Diamonds of the Deccan
Until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when Brazilian and African diamonds were discovered, nearly all diamonds, including those in the ancient world, came from alluvial mines in the Deccan and southern regions of India. During the sultanate age, these mines were under the control of Berar and Ahmadnagar in the north, Vijayanaraga in the south, and Golconda in the most famous mining region between the Krishna and the Kaveri Rivers.
The greatest diamonds, such as the Shah Diamond (Kremlin Armory Museum, Moscow), were sent to the Indian courts, where they were set in jewelry or inscribed with royal titles. The Indian taste was for amulet shapes or large cabochon-style diamonds that preserved the volume of the gem or lightly faceted forms.
Through the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, with the expansion of trade routes and the establishment of diplomatic exchange, European treasuries came to be filled with diamonds. Jean Chardin, Nathaniel Cholmley, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, and Elihu Yale were among the important European diamond traders in India. In Europe, many Indian diamonds were cut down into glittering forms.