Samarian spinel

The Samarian Spinel is a 500-carat (100 g) spinel gemstone that is the largest of its kind in the world. It is part of the Iranian Crown Jewels.[1]

Origins

It and a smaller 270-carat (54 g) spinel were captured by the Persian King Nadir Shah during his 18th-century conquest of India.

The Samarian spinel has a hole in it. According to a diary entry of the court physician to the Iranian Shah Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, the King told the physician that the stone once adorned the neck of the biblical golden calf, which the Israelites are said to have made while Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments. A diamond was added later to conceal the hole.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Grande, Lance; Augustyn, Allison (2009). Gems and Gemstones: Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World. University of Chicago Press. p. 83. ISBN 9780226305110. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  2. ^ "The Samarian Spinel". famousdiamonds.tripod.com. Retrieved 23 June 2013.