Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond is a 2017 book on the Koh-i-Noor diamond written by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand. The gem is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing , and part of the British Crown Jewels. Koh-i-Noor is Persian for "Mountain of Light"; it has been known by this name since the 18th century. It changed hands between various factions in modern-day India, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, until being ceded to Queen Victoria after the British conquest of the Punjab in 1849.
Portuguese Crown Jewels having been known to show off. In early 1581 King António I fled to France after King Philip I was made the King of Portugal. António I took with him the Portuguese Crown Jewels, including many valuable diamonds. Being well received by the French Queen Consort, Catherine de' Medici, he sold her some of the pieces of the Portuguese Crown Jewels in return for France's support in his plans to reclaim the throne of Portugal and depose Philip I. After several failed attempts to reclaim the Portuguese Crown, António I fell into poverty. His poverty led him to sell many