The Rare 101-Carat Diamond Seen on TIME100 Red Carpet
Worn by Nita M. Ambani of the Reliance Foundation, the stone has rarely been seen Stateside.
Mrs. Nita M. Ambani at TIME100 Summit. (Courtesy of TIME100)
Talk about star power. Kate Hudson, Alan Cumming, Claire Danes, Ethan Hawke, Noah Wylie, David and Victoria Beckham, K-Pop Singer Jennie, Dakota Johnson, Coco Jones, Ben Stiller, Benecio Del Toro, Natasha Lyonne, and Mr. Beast aka Jimmy Donaldson were among celebrities walking the TIME100 red carpet at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center. But the brightest star in the room was an exceptional diamond. It was a remarkable 101-carat pink–brown, old-mine, rose-cut, pear-shaped stone, descended from the Indian Nizami historical jewels worn by Mrs. Nita M. Ambani.
Meet the Expert
- Roxanne Robinson is an award-winning journalist with over 25 years of experience between New York and Paris.
- She covers the luxury and fashion industries, spending 18 years as WWD’s Accessories and Jewelry Director.
- She is the New York Contributing Editor for Fashion Network, and regularly contributes to the New York Times, the CFDA, Forbes, and more.
Nita Ambani’s 101-Carat Diamond Takes Center Stage
Mrs. Ambani is the chairperson of the Reliance Foundations, a non-profit that improves the lives of Indians through health, education, sports, arts & culture, rural transformation, and more. She is also the wife of uber-wealthy Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani. The necklace that bore the stunningly large diamond sat center front between a six-strand Basra pearl choker-style necklace. The look exuded a Gilded Age sensibility and a grandeur befitting this rare stone’s scale, cut, and color. She paired the necklace with diamond and Baroque pearl chandelier earrings, reminiscent of the Indian Nizami jewelry style. It’s been suggested that pieces from Mrs. Ambani’s personal jewelry collection include these cherished national jewels.
Ambani—who announced the launch of TIME100 Next India—also wore another rose-colored diamond. This one was a true pink pear-shaped solitaire ring, set with a pavé-diamond halo. On one wrist, she wore a trio of pearls and crystal bracelets. On the other hand, a filigree diamond style. A pink sapphire floral brooch attached to a mini crocodile Kelly bag completed her jewelry look. She played with diamonds and jewels while wearing a custom-made handwoven Banarasi saree from Swadesh, an initiative she founded to preserve and champion India’s traditional arts. She also wore a handcrafted blouse by Manish Malhotra. Both garments have a color scheme of rose, pale green, bronze, and black, complementing the jewelry suite.
Earlier in the week, at the TIME100 Summit, Mrs. Ambani wore a Tribal-lore saree from West Bengal. The outfit was adorned with a combination of her three preferred jewels: diamonds, pearls, and emeralds. Diamond pavé encircled large emerald clip earrings. A large raw amber stone was set in a diamond pavé watch.
More Diamonds at TIME100
As impressive as Mrs. Ambani’s 101-carat diamond was, others also wore impressive jewels. Claire Danes, wearing a crystal-embellished black column gown, wore a set of matching Gypset diamond and blackened gold mini hoops and a coordinating blackened gold ring with a 3.03-carat pear-shaped diamond by Jessica McCormack. Alan Cumming wore a floral brooch by David Webb, set in platinum and featuring a mix of emerald, pear, and brilliant-cut diamond pavé ‘petals’, lying in a bed for a cluster of black pearls accented by a smattering of individual diamonds.
The History Behind India’s Nizam Jewels
The Jewels of the Nizams of Hyderabad State are among the most impressive jewel collections in the world, with an infamous story. The Nizam’s royal family ruled Hyderabad, an area in central India on the Deccan Plateau, from 1724 to 1948, when it was annexed to India proper following the end of the British Raj in 1947. The Nizams and their heirs were barred from owning the collection that the newly formed Union of India then deemed a national treasure.
The Nizam jewels, which date from the early 18th to the early 20th century, are made of gold and silver, with inlay, enameling, and set with Kollur Diamond Mine and present-day Andhra Rayalaseema Diamond Mine diamonds, Colombian emeralds, Burmese rubies and spinels, and pearls from Basra and the Gulf of Mannar. A total of 173 pieces, including nearly 2,000 carats of diamonds, emeralds, and pearls, exceeding 40,000 chows, and includes gemstones, turban ornaments, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, belts, buckles, anklets, cufflinks, and more. The prized possession is the 184.75 carat Jacob Diamond.
How the Nizam Jewels Were Saved for India
Declaring the jewels a national treasure and preserving them from auction and sale to foreign owners lasted 37 years. In 1951, Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Asaf Jah, aka the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, established a trust for the jewels; “H.E.H. The Nizam’s Jewelry Trust.” In 1979, an auction took place—rather almost—that risked the jewelry being lost to India.
Serious buyers included Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos, via his son Philip Niarchos and Dubai-based merchant banker Abdulwahab Galadari. An earnest Indian AG managed to get a declaration to prevent it from being sold to foreigners, and eventually, in 1995, the Government of India purchased the Jacob Diamond—famously used as a paperweight by Ali Khan when he found it in his father’s shoe—along with other jewels of the Nizams for an estimated $13 million and is held at the Reserve Bank of India vaults in Mumbai. In 2001, the jewels were displayed for public viewing at the National Museum in New Delhi and the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad.
The Ambanis’ business and foundations have helped improve India’s economy, society, and infrastructure; a source of strength for its population akin to the strength of the diamonds in the Nizam treasure.
