How the famous bright mineral—an adornment of the Tajik mountains—became an important part of European and Russian history
Source: Sputnik Tajikistan (Russia)
According to historical records, Tajik gemstones were used in the crowns of the Russian and British empires. At least, this is what Tajikistan’s Minister of Industry and New Technologies, Sherali Kabir, said not long ago during a speech at the Investment Mining and Industrial Forum in Dushanbe.
“For example, when the Romanov family wanted to make the imperial crown, they used Tajik rubies from Badakhshan. It is said that it was the famous Badakhshan ruby. There is also information that our Badakhshan rubies were used in the British Imperial Crown, and we are proud of this,” he said.
There is no doubt that Tajik jewelry art has a rich past: masterpieces by local craftsmen from the “Oxus Treasure” collection are displayed in the British Museum, and the five-thousand-year-old treasures of the “Queen of Sarazm” are known worldwide.
A Sputnik Tajikistan correspondent spoke with experts to find out how true the story of Badakhshan spinel is, how it was mined in the Middle Ages, and why Tajik gems became the crown jewels of two great empires—Tsarist Russia and Great Britain.
The Road to the Crown
In many Russian and British historical sources describing the riches and treasuries of Central Asian rulers, there is mention of the “red ruby” or noble spinel, which, along with other gemstones, was embedded in the crowns of Russian and English monarchs—the so-called Badakhshan Lal.
The story of how these stones earned such an honor is long and fascinating.
The Great Imperial Crown of the Russian Empire is topped with the "Menshikov ruby"—a historic 400-carat gemstone. The first mention of it dates to 1702, when a retired Nerchinsk officer, Yan Istopnikov, while leading a caravan, bartered for an unusual “red lal stone” in China and brought it to Siberia. A few years later, Prince Alexander Menshikov—one of Peter the Great’s closest associates—arranged to buy the gem from Istopnikov and presented it to the Russian emperor.
However, the noble Badakhshan spinel officially appeared on a crown only in 1724, during the reign of Catherine I. After that, the gem adorned the crowns of other Russian rulers, such as Anna Ioannovna, whose crown required two more vivid Badakhshan "lals", apparently also acquired via Indian or Afghan merchants.
The famous “Menshikov ruby” was not placed on the Great Imperial Crown until 1762, when a new crown was made for Catherine the Great. Her son, Emperor Paul I, did not commission a new crown for his coronation and instead used Catherine II’s, which later became a hereditary Romanov regalia.
In the 1838 inventory of crown jewels, the stone beneath the cross was referred to as a “large ruby,” and by 1865 it was described as an “irregularly shaped spinel ruby, valued at 100,000 rubles”—an enormous sum for the first half of the 19th century.
After the fall of the empire and the formation of the Soviet Union, this royal treasure, along with the crimson gem, was transferred to Russia’s Diamond Fund, where it has been on public display since 1967.
Another well-known noble spinel from Tajikistan is the “Black Prince’s Ruby,” which adorns the British crown.
The exact origin of the stone is unclear, but legend traces its appearance in European royal history back to the 14th century, during the Reconquista—the war between Muslim and Christian rulers of the Iberian Peninsula.
At that time, King Peter I of Castile attacked the territory of the Moorish Prince of Granada, Abu Said. Peter was victorious, and his opponent decided to surrender, traveling to Seville. Unfortunately, Peter I—also known as Don Pedro the Cruel—killed Abu Said and, eager to seize the prince’s treasures “down to the last coin,” ordered a search of his body. Hidden in the folds of his clothing was a red gemstone the size of a hen’s egg.
Pedro’s brutal rule sparked a rebellion and a power struggle, forcing him to seek help from Edward the Black Prince, the eldest son of England’s King Edward III. The prince agreed to help, but in return demanded the “scarlet stone.”
There is another, simpler, and more realistic version of the story—that the stone was gifted to the King of England by merchants during the conquest of India. Regardless of its true origin, the Badakhshan spinel still adorns the crown of British monarchs.
The earliest official document that reliably mentions the stone is Henry VIII’s Inventory of Jewels, dated 1521. It begins with the “royal crown of gold,” and among many precious stones, a noble spinel is listed.
For a long time, the stone was believed to be the largest ruby in European history—it weighs about 170 carats and measures nearly 5 cm in length. However, experts later discovered that the gem in the British crown is a blood-red uncut spinel—hence its nickname, “The Great Impostor.”
