Diamonds Tears of the Gods

***DIAMONDS -- TEARS OF THE GODS***

Formed solely by carbon, Diamond is the purest of all gemstones. The carbon combines in the cubic system, and the way in which the atoms attach to each other make the stone extremely durable -- the hardest substance on earth.

The diamond has a very long journey from the magma in the earth's center to the fingers, necks and wrists of the world's fashion conscious population.

For nearly 4000 years, diamonds have held special magic for Kings, Queens and the common folk. It was believed that diamonds were fragments of stars and the teardrops of the gods. They have been fought over, worshipped and idealized. Diamonds are a universal symbol of wealth love and magical powers whose name comes from the Greek word "adamas" meaning "unconquerable and indestructible."

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. Beginning in l866, South Africa's massive diamond deposits were discovered, and a world-wide diamond rush was on. Major deposits were found in the Siberian permafrost in l954. And currently Western Canada is the site of the world's newest diamond rush. Throughout much of history, diamonds were mined from the sand and gravel surrounding rivers. But in South Africa in 1870 diamond was found in the earth.

The cutting of diamonds into the complex faceted forms we now associate with these gems is actually a relatively recent practice. For centuries, rough diamonds were kept as talismans, and often not worn at all. A Hungarian queen's crown set with uncut diamonds, dating from approximately l074, is perhaps the earliest example of diamond jewelry. We know that the royalty of France and England wore diamonds by the 1300's. In sixteenth century England, fashionable lovers etched romantic pledges on window panes with the points of their diamond rings, known as "scribbling rings".

The earliest record of diamond POLISHING is Indian and dates back to the 14th Century; there are also references to diamond polishing in Venice. The earliest reference to diamond CUTTING dates from 1550's in Antwerp, the most important diamond center of the period. In the late 1600's, as the English fortified their interest in India, which was then the world's central diamond source, London became an important cutting center. Later, London became the primary world market of diamond rough.

Today there are cutting centers all over the world, most notably in Belgium, Indian, Israel, South Africa, and the USA.