Incidentally, this isn't the first famous diamond to come from India. There's everyone's favourite Koh-I-Noor, for one, the earliest reference to which was made in the first Mughal emperor Babur's memoirs, the Baburnama.
There was also the 45.52 carat steel blue Hope Diamond, found in India by noted French traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier in the seventeenth century. Apparently, he found the stone when approached by a slave who had 'a very secretive manner about him.' Then, weighing 88.70 carats, there was the Shah diamond, with the names of three monarchs engraved on it, including the Shah of Persia.
The tragedy is, none of these famous diamonds have managed to stay in India.
The Queen Mother's crown bearing the Koh''i''noor diamond lies on the coffin of the Queen Mother April 5, 2002 as her ceremonial procession makes its way down the Mall in London.
Photograph : Bruno Vincent/Getty Image