Diamond

The Hardest Gemstone in the World

The word diamond is derived from the Greek — Adamantos and the Latin — Adamantum, from which the English word ‘adamant’ is born. This name refers to the durability and hardness of the stone. Diamonds are the hardest of all gemstones, being ranked number 1 on the Mohs scale. This is 10x harder than Corundum which is ranked 2 on the Mohs scale.

Weapon of Magical Strength

In Ancient Greek mythology diamonds are referred to frequently not as ornaments but as weapons of magical strength. For example Medusa is reported to have been decapitate with an ‘adamant sickle’. Similarly in Roman myths Cupid’s potent arrows were tipped with diamonds.

Gift from the Gods

The value the ancients gave diamonds lay in the myths and legends that spread over the minerals origins; they were believed to be shards of stars or gifts from the gods. As such they began to be worn by the ruling classes and soldiers as talismans of status and protection. Moreover, it was a cultural taboo to cut a diamond, so the stones that were used by the romans were raw and uncut. They would be hard to recognised and strikingly different to the modern cut and polished stones that are mounted on engagement rings across the globe today.

Sources of Diamond

Until 1725, India was the world’s primary source of diamonds and the discovery of mines in Brazil. In India, Golconda, stood as the centre of successful mining operations in Brazil. It was the only fortress in which the results of the mining operations were directly sold. However, today Golconda is a deserted fortress. Another lucrative centre for diamond minding is Tejuco, renamed Diamantina, which lies 80 miles from Rio de Janeiro.

Colonial Wars

A heated rivalry developed over the next century between the two powerful 17th century colonial empires, Spain and the Netherlands. These two large trading nations between them controlled the world’s few then known diamond sites. Consequently the location of the stone, which dictates many of its qualities, became a huge denominator in its value on the market. The Dutch, who held a monopoly over the Indian mines became so indignant at the soaring prices and desirability for the high quality Brazilian diamonds that they circulated a rumour. Precipitated by a price slump in 1772, the Dutch claimed that Brazilian stones were actually imported from Dutch controlled mines in Goa, India, and then sent to Europe. This rumour has only made attribution and identification of old mine stones extremely difficult today, however it does not have quashed the world’s desire for gleam of Brazilian diamonds. By the 19th century the new generation of American heiresses such as Consuelo Vanderbilt covered themselves in diamonds.

Other diamond mines were discovered in Brazil during the 17th century and then in South Africa. The first cut diamond, known as the Eureka Diamond, is believed to have been mined on 13th October 1867 in South Africa, transforming the jewellery industry forever.