Editing Koh-i-Noor (section)

== History ==
=== Legendary origin ===
[[Babur]], the [[Turco-Mongol]] founder of the [[Mughal Empire]], wrote about a "famous" diamond that weighed just over 187 old carats – approximately the size of the once 186-carat Koh-i-Noor.<ref>Streeter, pp. 116–117, 130.</ref><ref name="rose32">Rose, p. 32.</ref> According to the diary of [[Alauddin Khalji]] of the [[Khalji dynasty]] of the [[Delhi Sultanate]], he acquired a large diamond when he [[Alauddin Khalji#Marwar and southern campaigns, 1307–1313|invaded the kingdoms of southern India]] at the beginning of the 14th century and looted it from the [[Kakatiya dynasty|Kakatiyas]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Asher |first1=Catherine B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA40 |title=India Before Europe |last2=Talbot |first2=Cynthia |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-52180-904-7 |page=40 |language=en |access-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227230209/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA40 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> It later passed on to succeeding dynasties of the sultanate, and Babur received the diamond in 1526 as a tribute for his conquest of [[Delhi]] and [[Agra]] at the [[Battle of Panipat (1526)|Battle of Panipat]]. However, it is impossible to verify these details exactly about when or where it was found, and many competing theories exist as to its original owner.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=28}}

For some time it was alleged that while in the possession of [[Shah Jahan]]'s son [[Aurangzeb]], the stone was cut by Hortense Borgia, a Venetian [[Lapidary|lapidarist]], who reduced the weight of the large stone to {{convert|186|carat|g}}.<ref>{{cite news |author=Leela Kohli |date=30 May 1953 |title=Fascinating history of world's best diamonds |page=6 |newspaper=[[The Northern Star]] |publisher=National Library of Australia |location=Lismore, New South Wales |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96503185 |access-date=31 August 2013}}</ref> For this carelessness, Borgia was reprimanded and fined 10,000 [[rupee]]s.<ref>Younghusband and Davenport, pp. 53–57.</ref> However according to recent research, the story of Borgia cutting the diamond is not correct, and most probably mixed up with that of the [[Orlov (diamond)|Orlov]], part of [[Catherine the Great]]'s imperial Russian scepter in the [[Kremlin]].<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite news |date=9 December 2016 |title=Koh-i-Noor: Six myths about a priceless diamond |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-38218308 |url-status=live |access-date=30 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910180414/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-38218308 |archive-date=10 September 2017}}</ref>

=== Early history ===
[[File:Nadir Shah on the Peacock Throne after his defeat of Muhammad Shah. ca. 1850, San Diego MOA.jpg|thumb|upright=1.57|[[Nader Shah]] seated on the [[Peacock Throne]] after the defeat of the 13th Mughal emperor [[Muhammad Shah]]]]
In early Indian history, diamonds were the most valued of gemstones. However, during the period of Mughal rule, diamonds lost this distinction. When looking at the Mughal treasury, [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak]], the [[List of Mughal grand viziers|Grand vizier]] to [[Akbar]], noted that red [[Spinel|spinels]] and Burmese [[Ruby|rubies]] had become the most desirable jewels by the nobility.<ref name=":1" /> During this time the Persian new year ceremony, [[Nowruz]], had become a period in which the subjects could bring offerings of gems and money to the imperial family in exchange for political promotions within the greater bureaucracy. By the time [[Shah Jahan]] ascended the throne as the fifth Mughal emperor, there were so many jewels in the treasury that he decided to use many of them in the making of the ornate [[Peacock Throne]] in 1635.<ref name=":1" />

