The Arcot Diamond

 Great Britain’s rulers accumulated an enormous assortment of personal jewelry; King George III’s wife Queen Charlotte received many remarkable diamonds from the Nawab of Arcot. Nawab Azim-Ud-Daula, whom Queen Charlotte received five remarkable diamonds from in 1777, was in charge of the government of Arcot; the five diamonds became known as the Arcot Diamonds. The largest of the Arcot Diamonds weighed 38.6 carats and was oval-shaped. In 1818, Queen Charlotte died; according to her orders, the Arcot Diamonds were supposed to be sold to the Crown jewelers and silversmiths, Rundell & Bridge. King George III later died in 1820. The oldest son of Queen Charlotte and King George III, George IV, established that he should inherit all of his father’s property, as well as his mother’s diamonds and the family’s money; he had the Arcot Diamonds placed in his crown. On June 26, 1830, King George IV died; since one of the owners of Rundell & Bridge, John Bridge, died in 1834, the crown containing the Arcot Diamonds was sold on July 20, 1837 at Willis’s Room in St. James, London. The Marquess of Westminster purchased the Arcot Diamonds for his wife; the diamonds were placed in the Westminster Tiara in 1930. The Westminster Tiara containing the Arcot Diamonds was sold by the Duke of Westminster in 1959 due to financial difficulties. Harry Winston bought the Tiara and had the Arcot Diamonds cut. The Arcot I, the larger of the two diamonds, was cut to 30.99 metric carats, and the Arcot II Diamond, the smallest, was cut to 18.85 metric carats. Winston had each placed in a ring; he sold one in 1959 and the other in 1960. The Arcot I Diamond was later added to a necklace as a pendant; it was sold in November of 1993 at Christie’s in Geneva. A Saudi Arabian dealer, Sheik Ahmed Hassan Fitaihi, bought the necklace containing the Arcot I Diamond.