Kollur Mine
The Kollur Mine in the Guntur District in Andhra Pradesh, India was one of the most productive diamond mines in the world and the first major diamond center. It is situated on the right bank of the River Krishna. It operated between the sixteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries.[1] In addition to the Kollur, the Paritala, Gollapally, Mallavally, Ramallakota, and Banganapally were extremely prolific mines in India during this period.[2] At the height of production, it was recorded that around 60,000 people mined the region, including men, women, and children of all ages.[3][4][5]
The most celebrated Kohinoor diamond was mined in the " Kollur mine (or Coulour Gani)" Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India.[6]
The famous diamond known as the "Tavernier Diamond" was purchased by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier from the Kollur mine in the mid-17th century.[7] The diamond was purchased from Tavernier by King Louis XIV of France but was stolen during the French Revolution; it is believed to have reappeared as the recut Hope Diamond.[8] The Indian mines were eventually depleted and the diamond center shifted to Brazil, where a good amount of diamonds were discovered. Many of the most famous and notable diamonds were mined from these early Indian mines, including the Koh-i-noor, the Regent Diamond, the Great Mogul (all from the Kollur); the Daria-i-Noor, the Orloff, the Dresden Green, and the Nassak Diamond.
Notable diamonds
Some of the most famous diamonds mined in the Kollur mines are:
- The Great Mogul Diamond, 280 carats (56 g) cut, 787 carats (157.4 g) rough, - Lost after Nādir Shāh sacked Delhi
- The Pitt or Regent Diamond, 410 carats (82.0 g) - in the Apollo Gallery, Louvre Museum, Paris
- Nizām Diamond, 340 carats (68.0 g) - currently owned by the Government of India.
- The Orloff Diamond, 300 carats (60.0 g) - in the Diamond Treasury, Kremlin, Moscow
- Daryā-ye Nūr, 182 carats (36.4 g) - in the Iranian Crown Jewels, on display:Central Bank of Iran, Tehran
- The Golconda, 135 carats (27.0 g) - belonging to Dunklings Jewellers, Melbourne, Australia.
- Koh-i Nūr, 105.6 carats (21.12 g) (793 carats (158.6 g) rough, 186 carats (37.2 g) cut, further cut for Crown Jewels) - in the British Crown Jewels, London
- The Hope Diamond, 67 carats (13.4 g) - in the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Institution, Washington
- The Kolluru Diamond, 63 carats (12.6 g) - Purchased by Tavernier and present location unknown.
- Dresden Green Diamond, 41 carats (8.2 g) - "The New Green Vault" in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
Notes
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Golconda Diamond Mines Map (right)
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Golconda Diamond Mines Map (left)
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- ↑ Marshal, E. 1677. A description of the Diamond Mines as presented by the Right Honourable, the Earl Marshal of England to the Royal Society. Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society, Pages 910-917
- ↑ A Manual of the Geology of India: Economic geology, by V. Ball. 1881; Henry Benedict Medlicott, William Thomas Blanford, Valentine Ball, Frederick Richard Mallett; By Geological Survey of India, 1881, p. 16
- ↑ India Before Europe, C.E.B. Asher and C. Talbot, Cambridge University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-521-80904-5, p. 40
- ↑ A History of India, Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund, Edition: 3, Routledge, 1998, p. 160; ISBN 0-415-15482-0
- ↑ Deccan Heritage, H. K. Gupta, A. Parasher and D. Balasubramanian, Indian National Science Academy, 2000, p. 144, Orient Blackswan, ISBN 81-7371-285-9
- ↑ LARGE AND FAMOUS DIAMONDS
- ↑ Travels in India by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Cambridge University Press, 2012
- ↑ The History of the Hope Diamond, Smithsonian Institution