Over a century later in 1738 [[Nader Shah]] founded the [[Afsharid dynasty]].  Following the overthrow of the [[Safavid dynasty]] of Persia two years earlier, he began raiding Mughal territory before soon launching a [[Nader Shah's invasion of India|full-scale invasion of North-West India]]. This invading force soon captured Delhi where, after a massacre of the civilian population, the army began a systematic looting of the wealth of the city and the treasury of the Mughal Empire.<ref name="davenport"/> With nearly 10,000 wagons of loot, along with millions of rupees and an assortment of other historic jewels, Nader Shah also carried away the imperial Peacock Throne.<ref name="siebenhuner">Kim Siebenhüner in Hofmeester and Grewe, pp. 27–28.</ref> Nader Shah's biographer, Muhammad Kazim Marvi, first recorded seeing the Koh-i-Noor in the 1740s on the head of one of the peacocks on the throne, along with other prominent gems such as the great [[Timur ruby|Timur Ruby]] and the [[Daria-i-Noor]].<ref name=":1" /> It is alleged that Nader Shah exclaimed ''"Koh-i-Noor!"'', Persian and Hindi-Urdu for "Mountain of Light", when he first obtained the famous stone.<ref>Argenzio, p. 42.</ref><ref name="EB2008"/> One of his consorts is even noted to have said, "If a strong man were to throw four stones – one north, one south, one east, one west, and a fifth stone up into the air – and if the space between them were to be filled with gold, all would not equal the value of the Koh-i-Noor".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/16/koh-i-noor-diamond-britain-illegally-india-pakistan-afghanistan-history-tower|title=The Koh-i-Noor diamond is in Britain illegally. But it should still stay there|first=Anita|last=Anand|work=The Guardian|date=16 February 2016|access-date=8 April 2016|archive-date=13 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413003050/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/16/koh-i-noor-diamond-britain-illegally-india-pakistan-afghanistan-history-tower|url-status=live}}</ref>

After Nadir Shah was killed and [[Division of the Afsharid Empire|his empire collapsed]] in 1747, the Koh-i-Noor fell to his grandson, who in 1751 gave it to [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], founder of the [[Afghan Empire]], in return for his support.<ref name="siebenhuner"/> One of Ahmed's grandsons, [[Shah Shuja Durrani]], wore a bracelet containing the Koh-i-Noor on the occasion of [[Mountstuart Elphinstone]]'s visit to [[Peshawar]] in 1808.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and its Dependencies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wjk9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA177|volume=27|year=1838|publisher=W. H. Allen & Co.|page=177}}</ref> A year later, Shah Shuja formed an alliance with the United Kingdom to help defend against a possible invasion of Afghanistan by Russia.<ref>{{cite book|author=William Dalrymple|title=Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan|isbn=978-1-408-8183-05 |publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2012|page=5}}</ref> He was quickly overthrown, but fled with the diamond to [[Lahore]] (in modern Pakistan), where in one account, [[Ranjit Singh]], founder of the [[Sikh Empire]], in return for his hospitality, insisted upon the gem being given to him, and he took possession of it in 1813.<ref name="davenport">Davenport, pp. 57–59.</ref>

Shah Shuja's memoirs dispute this, and claim Ranjit Singh extorted the diamond from him by having his son tortured in front of him.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jamal |first1=Momin |title=Kohinoor's story: from treachery to treasury |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/26635/kohinoors-story-from-treachery-to-treasury/ |access-date=19 June 2018 |work=Daily Times |date=26 February 2017}}</ref>

=== In Maharaja Ranjit Singh's possession ===
[[File:Maharaja Ranjit singh's treasure.jpg|thumb|upright|One of Ranjit Singh's favourite horses with the head of his stables. His jewels are shown, to scale, including the Koh-i-Noor (top centre).<ref>Eden, p. 14.</ref>|left]][[Ranjit Singh]] had the diamond examined by jewelers of Lahore for two days to ensure that Shuja had not tricked him. After the jewelers confirmed its genuineness, he donated 125,000 rupees to Shuja. Ranjit Singh then asked the principal jewelers of [[Amritsar]] to estimate the diamond's value; the jewelers declared that the value of the diamond was "far beyond all computation".{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=83}} Ranjit Singh then affixed the diamond to the front of his turban, and paraded on an elephant to enable his subjects to see it.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|pp=83–84}} He used to wear it as an armlet during major festivals such as [[Diwali]] and [[Dusserah]], and took it with him during travel. He would exhibit it to prominent visitors, especially British officers.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=84}}

