Diamonds Their History, Sources, Qualities and Benefits
Renée Newman, GG 1 What Is a Diamond?
diamond can be many things depending on your perspective Pliny the Elder wrote in Book 37 of his Natural History in 77 CE: A diamond-tipped drill in action. and when you were born. The Merriam-Webster dictionary “When an ‘adamas’ is successfully broken, it disintegrates into splin- Diamonds continue to have vast defines diamond as “native crystalline carbon that is the ters so small as to be scarcely visible. These are much sought after by industrial and practical applications. A hardest known mineral.” This is what a diamond is to engravers of gems and are inserted by them into iron tools because David Tadevosian/Shutterstock a modern-day chemist. Thousands of years ago, a diamond was just they make hollows in the hardest materials without difficulty.” a stone with little purpose or meaning. Since then, the diamond has The Hindus had noticed that a diamond when struck on an anvil been a tool, a good luck charm, a badge of wealth and high rank, did not smash but embedded itself in the anvil. However, they also a museum attraction, a jewel, a poker chip, a direct sample of the discovered that under some conditions, an anvil blow could break a interior of the earth, a source of income, an heirloom, an insatiable diamond, so they began to wrap the diamonds in sheets of lead or obsession and a symbol of power, strength, courage, affection, com- wax and hitting them sharply. Then they opened the sheets, lined up mitment, achievement and eternal love. Today, diamond is not only the splinters and struck them with the edge of a heated sword or the the king and queen of gems, it is perhaps the most important material tip of a hot tool to make diamond edged knives, swords and diamond for industry and science. This chapter explores the various roles that tipped tools. diamond has played throughout history. The Chinese knew the diamond first as a “jade-cutting knife” not as a jewel. Jade was their most honored gem. Since diamonds were so often found near gold, they thought it was related to gold. A Practical Tool In the 1300s, Indians and Europeans began to shape diamonds The first role that the diamond had was as a tool for cutting, drill- by using a polishing surface coated with diamond grit and olive oil ing, grinding and engraving. The ancients gradually noticed that dia- to polish off bumps and growth marks on rough crystals. By the late mond was harder than any other material which in turn allowed it 1800s diamond polishing was mechanized but still involved rubbing to be used for those purposes. Archaeological evidence suggests that two diamond crystals against each other, one of which was the tool diamond splinters were used to drill beads in India as early as the 5th and the other the gem. century BCE. Before World War II, diamonds were used in a wide variety of The name “diamond” derives from the Greek word adamas industrial applications in-cluding drills, saws, excavation, aircraft sys- meaning “unconquerable force” in reference to its extreme hardness. tems, photograph needles and surgical blades. When World War II An illustration of Pliny the Elder. Science Despite its resistance to scratching, abrasion and deformation, dia- began, diamond cutting became even more important. The Germans History Images/Alamy Stock Photo mond can be split if hit in the right spot. The Roman encyclopedist put imprisoned diamond cutters in special camps to work on war
10 Diamonds What Is a Diamond? 11 Borneo (Kalimantan, Indonesia) Borneo is an island that is politically divided among three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north, and Indonesia to the south. Dia- mond mining may have started on Borneo as early as 600 CE. The first written reference to diamond mining in Borneo was by Duarte Barbosa of Portugal in 1518. The Dutch colonized Borneo in the early 1600s and began exploiting diamonds through the Dutch East India Company (Gems & Gemology, Summer 1988). The dia- monds acquired by the Dutch East India Company were exported to the Netherlands, and they helped lay the foundation for the develop- T I A A B I ment of Amsterdam as an international diamond cutting and trading center. The discovery of the diamond deposits of South Africa led to the decline of the Borneo diamond fields, but there is still some minimal mining today. Most of Borneo’s diamonds have come from the large Indonesian portion of the island, which is called Kalimantan. The deposits are A A IA B alluvial and found primarily in western Kalimantan along the Landak NORTH KALIMANTAN A River near the equator and in southeastern Kalimantan under the Daran Seran Swamp. It’s near Martapura, the largest diamond cut- ting center in Indonesia, which is about 39 kilometers (24 miles) south- east of Banjarmasin. Tours of the Martapura diamond market and nearby Cempaka mining area are available. Much of the mining is done using traditional methods such as panning for diamonds and at the same time gold and other gems. A miner pans for diamonds and gold The majority of Borneo diamonds are gem grade. According B in the Cempaka mining area. Josu to colored diamond dealer Arthur Langerman, “production on the EAST KALIMANTAN Altzelai/agefotostock/Alamy Stock Photo island mainly consists of diamonds tinted with yellow and brown, but the red, blue and green diamonds that can also be found there are WEST KALIMANTAN Landak River I IA among the most exceptional in the world.”
