india has cherished a long and beautiful love affair with natural diamonds youd be hardpressed to pick one indian celebrity bride who didnt wear diamonds for her joyous moment no bigfat wedding is complete without its sparkle no award ceremonies do justice without its glitz and glamour so what is the mystique behind this gorgeous jewel that makes heads turn anyway a very ancient one we say as we unearth the tale of natural diamonds in india we are left bedazzled with its sparkling history here is an enthralling journey of the heirloom jewels of the quintessential celebrities of indian culture our royalty since time immemorial natural diamonds have been a bespoke part of the indian heritage almost all ancient diamonds proudly flashed the made in india tag having been unearthed from the prominent golconda mines till the 18th century considered timeless and a stone of reverence they found patronage in indian royalty who ornamented stunning pieces as power dressing for opulence and supremacy today walls of palaces and museums are filled with portraits of aristocrats adorning their prized collection think natural diamonds and youll think the nizams of hyderabad who were considered to be one of the most flamboyant royal families that owned the most enviable collection of diamond jewellery in the world their fetish for wealth and majestic lives made headlines with tales of some neverseenbefore natural diamond jewels steeping in royal history their assortment included a whopping 25000 diamonds weighing 12000 carats in pieces of bracelets rings necklaces toe rings bangles armbands cufflinks there are also diamond studded images of camels and studded swords these jewels became chronicles of a way of life and marked a prosperous culture of ornamentation in india at one point of time in the early 20th century the nizam ruler asaf jah vii was deemed as the richest man in the world all thanks to his collection of jewels from rare uncut natural diamond necklaces to belts designs the nizams were true connoisseurs of craftsmanship and style they commissioned several sarpechs a prestigious head decoration that marked the supreme stature of the ruler bejewelled with intricate diamonds that left an indelible mark of lavishness the popular jacob diamond the fifth largest natural diamond in the world weighing 18475 carats interestingly served as a paper weight till its true value was discovered in fact the nizams were modish and largehearted with their gifts too queen elizabeth ii received a timeless piece of jewellery named nizam of hyderabad necklace as a wedding present it was also recently styled by the uber chic duchess of cambridge kate middleton for a formal dinner party the star indian gem kohinoor that has a history of colonial conquest goes back to the 13th century the kohinoor is one of the most coveted and valuable diamonds of all times this dazzlingly beautiful rare jewel was originally owned by the kakatiyas of warangal it holds a large colourless diamond that weighed around 793 carats the fabled diamond was