The History of Diamonds
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History of
Diamonds
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Diamonds are made from pure carbon, earth's most common
element and the hardest natural substance known to man.
Diamonds were
formed eons ago under incredible heat and pressure deep in the earth.
Great volcanic upheavals millions of years ago forced the "blue earth"
containing diamonds to the surface where they were scattered along
rivers and into the oceans. |
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The
first river-bed (alluvial) diamonds were probably discovered in India, in
around 800 B.C. The volcanic source of these diamonds was never
discovered, but the alluvial deposits were rich enough to supply most of
the world's diamonds until the eighteenth century
Only about
one-fifth of all mined diamonds could be considered of gem quality. From
40 to 250 tons of gravel and sand must be processed today to recover one
rough diamond from the world's thinning diamond deposits. Experts estimate
that all known supplies of diamonds will be depleted within 30 to 40
years. 75 – 80% of all
diamonds mined are used for industrial applications such as drilling,
grinding, or sawing. The remainder are used for jewelry or investment.
Less than 2% are of such high quality that they may be considered
investment quality.
On average, 250 tons of ore must be
mined and processed to produce a one carat diamond of gem quality.
When the mining operation is
completed, sorters look at rough diamonds, separating them into small
piles by shape, size, and quality, a long and laborious process.
The
earliest record of diamond-polishing is Indian, and probably dates from
the fourteenth century. The earliest reference to diamond cutting is in
l550 in Antwerp, the most important diamond center of the period, where a
diamond-cutters' guild was soon to be established.
Today,
90 percent of diamond jewelry is made from diamonds mined in African
countries with the rest mined in Australia,
South America,
Canada and Russia.
The word
"diamond" comes from the Greek word "adamas" meaning unconquerable, in
reference to the eternity of love. In 1477, Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond
ring to Mary of Burgundy, thus, starting the tradition of diamond engagement rings, say
Maloof experts. The reason a woman wears it on the third finger of her left hand dates
back to the Egyptian belief that the vena amoris (vein of love) ran directly from the
heart to the top of that finger.
In 1939 De Beers introduced the criteria
for Diamonds determining the gem quality by a combination of four distinct
factors. These are called the 4C's. Cut, Color,
Carat and Clarity. Each diamond is unique, with its own individual
beauty.
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Many of the rarest diamonds occur
by rare accidents of nature in shades of pink, blue, green, amber, or
even red. These diamonds
are referred to as “Fancy" diamonds
and are evaluated by a different set of
color standards. Fancy diamonds
are the most expensive due to their
extreme rarity. Some of the “Fancies” may cost hundreds of thousands
of dollars for diamonds of one carat or less! |
Fancy Diamonds |
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History of
Diamonds
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