamond. Today this famous stone is on display along with the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. The United Kingdom has rejected India’s demands to return the Kohinoor and other precious artifacts seized during its 200 years of colonial rule of India.
