Meera Munda, wife of chief minister Arjun Munda, looks at a necklace at the diamond festival in Ranchi. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, April 23: ?Kohinoor?, the world famous diamond, is in the capital for the public to see.

The stone is part of a four-day diamond festival, which started at Tulsyan Jewellers today showcasing replicas of rare diamonds, including the 186-carat Kohinoor, which was worn by Queen Elizabeth II, and Queen Victoria before her.

The chief minister?s wife, Meera Munda, inaugurated the festival.

Fifty replicas of the most sought-after stones have been displayed at the festival, which ends on April 26.

?We wanted to give people the opportunity to see and appreciate the stones,? said Premjit Sengupta, manager (East) of the Diamond Trading Company.

Next to the Kohinoor is, the second most sought after diamond in the world ? a yellow stone called the Shah of Persia. The original is in Iran.

Other replicas on display include Hope, a blue diamond exhibited in London in 1851.

For the superstitious, there is also a replica of the 500-year-old Black Amsterdam, which was once considered to be unlucky.

The Blue Diamond, which was once worn by the Maharaja of Patiala, is also on display. It is now owned by a private collector in the United States.

The diamonds displayed in the festival are not for sale but there are plenty of other ranges available for prospective buyers.

With the capital being touted as the highest growing market for diamonds, the perception that diamonds are only for the rich has changed.

There are now collections such as Asmi, Sangini and Nakshatra. Prices start from Rs 3,000 and go into lakhs.

?We are giving an offer to customers where they get a gold coin of one gram free with every Rs 10,000 they spend on diamonds,? said Sengupta.

Sudha, a customer, was thrilled to see the diamonds on display.

?I?m glad that the prices of diamonds have come down,? she said, ?but what I really enjoyed was the replicas on display. I?m glad I got to see them. They were exquisite.?