A huge 70-carat ‘Idol’s eye’ diamond which costs $10 million has become the issue of contention in the royal family of Qatar. The Qatari royal family members are facing each other in London’s High Court as one side wishes to sell the coveted jewel.
Once owned by the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, the ‘Idol’s eye’ diamond has become a reason for a legal battle within the Qatar royal family. The lawsuit was filed by a conglomerate named Qipco which is run by Qatar’s art collector Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani.
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The defendant- Elanus Holdings Limited- is based in Guernsey and controlled by late Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed al-Thani’s heirs. They had led the acquisition of the extensive national art collection of Qatar.
As per Financial Times, Qipco filed a case forcing Elanus to sell the diamond for a price of $10 million as per the terms of a 2014 contract signed between the two entities as then Elanus was supposed to hand over “Idol’s Eye” to Qipco in form of a loan for 20 years.
The agreement said that Qipco has the right to purchase the jewel, if Elanus is willing to sell it and the price would be $10 million or the average of the two valuations quoted by the major auction houses, whichever is higher.
As per the lawsuit, Qipco was notified in 2020 by Al-Thani Foundation’s Swiss-based lawyer Dr Dieter Neupert that the family was willing to sell the “Idol’s Eye”. However later, Qipco was sent another mail saying the royal family did not wish to sell it anymore
