The Golconda convex mirror is comprised of a wood frame I designed. I silver metal leafed some areas and studded those areas with crystal jewels that I made in resin.
This mirror is about 15 inches in diameter. It resides in my studio till being shipped to one of my showrooms.
Jewelry for walls.
The Golconda mines in southern India produced some of the most spectacular diamonds in the world. From the 16th to the 19th centuries Golconda was the epicenter of the diamond trade. The kings and queens of Europe vied for the largest stones including the Sancy, Regent, Hope and Koh-i-noor diamonds. Each of these gems has a terrific and sometimes horrifying story/legend attached to it.
A spectacular pale yellow Golconda diamond weighing over 51 carats. For more go to: https://www.langantiques.com/university/sancy-diamond/
To find the history of this notorious blue diamond from Golconda go to:https://www.si.edu/spotlight/hope-diamond/history
The story of Thomas Pitt, East India Company officer born to a priest of Church of England would be a good point to start an investigation in this aspect. Pitt as President of Madras spawned an illicit diamond trade and made a fortune smuggling diamonds from the Golconda mines.
Pitt smuggled out 140.5 carat uncut Golconda diamond to London in heel of his son’s shoe. Sold to Regent of France for 135,000 pounds now known as “Le Regent” or the “Regent’s Diamond.” Napoleon Bonaparte himself wore this diamond and had it embedded onto the pommel of his sword.
One of the individuals who flooded the court of Louis XIV with diamonds from the Golconda mines was Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689). He was a French explorer and merchant. He was the first European to describe the diamond mines in India. In 1676, Tavernier published an account of his six journeys to India and Persia from 1631 to 1668 in Les Six Voyages de Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (translated into English in 1678 as The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier). Though Tavernier provided a wealth of information about his travels and work, he did not record the details of his important transactions. It is likely that he did not want to reveal the source and the price of gems that he purchased since that information could negatively affect his business. Unfortunately, this means that little is known about how he acquired the 115-carat blue diamond that he sold to King Louis XIV (Morel 1988).
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