Golconda Diamond was auctioned at a Record Price of 118 Crore Rupees

A rare 76 carat diamond named after the Austrian owner Archduke Joseph August that was mined from the erstwhile Golconda Kingdom was auctioned on 14 November 2012 at a record price of Euros16.9 million or approximately 118 crore rupees at the auction, which was held at Geneva. The auction was held at Christie’s. The diamond has been described as the cushion shaped, internally flawless, of superb quality as well as colourless.

Christie’s International Jewellery Department said that this was the world record for the Golconda diamond and also the world record amount per carat for any colourless diamond. Black, Starr & Frost, the American jeweler sold this rare diamond. The buyer nevertheless is anonymous.

Archduke Joseph diamond has same heredity like the two other renowned diamonds- Hope and Koh-i-noor. These three diamonds have been mined from Kollur and Golconda mines.

Diamonds and Golconda

Golconda, diamonds as well as History of Hyderabad have had a special connection. Even though there were less of such diamonds mined, but they were still the best. Then these diamonds were brought to the city of Golconda, cut as well as marketed. Golconda was once the huge trading centre for gems as well as diamonds. Only India had such mines during those days and Europeans believed that diamonds could be found only in the Golconda mines. Diamonds extracted from the Golconda mines were so renowned that all those diamonds which did not have Nitrogen were referred to as Golconda Diamonds. Other well known diamonds of superior quality extracted from Golconda mines are Darya-e Nur, which is the largest one of 185 carats and also the finest one, the Regent, the Wittelsbach and Nur-Ul- Ain.

About the diamond

As per the Christie’s website, this diamond was passed as a legacy by Archduke to his son. Later, it was deposited in tomb of Hungarian General Credit Bank in 1933. It also resurfaced later in 1961 in London and consequently at the Geneva auction house of Christie in 1993. It was sold there for $6.48 million.