[[File:RanjitSingh by ManuSaluja.jpg|thumb|upright|Painting of Ranjit Singh wearing the Koh-i-Noor armlet (2009)]]

One day, Ranjit Singh asked the diamond's former owners – Shuja and his wife Wafa Begum – to estimate its value. Wafa Begum replied that if a strong man threw a stone in four cardinal directions and vertically, Koh-i-Noor would be worth more than the gold and precious stones filled in the space. Ranjit Singh grew paranoid about the Koh-i-Noor being stolen, because in the past, another valuable jewel had been stolen from him while he was intoxicated. He kept the diamond within a high-security facility at the [[Gobindgarh Fort]] when it was not in use. When the diamond was to be transported, it was placed in a [[pannier]] on a guarded camel; 39 other camels with identical panniers were included in the convoy; the diamond was always placed on the first camel immediately behind the guards, but great secrecy was maintained regarding which camel carried it.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=84}} Only Ranjit Singh's treasurer Misr Beli Ram knew which camel carried the diamond.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=106}}

In June 1839, Ranjit Singh suffered his third [[stroke]], and it became apparent that he would die soon. On his deathbed, he started giving away his valuable possessions to religious charities, and appointed his eldest son [[Kharak Singh]] as his successor. A day before his death, on 26 June 1839, a major argument broke out between his courtiers regarding the fate of Koh-i-Noor.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=91}} Ranjit Singh himself was too weak to speak, and communicated using gestures. Bhai Gobind Ram, the head [[Brahmin]] of Ranjit Singh, insisted that the king had willed Koh-i-Noor and other jewels to the [[Jagannath Temple, Puri]]: the king apparently supported this claim through gestures, as recorded in his court chronicle ''Umdat ul-Tawarikh''.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|pp=91–92}} However, treasurer Beli Ram insisted that it was a state property rather than Ranjit Singh's personal property, and therefore, should be handed over to Kharak Singh.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=92}}

After Ranjit Singh's death, Beli Ram refused to send the diamond to the temple, and hid it in his vaults.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=107}} Meanwhile, Kharak Singh and [[vizier|wazir]] [[Dhian Singh]] also issued orders stating that the diamond should not be taken out of Lahore.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=108}}

=== In Gulab Singh's possession ===
[[File:Gulab Singh riding on elephant.jpg|thumb|[[Maharaja]] Gulab Singh riding on elephant.]][[File:A painting from 1843 depicting the Lahore Darbar of the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Duleep Singh.jpg|thumb|Sikh Empire under 5 year old Maharaja [[Duleep Singh]]. To the right is Suchet Singh and to the immediate left is Maharaja [[Gulab Singh]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], who ultimately wielded influence over the Koh-i-Noor, and its transfer to the United Kingdom.]]
On 8 October 1839, the new emperor Kharak Singh was overthrown in a coup by his prime minister Dhian Singh. The prime minister's brother [[Gulab Singh]], [[Raja]] of [[Jammu]], came into possession of the Koh-i-Noor.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7dymBAAAQBAJ&q=koh+i+noor+dogra&pg=PT121|title=The Koh-i-noor Diamond|last=Amini|first=Iradj|date=2013-06-01|publisher=Roli Books Private Limited|isbn=978-93-5194-035-7}}</ref> Kharak Singh later died in prison, soon followed by the mysterious death of his son and successor [[Nau Nihal Singh]] on 5 November 1840. Gulab Singh held onto the stone until January 1841, when he presented it to emperor [[Sher Singh]] in order to win his favour,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P4bNDUFhI9IC&q=gulab+singh+koh+i+noor&pg=PA166|title=History of Koh-i-Noor, Darya-i-Noor, and Taimur's Ruby|date=1985|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distri}}</ref> after his brother [[Dhian Singh]] negotiated a ceasefire between Sher Singh and the overthrown empress [[Chand Kaur]]. Gulab Singh had attempted to defend the widowed empress at her fort in Lahore, during two days of conflict and shelling by Sher Singh and his troops.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HBOMDwAAQBAJ&q=chand+kaur+gulab+singh+fort&pg=PA177|title=Emperor of the Five Rivers: The Life and Times of Maharajah Ranjit Singh|last=Sheikh|first=Mohamed|date=2017-03-17|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1-78673-095-4}}</ref> Despite handing over the Koh-i-noor, Gulab Singh as a result of the ceasefire returned safely to Jammu with a wealth of gold and other jewels taken from the treasury.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzZzFm4pLWQC&q=chand+kaur+jammu&pg=PA185|title=Advance Study in the History of Modern India (Volume-2: 1803-1920)|last=Chhabra|first=G. S.|date=2005|publisher=Lotus Press|isbn=978-81-89093-07-5}}</ref>

