The Jewels of the Nizams of Hyderabad State are among the largest and richest collection of jewels in present-day India. The jewels belonged to the Nizams. After merger of their kingdom, the Nizam and his heirs were barred by the Indian government from removing the collection, claiming it was a national treasure. The heirs eventually were forced to sell it at a much reduced price.
There are 173 jewels, which includes emeralds, some of them Colombian, which together weigh nearly 2,000 carats (0.40 kg), and pearls exceeding 40 thousand chows. The collection includes gemstones, turban ornaments, necklaces and pendants, belts andbuckles, earrings, armbands, bangles and bracelets, anklets, cufflinks and buttons, watch chains, and rings, toe rings, and nose rings. Among them is the seven-stringed Basrah pearl necklace, known as Satlada, which has 465 pearls embedded in it.
In 1995, the Indian government finally bought the jewels for 218 crore (about US$70 million), many years after the death of Mir Osman Ali Khan in 1967. In reality, the Nizam's trustees agreed to sell the famous collection to India in lieu of tax. Sole legitimate heir Mukarram Jah's share of the sale was $20 million, but lawsuits from the Nizam's illegitimate descendants have ensured that he has never seen the money, as "the case disappeared down the black hole of India's imponderable legal system."
Photo Source: Collected from Internet
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