Tirupati Crown

 

The two and half foot high diamond studded golden crown weighing about 34 kg worth about Rs.45 crore was offered to the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala , Mr. Gali Janardhan Reddy.

The Tirumala temple had received several hundreds of huge offerings worth ranges from several lakhs to about 10 crore during this century but this offering was the costliest.

 

Some interesting facts about the Crown:-

1.A total of 32 kg of 'aparanji' (pure) gold was used.

2. The crown is studded with 70,000 diamonds weighing 4,000 carats.

3.The crown has a huge 890-carat emerald from Africa engraved in the centre which alone costs around Rs 10 crore.

4.The crown was manufactured by Keertilal Jewellers of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu took nine months to fashion the diamond-studded crown.

5. This is the most expensive donation since 16th century after the Vijayanagara Kings in the 16th century. The kings ruled from Hampi not far from modern day Bellary.

6. The total number of crowns placed with the Lord has gone up to seven.

7. Mr. Gali Janardhan Reddy who donated this Crown to the Temple is minister for Tourism with the Government of Karnataka and promoter of Brahmani Industries Limited , an integrated steel plant being set up in Jammalamadu in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.