The Jacob and its mystique

By J.S. Ifthekhar

HYDERABAD, NOV. 28. I never hated a man enough to give him his diamonds back.

That explains the fascination women have for the precious stones. And predictably they are making a beeline to have a peek at the most talked about gemstones. The Nizams' jewels are drawing them out in droves. It's the eves who form the bulk of the visitors and it's they who linger long over the jewels.

What hogs the limelight, of course, is the king of gems, the Jacob Diamond. The most expensive and revered of jewels, the Jacob diamond has a mystique about it. Gemmologists believe it has typical physical and optical properties that are truly its own. What causes the distinctive "fire" is its high refractivity.

Man's infatuation with diamonds is age old. For centuries, they have found place in crowns and scepters of kings and queens. To some diamonds symbolise love, purity and faith and to some power, success and security.

But the Jacob diamond apparently didn't bring luck to the sixth Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Pasha. Having owned it, he got disgusted with the stone, wrapped it in a dirty rag and tucked it away in a table drawer. For Jacob, the person who sold the sixth biggest diamond of the world, it brought ill luck. The diamond changed his destiny, dragged him to court, got him arrested, ruined his reputation, laid bare his entire business practices, bankrupted him. And finally Jacob died in obscurity.

When exactly the diamond was christened "Jacob" is not known. Whether it was Victoria, Imperial or Great White, its real identity remains shrouded in mystery. Diamonds have a tendency of vanishing from sight only to reappear several years later re-cut and no longer recognisable. The Imperial diamond was last seen in 1892 and it resurfaced 80 years later as "Jacob" - christened after Alexander Malcolm Jacob.

Discovered in July 1884 in the Kimberley mines, it was smuggled out and sold to four "illicit" diamond buyers. The rough gem finally reached London where it caused a sensation in Hatton Garden, the great diamond market. It was finally purchased by a consortium of eight persons. The newly cut gem was eventually placed in the market. The asking price was 150,000 pounds. The potential buyer was the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad and the seller, Jacob.

It was towards December 1890 that Jacob visited Hyderabad and offered the gem for Rs. 50 lakhs down from the original price of Rs. 1.20 crore. When Mahboob Ali Pasha still showed no interest, the price was further slashed to Rs. 46 lakhs. The Nizam agreed to buy the diamond on the condition of "passand" or "na passand". He also agreed to pay half of the money - Rs. 23 lakhs - and the balance on approval of the gem.

As other jewellers got wind of the imminent sale, they were greatly upset. They were jealous of the huge commission Albert Abid, the Nizam's chamberlain, and the profit Jacob were set to make. Abid was supposed to make Rs. 5 lakh and Jacob Rs. 18 lakhs on the sale. Sir Denis Fitzpatrick, the then British Resident, was also alarmed. He tried to prevail upon the Nizam not to buy the gem as the money could be used for averting the famine threat in the State.

But as it turned out, the Nizam proclaimed "na passand" after examining the diamond closely. The stone differed in size to the model he had seen earlier. Hurt, he demanded the return of the money already paid. When Jacob couldn't cough it up, the Nizam filed charges against him in the High Court of Calcutta. On September 11, 1891, Jacob was arrested and charged with criminal misappropiration and breach of trust.

Thereafter, a special commission was sent to Hyderabad to record the Nizam's testimony. The trial brought juicy details of court hierarchy, palace intrigue and Abid's proximity to the Nizam. The case ended in the acquittal of Jacob on all counts.

All this, however, contributes to the mystery and romance of the Jacob diamond. As Edwin Streeter, the renowned jeweller to Queen Victoria, put it " ...as if the diamond needed, even in history, a dark background to show up its strangely fascinating hues".

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Section  : Southern States
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