The Idol's Eye (also Idols Eye) is a 70.21-carat Golconda diamond. It has a very light blue colour with nine main facets and was found in 1600 in the Golconda Sultanate in southern India. According to legend, the diamond was initially owned by Prince Rahab of Persia, who sold it to his creditors. The diamond re-appeared on 14 July 1865, when it was introduced by Christie's for auction in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where it was purchased by Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II. After the Turkish Nationalist revolution, the Ottoman Sultanate was abolished and Abdul Hamid II was exiled to Paris. Along with other belongings, he carried a consignment of imperial jewels, but one of his servants betrayed and sold them in Paris on 24 July 1909, after which it was purchased by a Spanish aristocrat. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, it was sold to the American jeweller

Harry Winston Harry Winston (March 1, 1896December 8, 1978) was an American jeweler. He donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958 after owning it for a decade. He also traded the Portuguese Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1963 in exchan ...

, and later purchased by the American philanthropist

May Bonfils Stanton Mary Madeline "May" Bonfils Stanton (April 30, 1883 – March 11, 1962) was an American heiress and philanthropist. She and her younger sister, Helen Bonfils, succeeded their father, Frederick Gilmer Bonfils, as principal owners of ''The Denver P ...

. After her death in 1962, it was purchased by the Chicago jewelry store owner Harry Levinson at auction.

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