The Treasury of National Jewels, housed in the vaults of the Central Bank of Iran, contains one of the most extraordinary collections of precious objects on earth — assembled over five centuries by Safavid, Afsharid, Zand, Qajar, and Pahlavi rulers and now displayed as state property of the Islamic Republic. The scale is genuinely staggering: crowns studded with thousands of individual diamonds, rubies, and emeralds; a globe made from 51,366 gemstones (gold ocean, ruby continents, emerald Europe); swords, shields, and throne furniture encrusted with precious stones.
The centrepieces are the Darya-ye Noor (a 182-carat pink diamond, the largest in the world), the Taj-e Kiani (the Imperial Crown of Nader Shah), and the original Peacock Throne — though "throne" barely conveys the scale of a jewel-encrusted platform that took 17 years to build. Photography of the most sensitive pieces is restricted. The treasury is only open limited hours on specific days of the week; verify times before visiting.