Video call
Talk to expert
The Diamond with a bloody history is kept in the Tower of London. Legends say that it’s cursed.
The Koh-i-noor – meaning “Mountain of Light – came from Indian mines thousands of years ago. They say that it cursed all the men who owned it since 1306.
This magnificent stone belonged to numerous rulers – and, as a result, many of them lost their empires as well as their lives. After fierce fighting and bloodshed, the Koh-i-noor successively became the property of wealthy families in India, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It was never bought or sold but changed hands only due to inheritance, extortion, looting and trickery and, sometimes, gift-giving. The Diamond came into British hands only in the mid-19th century. It happened after another bloody events – the Second Anglo-Sikh War. And after the British East India Company got the supposedly cursed stone, cholera broke out and killed many people on board.
Finally, the Koh-i-Noor arrived in Britain. It was set on the crown of Queen Mary in 1911 and later, in 1937 – on the crown of the Queen Mother for her coronation. Since most people believe that the curse of the Diamond befalls only men, not women, thereafter it was only women who wore it.
Today the Koh-i-noor remains on The Queen’s Crown which is on public display in the Tower of London.
Subscribe to discover the world of diamonds and gems. If you have any questions, please let us know.
Back