The Agra diamond was named after the historic city of Agra. This diamond is reminiscent of the regal splendor of the bygone Mughal era with its outstanding transparency and the rose pink color. This diamond has been a much-desired gem, from the time of its discovery.

Along with the Koh-i-Noor, the Agra is supposed to have belonged to the Mughal emperor Babur who acquired it, from Raja Bikramajit of Gwalior after the Battle of Panipat in 1526. Babur is said to have worn this stunningly beautiful gem, as an ornament in his turban, which then weighed 41 carats.

In the 19th century, one of its later owners is reported to be a passionate collector of diamonds, the Duke of Brunswick. Consulting the catalogue of his diamond collection, the fact came to reveal that he bought the gem in 1844 from the London diamond merchants Blogg & Martin.

To remove some black spotty inclusions the stone was later recut. And its new weight was recorded as 32.24 carats. It became part of Edwin Streeter`s collection around 1891. In 1904, Streeter, a great aficionado of diamonds, sold his jewellery business to the Parisian jewellery firm, La Cloche Freres. In the very next year, his collection was sold by his successors through Christie`s.

Christie`s auctioned the Agra on February 22, 1905. Including several Indian collectors, the room was packed with jewel lovers. In the beginning, the bidding was at 1,000 guineas and eventually Max Meyer of Hatton Garden bought the diamond for 5,100 guineas.

In 1909, the Agra again came up for sale and this time it came from the collection of the dealer Salomon Habib. Louis Winans bought the diamond, soon after, through a firm of jewellers called Lewis &c Sons. Winans, the son of William Walter Winans, had inherited a considerable fortune from his father, who had been a railroad engineer in Russia during the reign of Tsar Nicholas I. Apart from the Agra; he had a considerable collection of spectacular diamonds. He also possessed a pure yellow diamond, the Golden Drop.

The heir to Louis Winans` estate offered the Agra for sale through Christie`s, in 1990. SIBA Corporation of Hong Kong bought the Agra for £4,070,000 and has further recut to 28.15 carats.