Made in Badakhshan
In literary and historical tradition, the term “lal”—used in ancient documents describing the treasures of Russia and Britain—originally referred to rubies, which closely resembled Badakhshan spinel in color. However, it is an undeniable fact that natural red rubies have never been found weighing more than 400 carats, which is why the stones in the Russian and British imperial crowns are, in fact, the famous Badakhshan spinels.
There are several known deposits of this gem in the world, with the main ones located in Sri Lanka and the mountainous regions of Badakhshan, which lie within the borders of modern-day Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Other major deposits of noble spinel can also be found in India, on the islands of Sri Lanka and Borneo.
“In other countries, they mine ordinary spinel, pleonaste, or ceylonite, but noble red spinel is found only in Tajik Badakhshan. It’s this specific type that was used in the crowns of the Russian and British emperors,” gemstone expert Nozim Aliyev told Sputnik Tajikistan.
He added that Badakhshan spinel also adorned the crowns of Spanish monarchs, but the stone gained the most fame during the Middle Ages.
“Even during the reign of Alexander the Great, Badakhshan lal (spinel) was considered the most precious of gems and was often mentioned in historical and literary works, including Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. For example, there is a line that reads: ‘The dark night became bright, the earth shone like Badakhshan spinel.’ Overall, the stone was a symbol of beauty and a harmonious human life,” Aliyev noted.
Given that these stones have multiple origins, the logical question arises: which country’s stone was used in the crowns of the Russian and British empires?
According to experts, there is enough evidence in historical documents to settle this debate. In ancient times, all bright red stones were called lals, and since noble spinel couldn’t be distinguished from deep-colored rubies at the time, the term was applied to spinel as well.
Who exactly first called the Tajik spinel “Badakhshan lal” is unknown. However, legend has it that the vast deposits of red stones in Badakhshan formed after an earthquake in the 7th century. Active mining at the site—later named Kuhi-Lal, meaning “Ruby Mountain” in Persian—began around the 12th century.
Experts say the mining process there was quite advanced for its time, using the most sophisticated technologies of the medieval period. Ongoing exploration of new deposits indicates a well-developed mining industry.
“On the walls of these ancient shafts, you can still see traces of tools—hammers, chisels, even water buffalo horns. But after the 15th century, mining at Kuhi-Lal declined. People believed that using the mine for unworthy purposes angered God, and He took the treasure away. But in reality, the reserves simply became depleted,” Aliyev explained.
By the time the noble spinel from Kuhi-Lal made its way to Rus’ and Europe, it had already gained global fame. To distinguish these stones from other rubies, jewelers and merchants began calling them Badakhshan lals. Eventually, for ease of pronunciation in Russia, the two words were shortened and merged into “balashi.” In Europe, the stones became known as “balas”, derived from an old name for Badakhshan—Balas or Balascia.
Later, Badakhshan spinel began to be referred to as “balas ruby.” The origins of this term are uncertain, but legend has it that the red stones received this name from the merchant and traveler Marco Polo, who visited the Kuhi-Lal mines around the turn of the 13th–14th centuries.
According to Aliyev, there are about 600 ancient mines still existing in the area, with some shafts reaching depths of up to 60 meters. During the Soviet era, mining at the site was conducted under a government program, and in 1985, the largest noble spinel in human history was discovered there, measuring 5.8 kilograms (or 29,400 carats).
The Philosophy of Spinel
But why did emperors and kings choose to place noble spinel in their crowns? Many might assume it was due to its high value. Indeed, the price per carat starts at $10,000.
However, the reason is much simpler. As jewelry experts explain, people in the past attributed semi-magical qualities to gemstones and believed that spinel symbolized success, moral integrity, and good intentions. In Badakhshan, the Kuhi-Lal deposit was even called the “treasury of the Prophet Solomon,” where he was said to have hidden all his jewels.
Furthermore, according to Nozim Aliyev, there are many legends claiming that if spinel falls into the hands of an evil person, it will turn to stone.
“In Persian-speaking culture, there’s even a proverb: ‘To obtain a lal (spinel) and not offend a friend’—meaning one should achieve their goals by honest means and without causing harm,” the expert explained.
One can only guess what court jewelers of great monarchs knew of these legends, and what considerations led them to choose this gemstone for the royal crowns.
