OVER the past two years, there has been less opportunity for jewellery owners to bring out their finery. With the end of the Movement Control Order and the arrival of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, we can expect to see more bling than masking. The display might not quite match the Met Gala, but then, it will be hard to find a current A-lister whose self-assurance and safety-deposit box can rival royalty of years gone by.
The most well-stocked jewellery wearer of the moment is probably Queen Elizabeth. Not even her collection can compare with some of the ensembles from the past. Most of these were in Asia, especially India. As almost all of the jewels came from the subcontinent in the first place, it's no surprise that the Mughals and their successors had the pick of the crop.
Until the 19th century, Golconda was where every diamond of distinction came from. Long before De Beers established its monopoly in South Africa, India was by far the greatest source — and Golconda happened to be in Hyderabad. The Nizams of that state were the best-informed and best-supplied rulers anywhere on the planet.
The output of their diamond mines is now exhausted, but there is barely a famous historic diamond that didn't come from there. The "Koh-i-Noor" (with Queen Elizabeth) is perhaps the most illustrious, followed by the "Orlov" (ex-Russian royalty) and the "Sancy" (ex-French royalty).
Every ruling family of Europe had Indian diamonds in its crowns and sceptres. There were still plenty held in reserve for the rulers of Golconda. Although some of the other precious stones have been lost, the Nizams of Hyderabad hung on to at least two of the most legendary — the "Jacob" and, predictably, the "Nizam".
The former is a comparative lightweight at 180 carats, while the "Nizam" is perhaps the largest in existence at an astonishing 340 carats. The "Jacob" was displayed at an exhibition in Delhi three years ago, part of the Nizams' collection bought by the Indian government after years of legal wrangling. The fate of its bigger brother is less clear.
PRIDE OF HYDERABAD
Most of Hyderabad's rulers' diamonds, rubies, emeralds, spinels, sapphires and pearls still exist. Their collection does not. Just as the French, Russian and other royal collections have been scattered around the world, so has the pride of Hyderabad. Much of it is kept heavily guarded in the Reserve Bank of India.
The way it ended up there is part of the tragic story of the Partition. In a scarcely mentioned episode, the last Nizam tried to create a Muslim state within India, far from Pakistan, and paid the price by losing almost everything.
There are few other opportunities to see the bulk of these items in their homeland. Along the way, some pieces have entered collections around the world, not least in Kuala Lumpur. A number of these rarely spotted items are in the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. Needless to say, there are plenty of diamonds.
As impressive as the stones themselves are the settings, which show the wonders of Indian workmanship. Although there is always discussion of how India's rulers teamed up with Cartier, Boucheron and just about every famous jewellery house in Paris, mainly, the craftsmen at home continued to do a superb job with traditional designs.
At the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, it is all about the more venerable, usually anonymous works. They not only have carat, cut, clarity and colour — there is also chronology. These are works of art and history. They take us back to a time when Mughal India was known in Europe as the Treasury of the World.
The Nizams were the successors to the fabled riches of the Mughals. They lived in less flamboyant times, but there were still occasions when they brought out the baubles and didn't just use them as paperweights. Unlike the Mughals, who lost their property in the 19th century, the Nizams hung on to theirs for longer.
Of all the jewellery that Queen Elizabeth has at her disposal, a frequent choice is still known as the Nizam of Hyderabad necklace. It has been seen more often these days around the neck of the former Kate Middleton, who will one day be queen although not monarch.
COURT OF THE NIZAMS
The Nizams created many more necklaces than Queen Elizabeth's favourite. One of the glories of these items is that if you should get tired of the dazzling stones in the front, you can often go low key by reversing them to expose the more discreet enamelling on the back.
The court of the Nizams wasn't just about jewellery. They had the resources to encrust any suitable surface with a liberal sprinkling of gemstones. There are sireh sets, rosewater sprinklers, cups and, of course, for born warriors, swords. Created for ceremony rather than combat, they are still serious weapons. With more Western influence in the hilt than their Mughal forebears, they are every bit as sumptuous.
Some items from India became more lavish as the centuries passed. While the Mughals often wore a heron's feather in their turbans, this was transformed into bejewelled versions known as a sarpech. These were at their most elaborate under the Nizams.
Frivolous though they may look, they tell an important story about the subversive power of jewellery for a proud but subjugated people. When Queen Victoria became the official Empress of India, the local rulers were no longer allowed to wear crowns.
The super-sarpech was their response. It's not a huge leap of imagination to see that same spirit in the Bintang Persekutuan ornament on the tengkolok of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Follow Lucien de Guise at Instagram @crossxcultural.