India was the sole supplier of diamonds to the world for 2,000 years, from the first century of the common era to the late 19th century, when South African mines were discovered. About 28 mines were scattered across the Golconda region, situated in present-day Telangana. The diamonds that came from here were known to have the greatest clarity.

"It was one of those luxury commodities that ensured that the balance of trade was always in India-s favour. Plus, they were portable; you could just slide it in your pocket and didn-t need a ship to carry a diamond worth a million," jewellery historian and co-curator Dr Usha Balakrishnan shares, when we meet her at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya-s jewellery gallery, which was inaugurated along with their money gallery this weekend. We-re standing in front of eight cases that house 15 replicas of the Golconda diamonds. These replicas are true in size, colour and cut. The only difference has to do with the physical weight since the replicas are fashioned from cubic zirconia and not pure carbon. Gifted by the Indian branch of the Gemological Institute of America GIA, these stones feature in collections around the world.