==== Worn by child emperor Duleep Singh ====
On 15 September 1843, both Sher Singh and prime minister Dhian Singh were assassinated in a coup led by [[Ajit Singh Sandhawalia]]. However, the next day in a counter coup led by Dhian's son Hira Singh the assassins were killed. Aged 24, Hira Singh succeeded his father as prime minister, and installed the five-year old [[Duleep Singh]] as emperor. The Koh-i-noor was now fastened to the arm of the child emperor in court at Lahore. Duleep Singh and his mother empress [[Jind Kaur]], had till then resided in Jammu, the kingdom governed by Gulab Singh.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EoJoDwAAQBAJ&q=Koh-i-Noor+sher+singh&pg=PA115|title=Kohinoor: The Story of the WorldÕs Most Infamous Diamond|last1=Dalrymple|first1=William|last2=Anand|first2=Anita|date=2016|publisher=Juggernaut Books|isbn=978-93-86228-08-6}}</ref>

Following his nephew Prime Minister Hira Singh's assassination on 27 March 1844, and the subsequent outbreak of the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]], Gulab Singh himself led the Sikh empire as its prime minister, and despite defeat in the war, he became the first [[Maharaja]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] on 16 March 1846, under the [[Treaty of Amritsar (1846)|Treaty of Amritsar]].

=== Surrender to Queen Victoria ===
[[File:Franz Xaver Winterhalter Queen Victoria (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Queen Victoria]] wearing the Koh-i-Noor as a brooch, by [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter]]]]
On 29 March 1849, following the conclusion of the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]], the Kingdom of [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]] was formally annexed to [[Company rule in India|Company rule]], and the [[Treaty of Lahore#Text of the 1849 Last Treaty of Lahore|Last Treaty of Lahore]] was signed, officially ceding the Koh-i-Noor to [[Queen Victoria]] and the Maharaja's other assets to the company. Article III of the treaty read:

{{Blockquote|The gem called the Koh-i-Noor, which was taken from [[Shah Shujah Durrani|Shah Sooja-ool-moolk]] by Maharajah Ranjeet Singh, shall be surrendered by the Maharajah of Lahore to the Queen of England {{sic}}.<ref>Login, p. 126.</ref>}}

The lead signatory of the treaty for the by then eleven-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh was his commander-in-chief [[Tej Singh]], a loyalist of Maharaja [[Gulab Singh]] who had previously been in possession of the Koh-i-Noor and gained [[Kashmir]] from the Sikh empire, via treaty with Britain, following the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]].

The [[Governor-General of India|Governor-General]] in charge of the ratification of this treaty was the [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Marquess of Dalhousie]]. The manner of his aiding in the transfer of the diamond was criticized even by some of his contemporaries in Britain. Although some thought it should have been presented as a gift to Queen Victoria by the East India Company, it is clear that Dalhousie believed the stone was a spoil of war, and treated it accordingly, ensuring that it was officially surrendered to her by [[Duleep Singh]], the youngest son of Ranjit Singh.<ref>Broun-Ramsay, pp. 87–88</ref> The presentation of the Koh-i-Noor by the East India Company to the queen was the latest in a long history of transfers of the diamond as a coveted spoil of war.<ref name="keay">Keay, pp. 156–158</ref> Duleep Singh had been placed in the guardianship of Dr [[John Spencer Login]], a surgeon in the East India Company Army serving in the [[Presidency of Bengal]]. Duleep Singh moved to England in 1854 and spent the rest of his life in exile.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Campbell|first=Christopher|title=The Maharajah's box: an imperial story of conspiracy, love and a guru's prophecy|date=2000|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=0-00-257008-4|location=Hammersmith, London|oclc=43631639}}</ref>

