The Kremlin's Diamond Fund is a collection of Russia's state treasures run by Gokhran - the State Precious Metals and Gems Repository of the Russian Ministry of Finance. Before 1914 the collection was housed in the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, but was evacuated to the Moscow Kremlin after the start of the First World War. The collection was opened to the public in 1967. Among the treasures are the Great and Lesser Imperial Crowns, the Orlov Diamond (which bought by Count Grigori Orlov for Empress Catherine the Great), and the Shah Diamond (which was given to Tsar Nicholas I by the Shah of Persia upon the massacre of the Russian diplomatic mission in Tehran in 1829).

The Diamond Fund is located within the Armoury.  Separate tickets are needed for a specific séance at the Diamond Fund and these can be bought at the same ticket booths in Aleksandrovsky Gardens or from within the Armoury. The Armoury and Diamond Fund are served by a different entrance which is in the Borovitskaya Tower at the end of Aleksandrovsky Gardens. Once inside the tower you will also need to pass through metal detectors before being allowed in. No big bags are permitted, but there is a cloakroom inside the Armoury building.  Visits to the fund are made in 20-minute intervals with the time printed on the ticket.

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