The Mystery Of The Famous Pigot Diamond

One of the greatest mysteries of jewelry history is what really happened to the beautiful, oval, 49 carat Pigot diamond.

This historic gem got its name from Sir George Pigot (pronounced like “Pickett”) who owned the gem when he was the British Governor and Commander-In-Chief of the Indian province of Madras from 1755 to 1763.

Sir George PigotPigot is supposed to have been partly responsible for the Black Hole of Calcutta, the prison cell in which 64 foreigners were jammed after an army led by an illiterate 18-year-old Indian prince had seized all English property in the city.Three quarters of the prisoners died during the night because Pigot had dithered about sending help.

After Pigot’s death in 1777, the diamond had several owners until it was purchased in 1822 by Ali Pasha, ruler of Albania. That same year, Ali Pasha was mortally wounded by an assassin in his own palace. As he lay dying, he ordered his aide-de-camp, Captain D’Anglas to destroy his two most precious possessions. His beautiful wife Vasilika was to be poisoned and his large diamond, which he always wore in a green silk purse attached to his belt, was to be crushed under the Captain’s heel. The Captain obeyed. But Ali Pasha died before Vasilika could be executed.

Was the diamond really destroyed? Diamonds are very hard and it would have taken a hammer blow to pulverize this one. The only thing known for certain is that neither Vasilika nor D’Anglas had any financial problems afterward. And according to one story, the Pigot diamond is now in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul.