Bangladesh to open vault believed to hold Dariya-i-Noor: Is Kohinoor's sister diamond actually in Dhaka?

Historic illustration of the Dariya-i-Noor Diamond, depicted alongside other Persian Crown jewels, as featured in an 1851 publication about the Great Exhibition (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Bangladesh is preparing to open a long-sealed vault at state-run Sonali Bank that may hold one of the world’s most mysterious gems -- the Dariya-i-Noor diamond. Often described as the sister of the Kohinoor, the 26-carat stone has a storied journey from India’s Golconda mines to Mughal, Maratha and Sikh rulers before vanishing from public view. With no confirmed sighting for decades, the move by Muhammad Yunus’s interim government has reignited hopes of finally unearthing the truth.

What is the Dariya-i-Noor

The Dariya-i-Noor is a 26-carat diamond with an oblong, table-shaped surface, according to Bangladesh’s The Business Standard. Like the Kohinoor, it is believed to have been mined from the Golconda mines in south India.

The gem is set in the centre of a gold armlet surrounded by ten smaller diamonds, each weighing about five carats, the newspaper reported.

A journey across empires

According to records of Hamilton and Company, a British-era jeweller, the diamond was long held by the Maratha kings before being purchased by the family of Nawab Siraj-ul-Mulk, a minister of Hyderabad.

Both the Kohinoor and the Dariya-i-Noor later came into the possession of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, who wore them as armlets. After his death, the gems passed into British hands in the 19th century.

Like the Kohinoor, the Dariya-i-Noor was sent from Lahore to Queen Victoria after the British forced Ranjit Singh’s youngest son Duleep Singh to surrender the diamonds and any claims to sovereignty, The Business Standard reported.

However, the diamond failed to impress the queen. Viceroy Lord Dufferin and Lady Dufferin saw it at the Nawab’s house in Ballygunge, Calcutta, in 1887. In her book Our Viceroyal Life in India, Lady Dufferin wrote, “The Dariya-i-Noor, being a flat diamond, did not strike us as very attractive.”

Khwaja Alimullah, the first Nawab of Dhaka, bought the diamond in an auction in 1852. In 1908, his descendant Nawab Salimullah faced financial trouble and borrowed from the British colonial authorities, mortgaging his Dhaka estates along with the diamond and other treasures.

Over time, the gem moved from the Imperial Bank of India to the State Bank of Pakistan and finally to Bangladesh’s state-run Sonali Bank. That was the last confirmed sighting.

Another diamond with the same name, the pink-coloured Daria-i-Noor, is held in Tehran, Iran.

Is the diamond still in Bangladesh?

The Dariya-i-Noor is estimated to be worth around 13 million dollars (114.5 crore rupees) today. According to 1908 court papers cited by AFP, it was part of a collection of 108 treasures that also included a gold and silver sword encrusted with diamonds, a bejewelled fez with cascading pearls, and a star brooch.

The vault holding these treasures was last opened and verified in 1985, The Business Standard reported. In 2017, reports claimed the diamond had gone missing, but Sonali Bank officials said they had never seen it.

Khawaja Naim Murad, great-grandson of the Nawab of Dhaka, told AFP that he hopes to see the diamond.

Shawkat Ali Khan, managing director of Sonali Bank, told AFP, “The vault is sealed. Many years back, an inspection team came to check on the jewels, but they never really opened it – they just opened the gate that held the vault.”

He added, “I am excited” about the vault being opened at last.

For now, the mystery continues. Whether Bangladesh’s plan will finally reveal the whereabouts of the Dariya-i-Noor remains to be seen.