==== Journey to the United Kingdom ====
[[File:Croquis du Koh-i-Noor d'après Tavernier.jpg|thumb|Diagram of the pre-1852 cut.<ref>Valentine Ball in Jean Baptiste Tavernier, ''Travels in India'', 1889, Macmillan, vol. II, Appendix, plate VI.</ref>{{ubl|'''Fig I'''. Shaded area is the base.|'''Fig II'''. A: flaw; B and C: notches cut to hold stone in a setting; D: flaw created by fracture at E; F: fracture created by a blow; G: unpolished cleavage plane; H: basal cleavage plane.|'''Fig III'''. Opposite side, showing facets and peak of the "Mountain of Light"}}]]
In due course, the Governor-General received the Koh-i-Noor from Dr Login, who had been appointed Governor of the Citadel, on 6 April 1848 under a receipt dated 7 December 1849, in the presence of members of the Board of Administration for the affairs of the Punjab: [[Henry Lawrence (Indian Army officer)|Sir Henry Lawrence]] (President), C. G. Mansel, [[John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence|John Lawrence]] and Sir Henry Elliot (Secretary to the Government of India).

Legend in the Lawrence family has it that before the voyage, John Lawrence left the jewel in his waistcoat pocket when it was sent to be laundered, and was most grateful when it was returned promptly by the [[valet]] who found it.<ref name="Birdwood1946">{{cite book|author=William Riddell Birdwood|title=In My Time: Recollections and Anecdotes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9GwgAAAAMAAJ|year=1946|publisher=Skeffington & Son|page=85}}</ref>

On 1 February 1850, the jewel was sealed in a small iron safe inside a red dispatch box, both sealed with red tape and a wax seal and kept in a chest at Bombay Treasury awaiting a steamer ship from China. It was then sent to England for presentation to Queen Victoria in the care of Captain J. Ramsay and Brevet Lt. Col F. Mackeson under tight security arrangements, one of which was the placement of the dispatch box in a larger iron safe. They departed from Bombay on 6 April on board HMS ''[[HMS Medea (1833)|Medea]]'', captained by Captain Lockyer.

The ship had a difficult voyage: an outbreak of [[cholera]] on board when the ship was in [[Mauritius]] had the locals demanding its departure, and they asked their governor to open fire on the vessel and destroy it if there was no response. Shortly afterwards, the vessel was hit by a severe gale that blew for some 12 hours.

On arrival in Britain on 29 June, the passengers and mail were unloaded in [[Plymouth]], but the Koh-i-Noor stayed on board until the ship reached [[Spithead]], near [[Portsmouth]], on 1 July. The next morning, Ramsay and Mackeson, in the company of Mr Onslow, the private secretary to the Chairman of the Court of Directors of the British East India Company, proceeded by train to [[East India House]] in the [[City of London]] and passed the diamond into the care of the chairman and deputy chairman of the East India Company.

The Koh-i-Noor was formally presented to Queen Victoria on 3 July 1850 at [[Buckingham Palace]] by the deputy chairman of the East India Company.<ref name="keay"/> The date had been chosen to coincide with the Company's 250th anniversary.<ref>Tarshis, p. 138.</ref>

=== The Great Exhibition ===
[[File:Kohinoor.jpg|thumb|In the armlet given to Victoria]]
Members of the public were given a chance to see the Koh-i-Noor when [[The Great Exhibition]] was staged at [[Hyde Park, London]], in 1851. It represented the might of the British Empire and took pride of place in the eastern part of the central gallery.<ref name="davis">Davis, p. 138.</ref>

