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Myths and Legends – A History of the Diamond

April 6th, 2010

While today a diamond may be the symbol of durability, wealth, quality and status, in history the diamond has been associated with lightning, magic, protection, healing, poisoning and invulnerability. The word ‘Diamond’ comes from the Greek word ‘adamo’ meaning ‘I tame’ or ‘I subdue’.

Diamonds were first mined in India, where the Sanskrit word for the gem is vajra, meaning ‘thunderbolt’ or indrayudha, meaning ‘Indra’s weapon.” Indra is the warrior god in Vedic scripture which is the foundation of Hinduism. In naming the diamond this way, the Indians were comparing the flash and fire of a diamond stone to the thunderbolt symbol of their god. The earliest descriptions of vajra date back to 4 centuries B.C. and its value then was already apparent.

Diamonds first began making their appearance in Europe in the 13th century and were used as accent points with gold, pearls and other stones. As mining techniques improved, by the 16th century, the diamonds were becoming bigger and diamond faceting took off. It was then that diamonds began to dominate smaller jewels rather than accenting them. In Rome, diamonds were rarely polished and left with their rough appearance after being cut. Diamonds in Europe, on the other hand were almost always polished to remove surface imperfections.

Venice is believed to be where the oldest diamond cutting industry started, probably sometime after 1330. The trade arrived in Paris by the late 14th century as documents have been found for the diamond cutting techniques in a letter from 1465.

Diamond Trade

Diamond trade routes naturally would be established based on those locations where diamonds were found and other local nearby cities of significant size and capacity for mining the precious stones properly. One such city is still today, a major hub in the diamond trade industry – Antwerp. Early on, Europeans were able to get their hands on Indian diamonds by using a sea route discovered by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama. This allowed them to circumnavigate the Arabic hindrance to the diamond trade originating in India. The city of Goa on the Malabar Coast of India quickly grew as a Portuguese trading center.

18th, 19th and 20th Centuries

Diamonds began to slowly increase in abundance and their price came down. Once a supply of diamonds was found in Africa, the stones began to flood the market in the 19th century, making them affordable to just about anyone with a little disposable wealth. Gold was no longer the single acceptable metal for setting real diamond rings, and platinum became much more popular due to its lighter weight and greater strength for holding a stone.

In the 20th century, in order to restore value to the diamond and return it to what was seen as its rightful place as a rare and expensive stone, cartels were established to control the flow of the gems from South Africa and other places that were responsible for flooding the market. The DeBeer’s corporation was born, and due to their marketing campaigns and initiatives, the diamond soon gained its place as a romantic stone between lovers.

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HISTORY OF DIAMONDS

April 6th, 2010

From myths about valleys of diamonds protected by snakes, to the production of millions of carats in rough diamonds each year, the history of diamonds is one of mystical power, beauty and commercial expertise.

Early History
The first recorded history of the diamond dates back some 3,000 years to India, where it is likely that diamonds were first valued for their ability to refract light. In those days, the diamond was used in two ways-for decorative purposes, and as a talisman to ward off evil or provide protection in battle.

The Dark Ages
The diamond was also used for some time as medical aid. One anecdote, written during the Dark Ages by St Hildegarde, relates how a diamond held in the hand while making a sign of the cross would heal wounds and cure illnesses. Diamonds were also ingested in the hope of curing sickness. During the early Middle Ages, Pope Clement unsuccessfully used this treatment in a bid to aid his recovery.

The Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages more attention was paid to the worth of diamonds, rather than the mystical powers surrounding them. Due to the heightened public awareness of the value of diamonds, mine owners perpetuated myths that diamonds were poisonous. This was to prevent the mineworkers swallowing the diamonds in an attempt to smuggle them out of the mines.

The popularity of diamonds surged during the Middle Ages, with the discovery of many large and famous stones in India, such as the Koh-I-Noor and the Blue Hope. Today India maintains the foremost diamond polishing industry in the world.

As the Indian diamond supply dwindled, smaller finds occurred in Borneo and Brazil, but these were not sufficient to meet the ever-increasing demand for diamonds. The mid-nineteenth century discovery of diamonds near the Orange River in South Africa sparked the world’s biggest diamond rush, and helped to satiate the world’s increasing appetite for diamonds.

Recent Times
During the mid-nineteenth century, diamonds were also being discovered in eastern Australia. However, it was not until late 1970′s, after seven years of earnest searching, that Australia’s alleged potential as a diamond producer was validated.

On October 2nd 1979, geologists found the Argyle pipe near Lake Argyle: the richest diamond deposit in the world. Since then, Argyle has become the world’s largest volume producer of diamonds, and alone is responsible for producing over a third of the world’s diamonds every year.

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