The Black Orlov is a black
diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
, also known as the Eye of Brahma Diamond. It weighs .
The diamond—originally —is said to have been stolen in the early 19th century in India.
It supposedly featured as one of the eyes in a statue of the Hindu god
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
in
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
, until it was stolen by a Jesuit cleric.
According to legend, this theft caused the diamond to be cursed.
In 1932, diamond dealer J. W. Paris reportedly took the diamond to the United States, and soon after committed suicide by jumping from a skyscraper in New York City.
Later owners of the diamond included two Russian princesses, Leonila Galitsine-Bariatinsky and Nadia Vygin-Orlov (after whom the diamond is named).
Both women allegedly jumped to their deaths in the 1940s.
The diamond was later bought by Charles F. Winson, and cut into three pieces in an attempt to break the curse; the 67.5-carat Black Orlov was set into a brooch of 108 diamonds, suspended from a necklace of 124 diamonds.
The diamond was purchased by diamond dealer Dennis Petimezas in 2004; Petimezas said he was "pretty confident that the curse is broken".
The Black Orlov has been displayed at the
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
in New York City
and the
Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
in London.
See also
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List of diamonds
Diamond (gemstone), Diamonds become famous typically for some combination of their size, color and quality. Diamonds occur naturally in many different colors, so the largest diamond of a particular color may not be large in absolute terms, but it ...
References
Sources
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Individual diamonds
Black diamonds
Golconda diamonds