GREAT MOGUL DIAMOND

the largest diamond ever found in India. It was discovered as a 787-carat rough stone in the Golconda mines in 1650 and subsequently was cut by the Venetian lapidary Hortentio Borgis. The French jewel trader Jean-Baptiste Tavernier described it in 1665 as a high-crowned rose-cut stone with a flaw at the bottom and a small speck within. Its present location is unknown, and some believe that either the Orlov diamond or the Koh-i-noor may have been cut from this stone after its loss following the assassination of its owner, Nader Shah, in 1747.