Koh-i-Noor

The Koh-i-Noor (Persian for Mountain of Light; also spelled Koh-i-Nûr and Kooh-è Noor) is a large, colourless diamond that was found near the modern city of Hyderabad, India, possibly in the 13th century. It weighed 793 carats (158.6 g) uncut and was first owned by the Kakatiya dynasty. The stone changed hands several times between various feuding factions in South Asia over the next few hundred years, before ending up in the possession of Queen Victoria after the British conquest of the Punjab in 1849.

In 1852, Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, unhappy with its dull and irregular appearance, ordered it cut down from 186 carats (37.2 g). It emerged 42 per cent lighter as a dazzling oval-cut brilliant weighing 105.6 carats (21.12 g) and measuring 3.6 cm x 3.2 cm x 1.3 cm. By modern standards, the cut is far from perfect, in that the culet is unusually broad, giving the impression of a black hole when the stone is viewed head-on; it is nevertheless regarded by gemmologists as being full of life. As the diamond's history involves a great deal of fighting between men, the Koh-i-Noor acquired a reputation within the British royal family for bringing bad luck to any man who wears it. Since arriving in the country, it has only ever been worn by female members of the family.

Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth

Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth a.s. is a Czech manufacturer and one of the world's largest producers and distributors of art supplies, writing equipment and stationery. It was founded in 1790 by Joseph Hardtmuth of Austria. In 1802, the company patented the first pencil lead made from a combination of kaolin and graphite.

In 1848, Joseph's sons, Karl and Ludwig, took over the family business, and the production was relocated to the Bohemian town of Budweis, which belongs now to the Czech Republic. The products were given awards in many world exhibitions, including in 1855 in New York City, 1856, 1900 and 1925 in Paris, 1862 in London, 1882 in Vienna and 1905 in Milan.

At the 1889 World Fair in Paris, the Hardtmuth's displayed their pencils rebranded as "Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth". Each pencil was encased in a yellow cedar-wood barrel. The inspiration for the name was the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond (Persian for "Mountain of Light"), part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, and the largest diamond in the world at the time.