Treasury of National Jewels

Beneath the Central Bank of Iran on Ferdowsi Avenue, behind a heavy vault door, lies one of the most remarkable collections of jewels in the world. The Treasury of National Jewels gathers the gems and regalia accumulated by the shahs of Iran over several centuries, from the Safavids to the Pahlavis, and it is shown not as a palace display but in a dim, guarded gallery of glass cases.

Much of the collection’s wealth arrived in 1739, when Nader Shah defeated the Mughal emperor and carried off the treasury of Delhi. Its most famous stone, the Darya-ye Noor, the “Sea of Light”, is a pale pink diamond of about 182 carats, among the largest pink diamonds known. Around it are crowns, swords, belts, epaulettes and bowls heaped with loose emeralds and spinels, many of them reset again and again as fashions changed at court.

Several pieces are famous in their own right. The Kiani crown, made for Fath-Ali Shah, carries the high, rounded profile of Qajar portraiture. The Sun Throne, Takht-e Khorshid, glitters with a jewelled sunburst at its back. The Globe of Jewels, made for Naser al-Din Shah, maps the world in gems on a gold frame, with oceans of emerald and lands of ruby. The Pahlavi crown was made for the coronation of Reza Shah in 1926.

Unusually, the jewels have long been treated as part of the state’s financial reserves rather than as the private property of a ruler, which is why they are held by the national bank. Visiting hours are short and bags are left at the door, but the reward is a room that tells the story of Iranian kingship in diamonds, pearls and gold.