{"id":2137,"date":"2026-09-01T09:28:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adiamondisforever.com\/en-in\/?p=2137"},"modified":"2026-09-01T09:28:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:28:33","slug":"unveiling-the-wondrous-second-life-of-the-indian-maharajas-historical-natural-diamonds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adiamondisforever.com\/en-in\/education\/unveiling-the-wondrous-second-life-of-the-indian-maharajas-historical-natural-diamonds\/","title":{"rendered":"The remarkable stories of India\u2019s historical natural diamonds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The splendour of erstwhile Indian maharajas is legendary. Their magnificent natural diamond jewels, from turban ornaments to great ropes of gems and armfuls of bracelets, were just one aspect of the public display of power and wealth that they presented to their subjects.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything from their clothes and their swords to cups and even carpets, were encrusted with diamonds and precious gems, contributing to the rich history of diamonds in India<\/a>. Their enormous treasuries are perhaps no surprise given that, until diamonds were discovered in Brazil in the 18th century and South Africa in the 19th<\/sup> century, India had been the world\u2019s only source of diamonds and was also the centre of the global gem trade. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Bhupinder
Bhupinder Singh of Patiala <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The impact of European jewellers on India\u2019s royal jewels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the early 20th century, the lavish spectacle of the maharajas\u2019 princely splendour took on a particularly European flavour when many of them travelled to Paris and London to place orders with leading jewellers for their large treasuries of gems and jewels to be set and reset in the latest European styles.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most famous of these is Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, which occupies a special place in natural diamond history<\/a>. In 1928, Cartier Paris completed what became one of the single largest orders in its history and certainly its most impressive. Some pieces were in Indian style, some in European, and many were created in platinum, the favoured metal at the time over the Indian tradition of yellow gold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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