Did you know? ‘Cursed’ diamond that Louvre thieves refused to steal has an Indian connection

The filmy theft at Louvre museum has refocused global attention on the Regent Diamond, one of the world’s most storied gems. Now housed in the Louvre, its tale began in 17th-century India’s Kollur mines along the Krishna River. In a seven minute heist on Oct 19, thieves carried out a robbery with military precision in a bold daylight and stole eight priceless Napoleonic-era jewels worth around €88 million (US$102 million) from the museum. As per reports, the stolen jewels include a tiara, necklace, and earrings from the Queen Marie-Amélie sapphire set, an emerald necklace and earrings from the Empress Marie-Louise set, and several pieces belonging to Empress Eugénie de Montijo, including a tiara and a large bodice bow brooch. The Crown of Empress Eugénie was dropped during the escape and recovered, though damaged.

What is the story about the Regent Diamond?

According to legend as reported by India Today, the diamond was discovered by a slave miner during Aurangzeb’s 1687 siege of Golconda, who hid it in a leg wound to escape detection. Betrayed and killed, the gem eventually reached Indian merchant Jamchand, who later sold it to Thomas Pitt, then Governor of Madras, in 1701.

Multiple reports suggested that Pitt bought the 426-carat rough stone for 48,000 pagodas, secretly shipped it to England, and had it cut into a 141-carat cushion diamond—later dubbed the Pitt Diamond. Rumours of deceit surrounded its sale, inspiring satirical verses by Alexander Pope and criticism for symbolising colonial greed.

In 1717, Pitt sold the gem to Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France, for £135,000. Renamed Le Régent, it became part of the French Crown Jewels, adorning the crowns of Louis XV, Louis XVI, and Charles X, and even Marie Antoinette’s hat. The diamond survived the French Revolution, was used to fund wars, and later set into Napoleon Bonaparte’s sword in 1801. After his exile, it returned to France and was mounted in a diadem for Empress Eugénie.

Since 1887, the Regent Diamond has remained on display at the Louvre Museum, valued at over $60 million and regarded by gem experts as one of the purest and most historically significant diamonds ever cut—a symbol of power, betrayal, and human ambition spanning centuries.