Diamond

Everyone knows that diamonds are one of the most brilliant gems anywhere. But did you know that diamonds were used for thousands of years before anyone thought of cutting them to reveal their brilliance?

In fact, it seems that the ancient Romans wore them more for their powers than for their beauty. Diamonds were worshipped in India as far back as 800 B.C.E., and India was probably also the first country to supply these cherished stones.

Pliny the Elder wrote that diamonds were known only to kings. But as late as the thirteenth century, there were hardly even any kings who owned diamonds, although they did try not to let anyone else wear them. Louis IX of France (1214-1270) declared them forbidden to any woman, including queens and princesses. These precious gems became more common among royalty during the second half of the fifteenth century which is when Hapsburg Emperor Maximilian I presented Mary of Burgundy with what seems to have been the world's first diamond engagement ring. At that time diamonds were still being worn for their powers. Queen Elizabeth I received a diamond to protect her from the plague.

However, Louis XIV of France (1638-1715), the Sun King, collected diamonds for their beauty. It was Jean Batiste Tavernier, a jeweler, merchant and traveler, who was responsible for bringing diamonds to Louis' elaborate court. Tavernier traveled to the Indian diamond mines six times, and after each trip he brought back amazing finds. A century later, it wasn't only kings who were wearing diamonds, but it was definitely only the very wealthy who could afford them.

At that same time the diamond supply in India was thinning out, but by then diamonds had already been discovered in Brazil. And when that supply seemed to be petering out, the diamond rush in South Africa was beginning. Interestingly, the very first South African diamond was found near the Orange river in 1866 by a little boy, the young son of a farmer by the name of Erasmus Jacobs. It was a while before the marble-sized stone was identified as a diamond, and then it took another few discoveries before the world was certain that diamond fields did exist in South Africa.

After the De Beer brothers discovered finds on their farm in 1871, the famous Kimberley mine opened to produce one of the richest diamond yields ever found. De Beers formed a corporation in 1888, and today, more than 100 years later, this corporation has become a monopoly that controls 80 percent of the diamond wholesale market.

In the twentieth century many more diamond deposits were found all over the world including Africa, Russia, China and Australia. So it's not surprising that it's no longer only royalty or the wealthy elite who are purchasing diamonds. The average person today can realistically hope to acquire at least a diamond or two for himself.

There's no question that diamonds are the "king of gems." The word diamond stems from the Greek adamas that comes from the root of "unconquerable" or "I conquer." Which definitely suits a stone that is the hardest mineral on earth and almost indestructible.

The sparkling, enchanting world of diamonds contains many, many famous diamonds of all sizes, shapes and colors. Here is a small list which is really just the tip of the iceberg:

The first thing you should probably know about the Hope diamond is its deep blue color. This gem goes back at least as far as the seventeenth century although it only got its name two centuries later when it was bought by a banker called Hope. But what seems to be most intriguing about this world-renowned gem is the ill luck that seemed to follow everyone who owned it.

Let's go back to the beginning. Jean Batiste Tavernier was on his sixth trip to India when a native slave approached him secretively and showed him a large blue stone. When Tavernier realized that it was not a sapphire but a rare blue diamond, he bought it and smuggled it to Paris. Louis XIV bought the 112 carat crystal and had it cut into a heart-shaped stone weighing 67.50 carats that became known as the "French Blue."

While Louis XIV the Sun King made his court the grandest in the world, he suffered many misfortunes. And Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette who inherited the stone were beheaded on the guillotine. The stone was then stolen from the treasury in the chaotic anarchy of the French revolution.

Here follows a question mark as to what happened to the stone after that. Some say it was sold in Spain and cut into three smaller stones. Others claim it came into the possession of King George IV of England but was then sold after his death to repay debts. In any case the next time this stone was heard of was in 1830 in London when it was bought by banker Henry Phillip Hope, after whom the stone is named.

