New Delhi: The well-received exhibition of 173 pieces of royal jewellery, which once adorned the Asaf Jahi Nizams of Hyderabad, has been extended till May 31.

Titled "Jewels of India: The Nizam's Jewellery Collection", the temporary exhibition at the National Museum here was originally designated to run till May 5. It is exhibiting the Jacob (or Imperial) Diamond as its centerpiece, amid panels of richly-studded crown jewels, 'sarpechs', headbands, waistbands, necklaces, rings, earrings and other jewellery. Diamonds from the mines of Golconda and Colombian emeralds are also part of the display along with the Burmese rubies and spinets and pearls from Basra and the Gulf of Mannar.

The collection of jewels has come to the museum after being displayed in 2001 and 2007. They were purchased in 1995 by the Indian government for Rs 218 crore from the last Nizam's trusts, the National Museum said. The exhibited collection is one of the rarest in the world, its curator Sanjib Kumar Singh said. The collection of jewels has come to the museum after being displayed in 2001 and 2007. They were purchased in 1995 by the Indian government for Rs 218 crore from the last Nizam's trusts, the National Museum said.

The collection was with the "HEH Nizam Jewellery Trust" and "HEH Nizam Supplemental Jewellery Trust" formed by the last Nizam Mir Osman All Khan in 1951-1952 to safeguard the ancestral wealth of the family.

The trustees kept the treasure in the vaults of Hong Kong Bank. When the government acquired this collection in 1995, after a prolonged legal battle, it was shifted to the vaults of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Mumbai, where it remained till June 29, 2001 and later shifted to the National Museum. (With inputs from IANS)