The Kohinoor diamond has once again entered public discourse after New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that he would ask England's King Charles III to return the diamond to India. This has reignited conversations about history, ownership, and restitution, reminding many that the Kohinoor remains housed in the Tower of London. However, few are aware that numerous other iconic Indian diamonds were taken from the subcontinent as gifts, trade items, or loot and have never been returned. Here are five such legendary diamonds that left India and never came back.
Koh-i-Noor
The Koh-i-Noor, meaning "Mountain of Light," is a legendary 105.6-carat diamond whose history spans centuries of ownership by Mughal, Persian, Afghan, and Sikh rulers. In 1849, it was confiscated by the British East India Company following the annexation of Punjab and presented to Queen Victoria. In 2016, the Indian government told the Supreme Court that India should not stake a claim to the famed diamond, valued at around $200 million, as "it was neither stolen nor forcibly taken away." Today, the diamond remains set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
Hope Diamond
The Hope Diamond was mined in the Kollur mine in Golconda, India. This "beautiful violet" diamond, weighing 112 3/16 carats, was bought by French merchant traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier and sold to King Louis XIV in 1668 along with 14 other large diamonds. During a week-long looting of the crown jewels in September 1792, the diamond—then known as the French Blue—was stolen. It is believed to have passed through the hands of a London diamond merchant to King George IV of the United Kingdom and eventually reached the gem collection of Henry Philip Hope, after whom it is named, in 1839. For many years, it belonged to Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean of Washington, D.C., but was purchased by Harry Winston Inc. of New York City in 1949 along with her entire jewelry collection. On November 10, 1958, the Hope Diamond was donated to the Smithsonian Institution, where it remains one of its premier attractions.
Orlov Diamond
The Orlov is a large rose-cut diamond with a gunmetal grey hue, likely originating from the Golconda region of India. According to a legend recounted by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the diamond was stolen from a temple in South India, where it formed one of the eyes of Lord Brahma. In the early 1770s, the diamond was acquired by Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov for his lover, Russian Empress Catherine II, who reigned from 1762 until her death in 1796. In 1774, the empress had the Orlov set in the Imperial Sceptre, where it remains to this day, on display at the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow.
Regent Diamond
The Regent diamond was discovered deep in the mines of Parityala, India, in 1698. It was found by a worker who planned to sell it for a large sum but was murdered by a British sea captain on a boat during transport. The captain sold the gem to a well-known diamond merchant, Jaychand, for £1,000. The Governor of Madras at the time, Thomas Pitt, acquired the gem from the merchant for £20,000 and sent it to London concealed in his son's shoe heel. Diamond-cutting artist Joseph Cope spent two years carefully transforming the rough 410-carat diamond into a 140.5-carat brilliant cushion-cut gem. Eventually, in 1717, Philippe II, acting as Regent of France, bought the diamond for £135,000 for the crown jewels. From there, it adorned royal crowns and even Napoleon's sword belt. Today, it is on display at the Louvre Museum.
Daria-i-noor
The Daria-i-noor, meaning "Sea of Light," is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing around 182 carats. It originated from the Kollur Mine in Golconda, India, and is the largest known pink diamond on the planet. Today, the diamond resides in the Iranian National Jewels collection in Tehran. It was taken from India in 1739 when the Persian ruler Nader Shah invaded northern India and occupied Delhi. He seized many treasures of the Mughal court, including the Koh-i-Noor, the Peacock Throne, and the Daria-i-noor.