The Hope family all died in poverty, and the diamond passed on to other owners who also suffered tragedies until it was purchased by Turkish sultan Abdul Hamid II who forced his subjects to pay the $450,000 he needed to pay for it. In the end he was dethroned, and Mrs. Evelyn Walsh McLean of Washington D.C. bought it in 1911. Soon after, her family endured a chain of catastrophes that ended with her losing all her money and committing suicide in 1947.

That was the last private owner of this infamous 44 carat stone. Today you can see it in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., surrounded by sixteen white diamonds and set as a pendant that hangs on a chain of 45 white diamonds.

Another famous diamond with a long history is the Koh-i-noor diamond that goes back at least as far as 1304 when it was reportedly owned by the Rajah of Malwa. This gem was much coveted, and two centuries later it was found in the hands of the Mogul dynasty. When Nadir Shah of Persia invaded Delhi, he was intent on making this stone his own. But after turning over the city, he still could not find it.

Then he was told that the Mogul emperor had hidden the gem in his turban. The clever Shah invited the captive emperor to a feast and suggested that the two rulers exchange turbans, a well known Oriental gesture of friendship and brotherhood. Of course, the emperor could not refuse; it would have too dangerous an insult to his conquering guest.

Later when the Shah was alone, he unwrapped the turban, and the brilliant diamond tumbled out. According to the legend, the Shah then cried out, "Koh-i-Noor!" which means mountain of light. And that was how the diamond got its name.

But the story does not end there. The Shah, of course, took the jewel back with him to Persia, but years later during the break-up of the Persian empire, the diamond ended up returning to India, to the Punjab region. When the British annexed that area in 1849, the stone was taken by the British East India company. They in turn presented it to Queen Victoria who put it up for public viewing in London.

After three years it was recut to better show off its brilliance. That's how the 186 carat stone went down to 108.93 carats. In 1853 Queen Victoria had it mounted in a tiara along with 2000 other diamonds. In 1911 it became the center stone of a new crown made for Queen Mary's coronation. Its last transition was to the crown made for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Today you can view it in the Tower of London where after centuries of moving around, this world-famous diamond has finally found its rest.

The most recent, largest cut diamond is the Centenary diamond. It got its name because it was discovered just before the hundredth anniversary of the De Beers' corporation in 1988. Since the 599 carat stone had an unusually strange shape, it took a lot of deliberation and discussion to decide who would be the one to cut it. At last De Beers chose Gabi Tolkowsky, one of the world's most famous cutters. The first part of the job was studying every inch of the stone to see what cutting it would involve. Then came the big project, the actual cutting that Tolkowsky decided to do by hand.

It took almost three years for the stone to be cut and then polished, during which it went down to 273 carats, still an impressive size for a top-cut, flawless diamond.

One hundred years earlier, just after the De Beer brothers formed what would become the famous diamond monopoly, the company had discovered its first major find, a stone of 428.5 carats. Polishing reduced it to 228.5 carats, and crowds lined up to see it at the Paris exhibition.

The largest diamond ever discovered, the Cullinan diamond, takes us back to the beginning of the twentieth century when a stone weighing 3,106 carats was found. This was the diamond that was so large no one knew what to do with it. At last the Transvaal government bought it for $800,000 - an enormous amount of money at that time - and presented it to King Edward VII of England for his 66th birthday. He didn't know what to do with it either. At last it was decided to cut it into a few stones. The two largest, Cullinan I (530.20 carats) and Cullinan II (317.40 carats), settled into their roles as part of the British crown jewels.

Because diamonds are the hardest gems around, you need to make sure your diamond doesn't scratch any other stones you may own. And don't forget that diamonds can also scratch each other. You can clean your diamond in a number of ways including ultrasonic cleaners, jewelry cleaners and soapy water solutions. There's even a method for soaking diamonds in a glass of vodka!

 

Among its many healing qualities diamonds are believed to strengthen the eyes, kidneys and reproductive organs. It is good for breathing, digestion and weak bones. It is also supposed to protect against disease.