Vault Hides Jewels Mystery

Treasure Trove: Cash-Strapped Bangladesh Government Seeks Cash Bonanza

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For more than a century, the fate of the Darya-e-Noor diamond has been sealed inside a bank vault—a mystery that haunts Khawaja Naim Murad, great-grandson of the last prince, or nawab, of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Locked away in 1908, were the family's heirlooms lost during the violence at the end of British rule in 1947?

Many suspect the jewels are long gone, and officials at the state-run bank hesitate to simply open the vault, fearing they'd carry the cost if it is empty.

But the cash-strapped South Asian government has now ordered a committee to unseal the vault—and Murad clings to hope.

"This is not a fairy tale," said Murad, 55, recounting a story passed down from his father about the giant diamond dubbed the "River of Light," the centerpiece rock of a glittering armband.

"The diamond was rectangular in shape and surrounded by more than half a dozen smaller diamonds," Murad said.