'Moon of Baroda Diamond' of Indian origin and late actress Ms. Marilyn Monroe

Hollywood actress Ms.Monroe (1953) wearing the Moon of Baroda diamond.tumblr.net

Ms.Monroe (1954) & the Moon of Baroda diamond .www.thisismarilyn.com

For the women folks, possession of valuable diamonds is a source of joy and excitement. When they wear, have fun and  make  other people's head turn toward them at a party, the immense pleasure they get, overshadows the sad sides  of diamonds - curses and poignant and sensational anecdotes, etc which otherwise would seize their psychic mind and the excitement will turn into disappointment and fear. As for the myths, they may be either concocted or may carry a tinge of realism or may be sheer coincidence.

Ms. Monroe (1954)wearing  Moon of Baroda diamond .thisismarilyn.com time mag.

When Hollywood and Bollywood bewitching beauties of tinsel world wear the famous diamonds either for the Academy Awards extravaganza or for shooting a flick or for promotional gimmicks, it grabs the attention of the media and both the actress and the fortunate diamond immediately come under the lime light.They run special articles on them.  The sensational scoop reaching nook and corner of the world does the magic of additional propaganda, essential for today's business.

 
when the well-known Hollywood actress  of yesteryears Marilyn Monroe wore a famous Indian diamond at a promotion show for a move, one can imagine what impact it would create on the public.
The dazzling diamond and the equally ravishing  actress stole the show and became a subject of discussion and comments in 1953-54 at prominent social clubs world over. The movie was "Gentleman Prefer Blonds"released in July,1953 in which she sang the famous song ''Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." The sensational diamond worn by Ms.Monroe was ''the Moon of Baroda,'' a 24.04 carat, pear shaped yellow diamond once worn by Marie Antoinette in the 18th

 century.

The Moon of Baroda diamond owned Maharajah of Baroda,till 1944. etoolsage.com image

This diamond weighed 25.95 carats before being recut to its current weight and originally came from India where it was mined, cut and polished. It was in the vault of the Mogul King  Muhammad Shah's palace in Delhi, India. It was looted by Nadir Shah,the ruler of Afsharid Persia in 1739 (February and May). He also  looted vast valuable treasures including the world famous golden peacock throne in-laid with thousands of diamonds(now in the Royal Iranian collections) and  the famous Kohinoor Diamond (now part of the British Royal Jewelery collections), London. The Moon of Baroda, later returned to Baroda (in Gujarat, India) where it was kept for almost 200 year. In1943  it was purchased by Meyer Rosenbaum of Detroit.

This exceptional gem of superb quality was for more than 500 years part of the treasures of the affluent Maharajah of Baroda. It appears to have been sent to Empress Marie Thérèse of Austria in 1787 by the Gaekwad of Baroda. In 1943 it was purchased by Meyer Rosenbaum of Detroit from the maharajah. It was loaned to Ms.Monroe by the owner for the promotional shoot of the above-mentioned movie.
 
Since the release of that Monroe-Jane Russel starer  in 1953, this well-known diamond had gained widest publicity and so was the film and the famous diamond song. The diamond's past historical background and the new status it gained on account of public promotion by a well known  American actress of such a stature as Ms.Monroe put the already famous diamond on par with  world famous diamonds like Kohinoor, Hope, etc of Indian origin.

 Tit-Bits:

''Gentlemen Prefer Blonds'' is a1953 (July,15)  American film adapted from  the 1949 stage musical, released by 20th Century Fox and directed by Howard Hawks. The cast included Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, with Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, George Winslow, Taylor Holmes, and Norma Varden in supporting roles.

The film earned 5.3 million dollars at the box office worldwide, being 5.1 millions in North America, and was the ninth highest-grossing film of 1953.

Ref:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_of_Baroda

http://www.diamondsourceva.com/Education/CelebrityDiamonds/celebrity-diamonds-marilyn-monroe.asp


Read more: LIFE.com http://life.time.com/icons/marilyn-monroe-jane-russell-on-the-set-of-gentlemen-prefer-blondes/#ixzz3Sl9e6jgF

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nader_Shah#Invasion_of_the_Mughal_Empire