CENTRAL KALIMANTAN
The 36-carat Banjarmasin Diamond, which is on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, was seized by Dutch troops in 1859 when SOUTH they gained control of Banjarmasin KALIMANTAN AKA A T AIT and abolished the sultanate. Everett Banjarmasin Collection Inc/Alamy Stock Photo Martapura Danau Seran & Cempaka A A A 44 Diamonds What Is a Diamond? 5 Late Victorian suffragette diamond ring, circa 1900, set with an amethyst and emerald in 18 karat gold with silver. These specific colors were chosen for their intrinsic symbolism in the suffragette movement. Hope springs in the green of the brilliant cut emerald, while purity emanates from a white-old-mine cut diamond. Royalty, dignity and freedom are embodied in the soft violet of the amethyst. Meanwhile, the Fancy Yellow old-mine-cut diamond underlines the international common cause of women fighting for their right to vote. Adin Fine Antique Jewellery (AntiqueJewel.com)
A Victorian fancy-colored diamond, silver-topped gold ring. It features a Fancy Yellow rose-cut diamond encircled by rose-cut diamonds A Victorian diamond, emerald, ruby and cultured pearl gold set in silver-topped 14 karat yellow brooch. This pierced brooch features one old-mine-cut diamond gold. Heritage Auctions (HA.com) and one pear-shaped diamond enhanced by European-, mine- and rose-cut diamonds, pear and oval-shaped emeralds, cushion and rectangular-shaped rubies and pearls set in 18 karat gold. Heritage Auctions (HA.com)
120 Diamonds What Is a Diamond? 121 DIAMONDS by Renée Newman Diamonds 304 pages Their History, Sources, Qualities 9" x 11" and Benefits 380 full color and black and white photographs, 10 maps, index The beauty and sparkle of diamond is unmatched by that ISBN-10: 0-2281-0331-2 ISBN-13: 978-0-2281-0331-8 of any other gem in the world. Since early times, diamonds plastic-laminated hardcover have been treasured as good luck charms, remarkable with jacket tools and status symbols and have been worn, collected Price in the U.S. $49.95 Price in Canada $59.95 and presented as lavish gifts. Today, diamonds remain Price in the UK £35.00 among the most sought-after gemstones and continue to Rights: World hold their value through good times and bad. Publication Date: October 2021 In Diamonds, author Renée Newman invites the reader on a journey into the fascinating world of diamonds. This lavishly illustrated guide covers everything from mining, cutting and evaluating diamonds to the romantic histories of some of the world’s most valuable stones. The book also features chapters on where diamonds are found, diamond jewelry through the ages and synthetic diamonds, and it finishes with an analysis of the enduring benefits of diamonds.
Renée Newman is a highly respected gemologist and the author of over 13 guides to gems and jewelry. Her books Canadian customers call toll-free 1-800-387-6192 have been used worldwide as sales-training tools, buying Toll-free fax 1-800-450-0391 guides, class texts and references for jewelry professionals. She earned her graduate gemologist diploma from the U.S. customers prestigious Gemological Institute of America (GIA). call toll-free 1-800-387-5085 Toll-free fax 1-800-565-6034
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