Golconda diamonds are graded as Type IIa, are formed of pure carbon, are devoid of nitrogen, and are large with high clarity.

Due to centuries of excessive mining, their production was exhausted by 1830, and gemologists and traders have classified Golconda diamonds as antique, rare and precious.

According to folklore, some Golconda diamonds are cursed; these impart good luck to their owners or have mystical powers while others were worn as talismans.

The Golconda diamondiferous region is located in the Southern Indian peninsular shield,[2] which was formed during the process of proterozoic and Insular India.

[3] The region is spread over 50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), within the sediments of the Krishna-Pennar river basin and Deccan Traps,[2] and contains 120 out of the 150 kimberlite pipes in India.

[4] Though kimberlite and lamproite are the primary rock source, conglomerate and placers had yielded the majority of the region's diamonds.

According to jewellery historian Jack Ogden, these records include those of Pliny the Elder, Marco Polo, Muhammed al-Idrisi, Ahmad al-Tifashi, and others from before the 12th century.

[10][14][15] According to the records of 18th-and-19th-century geologists, researchers, and traders, the region south of the Kurnool district near the Krishna River valley in and around NTR district, Palnadu, and Guntur; the Godavari delta in Rampachodavaram and Bhadrachalam; north-eastern Madhya Pradesh; eastern Chhattisgarh; western Jharkhand; and north-western Odisha are possible historical sources of diamond.

[9][16] The best-known region among these was historically known as Telingana or Tilling, and was renamed Golconda during the Deccan sultanates period and generally known as the Godavari delta.

[17][19][20] The mines were leased under the supervision of regional governors, of whom prominent 17th-century diamond trader Mir Jumla became the Grand vizier (Prime Minister) of the Golconda Sultanate.

[27] Raw diamonds from the mines were typically transported to Golconda—now the western part of Hyderabad—[28]) for skilled lapidary, enhancement, further evaluation, and sale.

[33][34] According to Outlook India, in 2022, some companies applied for mining rights in the region of Andhra Pradesh, soon after the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) discovered diamond deposits in the seven districts of the state.

[14] During the 1420s, Niccolò de' Conti, a prominent Italian traveller and merchant who lived in India, had a detailed account of diamond valleys in the Golconda region.

[38][41][42][43][44] In the 17th century, under the Golconda Sultanate, when new mines were discovered and leased to the miners, an agreement called "Qaul" would be signed under the supervision of regional governors, according to which, for employing 100 workers, miners would pay four pagodas per day, and monthly rent was based on the strength of the workers on the mining site.

Jean de Thévenot, François Bernier or Antoine Destremau were French traders in Golconda diamonds.

[38] The company's monopoly continued alongside indigenous traders such as Mir Jumla II, Virji Vora, and Kasi Veranna until the mines became depleted in the 1830s.

Due to their royal lineage, mystical tales, and advertising campaigns by companies, Golconda diamonds became the global status reference.

[53] Golconda diamonds were popularized in the Middle East and the Western world by mediaeval and modern-period travellers and traders such as Niccolò de' Conti, Muhammad al-Idrisi, Marco Polo, and Jean-Baptiste Tavernier.

[56] The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century brought growth to the world economy, and the introduction of sophisticated cutting and polishing techniques led to a higher worldwide demand for diamonds.

[30][90] Accounts of ill fortune and curses are also associated with the Hope Diamond; Tavernier, who took the stone to Paris, was "torn to pieces by wild dogs" in Constantinople.

[13][94] According to Jean R. Brink, who wrote Renaissance Culture in Context: Theory and Practice (2017), this legend is repeated in many mediaeval Arabic and Chinese literary works.

[95] Being the world's most-famous, large, and valuable stones with interesting histories, Golconda diamonds attract envy and fascination, for which many controversies, robberies, and scandals have occurred.

[102] In 1980, a heist was executed at Sydney Town Hall, New South Wales, Australia, to steal the 95-carat yellow Golconda d'or diamond from an exhibition display.

[103][104] In 2019, the Al Thani Collection of Qatar faced a trial after purchasing the Princie Diamond in an auction without its heir's consent.