Editor’s Note
This article details the history and upcoming auction of the Golconda Blue Diamond, a 23.24-carat gem with deep roots in India’s royal heritage.
The Golconda Blue Diamond will be auctioned for the first time. It has been a rare gem of India’s royal heritage. The Golconda Blue Diamond was once the treasure of the Maharajas of Indore and Baroda, which has now reached the auction block. The Golconda Blue Diamond is a brilliant 23.24-carat blue diamond. Let’s learn the full story of the Golconda Blue Diamond.
The Golconda Blue Diamond is considered one of the most valuable and rare blue diamonds ever discovered.
A rare gem of India’s royal heritage, The Golconda Blue Diamond, will be put up for auction for the first time. It will be included in Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva on May 14 this year. The Golconda Blue Diamond was once the treasure of the Maharajas of Indore and Baroda, which has now reached the auction block.
The Golconda Blue Diamond is a brilliant 23.24-carat blue diamond. Its price has been estimated at up to 430 crore rupees. Let’s learn the full story of the Golconda Blue Diamond.
The Golconda Blue Diamond is considered one of the most valuable and rare blue diamonds ever discovered. The auction of The Golconda Blue is extremely significant for the people of India because it is directly linked to Indian royal families. In fact, the Golconda Blue Diamond was found in the world-famous Golconda mines. The Golconda mines are counted among the most prestigious diamond mines worldwide.
The fame of the Golconda mines can be gauged from the fact that references to them are found even in manuscripts from the 4th century culture. In 327 BC, Alexander also took many diamonds from India to Europe. Along with this, these rare diamonds established their distinct identity in the West. In 1292 AD, Marco Polo mentioned the beauty of Indian diamonds in his travel accounts.
The Golconda mines, located in present-day Telangana, are known not only for the Golconda Blue but also for giving the world many other such diamonds. These include the names of the world’s most talked-about diamonds, the Koh-i-Noor and the Hope.
The Golconda Blue Diamond also came from one of these mines. This diamond was once in the possession of Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II of Indore. He was a king famous for his metropolitan lifestyle during the 1920s and 30s. It is said that in 1923, this extraordinary blue diamond was set by the French jeweler Chaumet to create a bracelet. Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II’s father had commissioned two other important Golconda diamonds, the Indore Pearls, in a similar manner after acquiring them.
A decade later, in the 1930s, the Maharaja’s official jeweler, Mauboussin, set it into a grand necklace, which made the royal collection shine even brighter alongside the Indore Pearls. The renowned French painter Bernard Boutet de Monvel depicted this necklace in a portrait of the Maharani of Indore, immortalizing it. Through this, the glamour and cultural fusion of that era also came before the world.
In 1947, the Golconda Blue Diamond went to America when the renowned New York jeweler Harry Winston purchased it. Harry Winston combined the Golconda Blue Diamond with a white diamond of similar shape and set it into a brooch. This brooch then circulated back and reached the Maharaja of Baroda, once again becoming part of a royal family. Thus, the Golconda Blue Diamond came into the possession of India’s royal lineage just before passing into private hands. However, after this, the Golconda Blue Diamond was sold into private hands several times.
Now, this same brilliant 23.24-carat blue diamond is being put up for auction, with an estimated price said to be between 300 and 430 crore rupees. Its auction is being conducted by the 259-year-old company Christie’s, which has previously auctioned many famous diamonds from the Golconda mines. These diamonds include names like the Archduke Joseph, the Princie, and the Wittelsbach, among others. Currently, this historic Indian-origin Golconda Blue Diamond has been set into an attractive ring by the famous Parisian designer JAR.
Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Christie’s Jewelry Department, issued a statement regarding this auction. It said: