Timur ruby
The Timur ruby (also Khiraj-i-alam, "Tribute to the World") is an unfaceted, 361-carat polished red spinel gemstone set in a necklace in 1853, part of the British Crown Jewels.[1] It is named after the ruler Timur.[2] It was believed to be a ruby until 1851.
It is inscribed with the names and dates of six of its previous owners:
- Timur
- Akbar, 1612
- Jahangir, 1628
- Aurangzeb, 1659
- Farrukhsiyar, 1713
- Ahmad Shah Durrani 1754 [3]
When the British annexed the Punjab in 1849, they took possession of the Timur ruby and the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Ranjit Singh. The two gems have been in the same collection together since 1612. The East India Company presented the Timur ruby to Queen Victoria as a gift in 1851. It was set in a necklace in 1853. After the necklace was lengthened in 1911, it was rarely worn.
References
- ^ Bowersox, Gary W. (1995). Gemstones of Afghanistan. GeoVision, Inc., ISBN 9780945005193
- ^ Morgan, Diane (2008). Fire and Blood: Rubies in Myth, Magic, and History. Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 9780275993047
- ^ Ball V. (1894). A Description of Two Large Spinel Rubies, with Persian Characters Engraved upon Them. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Vol. 3, (1893 - 1896), pp. 380-400