When we think about historical diamonds we may automatically envision royal collections, or “Crown Jewels,” like those of the current reigning monarch of Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth. We may also imagine the legendary collections of some the Rajas and Sultans of India and Asia. But there are many “historic” diamonds that are noted for their size, clarity and color, or for the colorful history and lifestyles of their owners.Throughout recorded human history diamonds make continual appearances. Because they are the hardest substance known, an early use for diamonds was not jewelry, but as a primitive engraving tool. The name “diamond” itself originates with the ancient Greek terms for invincible and untamed, concepts that, perhaps, came from the hardness and unbreakable nature of the stones.
Ancient India is the first historical location where diamonds were revered for their value in their use in religious items. Indian diamonds were uncut, used intact and as they were found. Later, around the second century diamonds began to appear elsewhere in the world, making their way west along diamond trade routes ending in Venice, where gemstone cutting eventually became a well-established trade.
By the 1200s in Europe’s diamonds were all ready being reserved only for the most elite – Louis IX of France reserved the ownership and use of diamonds to the king alone, but it was only a century after that that diamonds began appearing in the jewelry of other royals and eventually in the jewelry of the wealthy. The jewelry of this era was intended as both a spiritual display as well as a display of wealth, and generally the settings were the focus and not the stones. At the same time certain magical or mystical properties began to be believed about the stones and this also reinforced the concept of setting and wearing the stones.
Around the 1600s the stones began to be the focus and gem cutting began to be refined. It was also at this time that gold began to be replaced by silver in many diamond settings. The reason for this was quite simple – the light reflected from gold did not benefit the appearance of a well-cut diamond the way the light reflected from silver enhanced a diamond.
As the centuries passed diamonds became more and more a desired property of the wealthy social classes. Setting styles and materials would change according to fashion, but diamonds did not lose their popularity and the desire for the stones did not diminish.
In the 1870s the first abundant lodes of diamonds were discovered in South Africa, flooding the market with the precious gems, meaning that what was once a possession of only the super-rich would now be available to anyone who could afford it. It was at this point in time that unique and rare diamonds began to be pursued by the wealthy social classes.
One of the most well-known of these long-pursued and legendary treasures is the “Hope Diamond” with its legendary curse and unusual history. Long believed to have been stolen from a temple idol in India, it was purchased by a French merchant in 1660 and sold to King XIV of France in 1668 – where it received the name “French Blue”. King Louis XVI gave it to his wife Marie Antoinette as a gift and it was stolen during the French Revolution. One of the thieves took it to England where is ended up in the hands of a diamond merchant and by 1812 the “French Blue” was re-cut into what is known as the “Hope Diamond” when purchased by the Hope family in 1824. It remained in the hands of this family until bankruptcy forced its sale in 1901. From that point on the diamond would be bought and sold, mostly due to bankruptcy, until the famous jeweler Harry Winston acquired and donated it to the Smithsonian Institute in 1958.
Another legendary diamond is the “Koh-i-Noor” which was originally the diamond of the Delhi sultans and eventually the Mughal emperors of India. But British domination of the region allowed the enormous 186 carat stone to end up the property of King Albert and Queen Victoria. The King spent a great deal of time and effort having the stone cut to its best advantage, reducing it by almost 43%, and mounted in a tiara along with 2,000 other diamonds. It was set in its current setting in 1936 for Queen Elizabeth, the mother of the current Queen Elizabeth. The foggy history of ownership of this stone has resulted in many nations seeking to reclaim the gem including Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Iran.
So many more diamond tales and myths exist, all offering proof of the timeless fascination that the stones create. Diamond stories still reach modern headlines: on May 15, 2008 a mining company in South Africa announced the discovery of an “exceptional” fancy yellow diamond of 61.3 carats.
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