The Noor-ul-Ain ( fa, نور العين, lit=the light of the eye) is one of the largest pink
diamonds in the world, and the centre piece of the
tiara of the same name.
History
The diamond is believed to have been recovered from the mines of Golconda, Hyderabad in
India. It was first in possession with the nizam
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, later it was given as a peace offering to the Mughal emperor
Aurangazeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
when he defeated him in a siege. It was brought into the Iranian Imperial collection after the Persian king
Nader Shah Afshar looted
Delhi in the 18th century.
The Noor-ul-Ain is believed to have once formed part of an even larger gem called the
Great Table diamond. That larger diamond is thought to have been cut in two, with one section becoming the Noor-ul-Ain and the other the
Daria-i-Noor diamond. Both of these pieces are currently part of the
Iranian Crown Jewels.
History of the tiara
The Noor-ul-Ain is the principal diamond mounted in a tiara of the same name made for
Iranian
Empress Farah Pahlavi's wedding to
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran
, image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg
, caption = Shah in 1973
, succession = Shah of Iran
, reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979
, coronation = 26 October ...
in 1958. The tiara was designed by
Harry Winston. It is a modern design, featuring 324 pink, yellow, and white diamonds set in
platinum. It is said to weigh around . The tiara forms part of the Iranian crown jewels, held at the
National Treasury of Iran in the
Central Bank in
Tehran.
It is a
Type IIa
In theoretical physics, type II string theory is a unified term that includes both type IIA strings and type IIB strings theories. Type II string theory accounts for two of the five consistent superstring theories in ten dimensions. Both theories ...
diamond.
See also
*
Great Table diamond
*
Koh-i-Noor diamond
*
List of diamonds
*
List of largest rough diamonds
*
Elizabeth II's jewels
References
{{Reflist
Anna Malecka
"The Mystery of the Nur al-Ayn Diamond", Gems & Jewellery: The Gemmological Association of Great Britain volume 23 (7), August/September 2014, pp. 20-22;
External links
Picture of Nur-Ul-Ain
Jewels of the Mughal Empire
Iranian National Jewels
Pink diamonds
Golconda diamonds
Wars involving Afsharid Iran