Arguably the most famous diamond in the world is the Koh-i nur, known today in the form in which it adorns a crown made in 1937 for Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and displayed as part of the British Crown Jewels. The stone came to· Britain after the annexation of the Punjab in 1849, and was singled out in the terms of the Treaty of Lahore: 'The gem which was taken from Shah Shuja' al Mulk by Maharaja Ranjit Singh shall be surrendered by the Maharaja of Lahore to the Queen of England.'1