Its mysterious past and advertised value of £1–2 million drew large crowds.<ref>Young, p. 345.</ref> At first, the stone was put inside a gilded birdcage, but after complaints about its dull appearance, the Koh-i-Noor was moved to a case with black velvet and gas lamps in the hope that it would sparkle better.<ref name="carlyle">{{cite web|url=http://carlyleletters.dukeupress.edu//letter/26/lt-18510511-JWC-JW-01|title=The Carlyle Letters: The Collected Letters |volume=26 |date=11 May 1851|access-date=25 November 2017|publisher=Duke University Press|author=Jane Carlyle|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080955/http://carlyleletters.dukeupress.edu//letter/26/lt-18510511-JWC-JW-01|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite this, the flawed and asymmetrical diamond still failed to please viewers.<ref name="rose31">Rose, p. 31.</ref>

=== 1852 re-cutting ===
Originally, the diamond had 169 facets and was {{convert|4.1|cm|in}} long, {{convert|3.26|cm|in}} wide, and {{convert|1.62|cm|in}} deep. It was high-domed, with a flat base and both triangular and rectangular facets, similar in overall appearance to other Mughal-era diamonds which are now in the [[Iranian Crown Jewels]].<ref>Sucher and Carriere, pp. 140-141</ref>

Disappointment in the appearance of the stone was not uncommon; ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' magazine referred to it as the "Mountain of Darkness," a play on the English translation of its name as "Mountain of Light".<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Kinsey |first=Danielle C. |date=2009 |title=Koh-i-Noor: Empire, Diamonds, and the Performance of British Material Culture |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25483040 |journal=Journal of British Studies |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=391–419 |doi=10.1086/596104 |jstor=25483040 |issn=0021-9371}}</ref> After consulting mineralogists, including Sir [[David Brewster]], Victoria's husband [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]] with the consent of the government decided to have the diamond re-cut. For this task, he employed one of the largest and most famous Dutch diamond merchants, [[Coster Diamonds|Mozes Coster]]. He sent to London one of his most experienced artisans, Levie Benjamin Voorzanger, and his assistants.<ref name="davenport"/>

[[File:Re-cutting the Koh-i-Noor 1852.jpg|thumb|The 1852 re-cutting]]
On 17 July 1852, the cutting began at the factory of [[Garrard & Co]]. in Haymarket, using a steam-powered mill built specially for the job by [[Maudslay, Sons and Field]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Illustrated London News|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ze1GAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA54|date=24 July 1852|publisher=Illustrated London News & Sketch Ltd|page=54}}</ref> Supervised by Albert and the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]], and the technical direction of the Queen's mineralogist, [[James Tennant (mineralogist)|James Tennant]], the cutting took 38 days, cost Albert £8,000,<ref name="tweedie">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/7917372/The-Koh-i-Noor-diamond-robbery.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731111919/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/7917372/The-Koh-i-Noor-diamond-robbery.html |archive-date=2010-07-31 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|first=Neil|last=Tweedie|date=29 July 2010|newspaper=The Telegraph|title=The Koh-i-Noor: diamond robbery?|access-date=13 January 2016}}</ref> and reduced the diamond from 186 old carats (191 modern carats or 38.2&nbsp;g) to its current weight {{convert|105.6|carat|g}}.<ref name="sucher">Sucher and Carriere, pp. 124, 126.</ref> The stone now measures {{convert|3.6|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|3.2|cm|in|abbr=on}} wide, and {{convert|1.3|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} deep.<ref>Bari and Sautter, p. 178.</ref> [[Brilliant (diamond cut)|Brilliant-cut]] diamonds usually have 58 facets, but the Koh-i-Noor has 8 additional "star" facets around the [[culet]], making a total of 66 facets.<ref name="smith"/>

The great loss of weight was to some extent due to removal of several flaws, one especially big, which Voorzanger discovered.<ref name="davenport"/> Although Prince Albert was dissatisfied with such a huge reduction, most experts agreed that Voorzanger had made the right decision and did the job with impeccable skill.<ref name="tweedie"/> When Queen Victoria showed the re-cut diamond to the young [[Maharaja Duleep Singh]], the Koh-i-Noor's last non-British owner, he was apparently unable to speak for several minutes afterwards.<ref name="sucher"/>

