Dr. Wang Chunyun, of Guangzhou’s Earth and Chemical Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently announced his belief that the legendary gem known as the Luminous Pearl, which was buried in the mouth of the Chinese Empress Dowager and later stolen by the warlord Dianying Sun and his troops in 1928, is actually the Great Moghul diamond that has been missing for nearly 350 years. If he is correct, the centuries old mystery of the famous gemstone has been solved.

King Shah Jahan (King Moghul), of the Moghul Dynasty in Afghanistan, gave the extraordinary diamond its name in the 1600’s. The Great Moghul, a 787.28-karat diamond in the shape of a ball, is currently estimated at 810 million yuan (US$98 million). Until the Excelsior diamond became public in 1893, the Great Moghul was considered the world’s greatest jewel.

Mr. Wang told reporters at Ta Kung Pao that the Luminous Pearl was placed in the mouth of Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi during her burial. Following the international science convention, Wang named the diamond The Star of China.

Mr. Wang stated that the Great Moghul was first seen in southern India. In 1657, after King Moghul conquered two small countries and united southern India, the jewel was held in King Moghul’s palace. A year later, during a coup d’etat, the jewel mysteriously disappeared amid the chaos. It’s been said that sometime during the eight invasions of India by the Afghan Mogul, the jewel was stolen and taken to Afghanistan.

According to Mr. Wang, in 1760, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty crushed Zhun Gaer and conquered the southern border along Afghanistan. After its defeat by the Qing Dynasty, Afghanistan sent ambassadors to China to pay tribute to the sovereign. The Great Moghul was used as a gift to the Qing emperor and later passed on to the Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi.

For the past 300 years, diamond experts around the world have debated whether the Great Moghul was cut into smaller diamonds. Among those diamonds in question include the Koh-i-Nur, owned by the British Royal family and set in Queen Elizabeth’s crown; the Darya-i-Nur, and the Noor-ul-Ain, previously owned by the Iranian Royal family and set in King Pahlavi’s crown; the Orloff, previously held by a Russian count and set in Empress Catherine the Great’s staff; and Moon of the Mountains, which was previously in the possession of a Russian Emperor. The location of Moon of the Mountains is currently unknown.