Qatari royals in London court battle over coveted ‘Idol’s Eye’ diamond

Rival members of Qatar’s royal family are battling for control of the world’s largest cut blue diamond in London’s High Court, with one side trying to force a $10mn sale of the opulent 70 carat “Idol’s Eye” gemstone.

The storied Indian diamond, whose past owners include a Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, is at the centre of a lawsuit filed by Qipco, a conglomerate run by Qatar’s big-spending art collector Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani.