The Iranian Treasury of National Jewels is one of the world’s largest collections of precious gemstones available for public viewing. It is a collection of crown jewels of Iranian rulers, gathered over the past five centuries, reminiscent in its scope of treasures described in legends and fairy tales like Arabian Nights. It is now housed in the heart of Tehran under the auspices of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its value is immeasurable due to the uniqueness of individual pieces, craftsmanship quality, and historical significance.
It is believed that the founders of the collection were the rulers of the Safavid dynasty from the 16th century. At least, that is what is stated in the records left behind by great world travelers such as Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Chevalier Chardin, the Shirley brothers, George Mainwaring, and others.
During that time, envoys from the Safavid court obtained precious specimens from India, the Ottoman Empire, and even from Italy and France. The collection has experienced its highs and lows over the centuries. Because of it, The collection consists of several hundred thousand examples of various types of precious and semi-precious stones from around the world, as well as numerous items of exceptional artistic value made or decorated from them. Among the many decorative items, swords, shields, and clothing adorned with gems, as well as crowns, tiaras, necklaces were part of the looted treasures, but were also gifted. One of the irretrievably lost and deeply mourned jewels from the collection is certainly the legendary Koh-e Noor diamond, the Mountain of Light, which, after numerous tragic events, ended up in the crown of Queen Victoria of Britain. Iranians always associate with it another diamond known as Darya-e Noor, the Sea of Light, today the most significant specimen of this exceptional collection. Purple diamonds are extremely rare, and Darya-e Noor, weighing around 182 carats, is the largest and most beautiful among them. According to legend, it was set in the crown of the Persian emperor Cyrus, and today it is surrounded by 457 smaller diamonds and 4 rubies. It is also difficult to pick out the most beautiful among other items. The collection also contains the world’s largest collection of emeralds, rubies, yellow diamonds, and spinels, including the largest ever found, the so-called Samaritan spinel weighing 500 carats.
Let’s also mention a gemstone globe with a diameter of 66 centimeters, made in 1869. It contains 34 kg of gold and 51,366 pieces of various precious stones with a total weight of 3.6 kg.