The much lighter but more dazzling stone was mounted in a honeysuckle brooch and a circlet worn by the queen.<ref name="rose31"/> At this time, it belonged to her personally, and was not yet part of the Crown Jewels.<ref name="davenport"/> Although Victoria wore it often, she became uneasy about the way in which the diamond had been acquired. In a letter to her eldest daughter, [[Victoria, Princess Royal]], she wrote in the 1870s: "No one feels more strongly than I do about India or how much I opposed our taking those countries and I think no more will be taken, for it is very wrong and no advantage to us. You know also how I dislike wearing the Koh-i-Noor".<ref>Tarling, p. 27.</ref>

=== Crown Jewel ===
[[File:Queen Mary's Crown.png|thumb|upright=1.1|The Koh-i-Noor diamond in the front cross of [[Crown of Queen Camilla|Queen Mary's Crown]]]]
After Queen Victoria's death, the Koh-i-Noor was set in the [[Crown of Queen Alexandra]], the wife of [[Edward VII]], that was used to crown her at [[Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra|their coronation]] in 1902. The diamond was transferred to the [[Crown of Queen Camilla|Crown of Queen Mary]] in 1911,<ref>{{Royal Collection|31704|Queen Mary's Crown}}</ref> and finally to [[Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]] in 1937.<ref>{{Royal Collection|31703|Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Crown}}</ref> When the Queen Mother died in 2002, the crown was placed on top of her coffin for the [[lying-in-state]] and funeral.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1907313.stm|title=Priceless gem in Queen Mother's crown|date=4 April 2002|work=BBC News|access-date=5 January 2016}}</ref> [[Queen Camilla]] was crowned with Queen Mary's Crown at the [[Coronation of Charles III and Camilla]] on 6 May 2023, but without the Koh-i-Noor diamond.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-02-14 |title=Controversial diamond won't be used in coronation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64638152 |access-date=2023-05-07 |work=BBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-09-16 |title=Queen Consort Camilla, and the Kohinoor in her crown |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/queen-consort-camilla-kohinoor-elizabeth-8155611/ |access-date=2022-10-20 |work=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

All these crowns are on display in the [[Jewel House]] at the [[Tower of London]] with crystal replicas of the diamond set in the older crowns.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/visit-us/top-things-to-see-and-do/the-crown-jewels/diamonds-and-crowns/famous-diamonds/|title=The Crown Jewels: Famous Diamonds|publisher=Historic Royal Palaces|access-date=6 January 2016|archive-date=4 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104171527/http://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/visit-us/top-things-to-see-and-do/the-crown-jewels/diamonds-and-crowns/famous-diamonds|url-status=live}}</ref> The original bracelet given to Queen Victoria can also be seen there. A glass model of the Koh-i-Noor shows visitors how it looked when it was brought to the United Kingdom. Replicas of the diamond in this and its re-cut forms can also be seen in the "Vault" exhibit at the [[Natural History Museum, London]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureplus/blogs/whats-new/2010/04/22/glittering-finale-for-the-museum-of-life-bbc-documentary|title=Glittering finale for the Museum of Life documentary|date=22 April 2010|access-date=13 January 2016|publisher=Natural History Museum}}</ref>

During the Second World War, the [[Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom|Crown Jewels]] were moved from their home at the Tower of London to [[Windsor Castle]].<ref>Hennessy, p. 237.</ref> They were kept in leather hat boxes under lock and key in the office of the Royal Librarian Sir [[Owen Morshead]] until 1941 when they were transferred to a specially dug tunnel under the walls of the castle. At this time Morshead and the Keeper of the Tower Armouries removed some of the larger stones, including the Koh-i-Noor, and wrapping them in cotton wool, inserted them in a glass preserving-jar, which was then placed in a biscuit tin; the thinking being that, unlike the bulkier crowns, this would allow their swift relocation if the German invasion occurred.<ref>Shenton, Caroline ''National Treasures: Saving The Nation's Art in World War II'', John Murray, London 2021, pp. 203–204.</ref>