Jewels of the Nizams of Hyderabad

The Jewels of the Nizams of Hyderabad State are among the largest and most expensive collection of jewels in present-day India.[1] The jewels belonged to the Nizams. After the annexation of their kingdom by Union of India, the Nizam and his heirs were barred by the Indian government from taking the collection, claiming that it was a national treasure. After much litigation, the diamond was purchased by the Government of India from the nizam's trust for an estimated $13 million in 1995, along with other jewels of the nizams, and is held at the Reserve Bank of India vaults in Mumbai.

A decorative crown for the Nizam's of Hyderabad
A crown that forms part of the Jewels

Once the Nizams' state regalia, the ornaments date from the early 18th century to the early 20th century. Crafted in gold and silver, with many embellished with enamelling, the jewels are set with gems including Colombian emeralds, diamonds from the Kollur Diamond Mine in Guntur district and the diamond mine in Krishna district (now Andhra Rayalaseema Diamond mines group), Burmese rubies and spinels, and pearls from Basra and the Gulf of Mannar.

There are 173 jewels, which includes Diamonds and emeralds weighing nearly 2,000 carats (0.40 kg), and pearls exceeding 40,000 chows. The collection includes gemstones, turban ornaments, necklaces and pendants, belts and buckles, earrings, armbands, bangles and bracelets, anklets, cufflinks and buttons, watch chains, and rings, toe rings, and nose rings. Among them is the seven-stringed Basrah pearl necklace, known as Satlada, which has 465 pearls embedded in it. One of the prized possessions in the collection is the Jacob Diamond, the fifth largest diamond in the world weighing 184.75 carats, which was found by the last Nizam, Osman Ali Khan, in the toe of his father’s shoe at Chowmahalla Palace and he himself used it as a paper weight for a long time.

History of the jewels
A decorative crown with studded Emeralds
A decorative crown for the Nizam's of Hyderabad

In 1995, the Indian government bought the jewels for ₹218 crore (about US$70 million), many years after the death of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan in 1967. In reality, the Nizam's trustees agreed to sell the famous collection to India in lieu of tax. The government had tried to buy the collection for less than $25 million.[2] Fifteen years later India's Supreme Court finally fixed a price of about $65 million, much less than the $350 million the family (and the auction house Sotheby's) estimated the jewels were worth.[3] The sole legitimate heir Mukarram Jah's share of the sale was $20 million, but lawsuits from the Nizam's other descendants have ensured that he has never seen the money, as "the case disappeared down the black hole of India's imponderable legal system".[3]

The collection is with the Union Government and had been deposited in the vaults of the Reserve Bank of India in its headquarters at Mumbai. It has been showcased a few times in exhibitions; in 2001 and 2006 at the National Museum, New Delhi and the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad.[4][5]

After the Government of India had initially declined to buy the jewels in 1970s, the Nizam's Jewellery Trust's officials intended to sell 37 out of 65 of the Nizam's jewels to Indian and foreign entities. However, princess Fatima Fouzia, granddaughter of the Nizam, intervened. She went to the Hyderabad City Civil Court and notified that neither all the trustees had agreed for the sale, nor the tender was publicized sufficiently at an international level so that the heirs would get the right price of the jewels.[6]

It was followed by a series of court cases in Hyderabad High Court and Supreme court of India.[7]

Again, in early 1990s, the jewels were to be auctioned to private parties for amount much lower than the actual value. Fatima Fouzia, mother of great grandson of Nizam Himayat Ali Mirza, had filed a petition to protect the jewels to be sold to private parties.[8]

Himayat Ali Mirza, his uncle prince Muffakham Jah and other Nizams jewellery trust Trustrees handed over the jewellery to the government of India.[9]

References
  1. National Museum, New Delhi. "Exhibitions at National Museum of India,New Delhi (India) - Nizams' Jewellery". nationalmuseumindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  2. "Nizam's Heirs End Wrangle for Treasure" The Independent
  3. "The Prince's Ransom" The Guardian
  4. "King's Ransom: The jewels of the Nizams of Hyderabad, finally on display, include the fifth-largest diamond in the world" India Today
  5. "Hyderabad misses glitter of Nizam’s priceless jewels" The Hindu
  6. Amarnath K. Menon (30 April 1988). "Precious collection of Nizam's jewels lies buried in a bank vault". India Today. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  7. "Jewel of the Nizams" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. Syed Akbar (13 June 2021). "Keep jewels in Hyderabad, Nizam's kin Himayat Ali Mirza writes to PM Modi | Hyderabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  9. Kumar, V. Rishi. "Royal scion writes to PM seeking suitable setting for Nizam's jewellery". @businessline. Retrieved 2 October 2021.

Further reading

Jewels of the Nizams (Hardcover) by Usha R. Krishnan (Author)ISBN 81-85832-15-3

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