 
The Greek
word "Adamas" meaning unconquerable and indestructible is the root
word of diamond. Diamonds have been sought the world over,
fought over, worshipped and used to cast love spells. 
For the last 3000 to 4000 years, diamonds have
held special magic for Kings, Queens and their subjects. Diamonds
have stood for wealth, power, love, spirit and magical powers. Kings
in olden days would wear into battle heavy leather breast plates
studded with diamonds and other precious stones. It was believed
that diamonds were fragments of stars and the teardrops of the Gods.
The diamonds possessed magical qualities of the Gods and held powers
far beyond the understanding of the common man. Because of these
beliefs, the warriors stayed clear of the Kings and others who were
fortunate to have the magical diamonds in their breast
plates.
Until the 15thCentury only Kings wore
diamonds as a symbol of strength, courage and invincibility. Over
the centuries, the diamond acquired its unique status as the
ultimate gift of love. It was said that cupids' arrows were tipped
with diamonds that have a magic that nothing else can
equal.
Since the creation of diamonds they have been
associated with romance and legend. The Greeks believed the
fire in the diamond reflected the constant flame of love.
For
millions of people around the world, the mystery and magic, the
beauty and romance shining out from a simple solitaire says all the
heart feels but words can not express. It wasn't until 1477 when
Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of
Burgundy, that the diamond engagement ring was introduced. Placing
the ring on the third finger of the left hand, dates back to the
early Egyptian belief that the Vena Amors, vein of love, runs
directly from the heart to the tip of the third finger.
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, when dwindling Indian supplies probably spurred the
exploration that led to the discovery of diamonds in Brazil, which
became the next important diamond source. Beginning in l866, South
Africa's massive diamond deposits were discovered, and a world-wide
diamond rush was on. The South African diamond output was unraveled
until major deposits were found in 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 far from a river source, and the
practice of dry-digging for diamonds was born. More sophisticated
mining techniques allowed deeper subterranean digging, as well as
more efficient river (and, most recently, marine) mining, than ever
before.
Cutting:
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, though natural octahedral (eight-sided
stones) were sometimes set in rings. 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 (with diamond
powder) is Indian, and probably dates from the fourteenth century.
There are also contemporary references to the practice of diamond
polishing in Venice. 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.
Diamond Routes and Centers:
Indian diamonds reached Venice by two Mediterranean
routes: the southern route was by way of Aden, Ethiopia, and
Egypt, and the northern route was through Arabia, Persia, Armenia,
and Turkey. Then, thanks to the Portuguese discovery of the direct
sea route to India, Antwerp flourished as a diamond center, as the
city was well-situated to receive vast supplies of rough from Lisbon
as well as from Venice.
After Spanish attacks on Antwerp in1585, many diamond
cutters relocated to Amsterdam. And the Netherlands, with its
liberal civil policies, attracted diamond craftsmen (including many
Jews) who were fleeing religious persecution in Spain, Portugal,
Germany and Poland.
In the late1600's, as the English fortified their
interest in India, which was still 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, India, Israel, South Africa, and the
USA.
"Big Hole" in Kimberley, South Africa.
The largest men made crater on earth, 463m x 1097m. Diamond
Rush!
Famous
Diamonds
Famous diamonds often have complex and even
controversial histories because of the secrecy surrounding such
stones
The Star of Africa
At 530.20 carats the
Cullinan I or Star Africa diamond is the largest cut diamond in the
world. Pear-shaped, with 74 facets, it is set in the Royal Scepter
(kept with the other Crown Jewels in the Tower of London). It was
cut from the 3,106-carat Cullinan, the largest diamond crystal ever
found. The Cullian was discovered in Transvaal, South Africa in l095
on an inspection tour of the Premier Mine.
The Cullian was cut by Joseph Asscher and Company of
Amsterdam, who examined the enormous crystal for around six months
before determining how to divide it. It eventually yielded nine
major, and 96 smaller brilliant-cut stones. When the Cullian
was first discovered, certain signs suggested that it may have been
part of a much larger crystal. But no discovery of the "missing
half" has ever been authenticated.
The
Excelsior
Probably the second largest stone ever found
(if the lost Braganza cannot be found and authenticated). A
high-clarity, blue-white stone, it was found in l893 by a South
African mine worker who picked it out of a shovelful of gravel.
Because of its irregular shape, it was cut into 21 polished stones,
of which the largest was a marquise of 69.80 carats. A smaller,
18-carat marquise stone cut from the Excelsior was displayed a the
l939 World's Fair by De Beers.
The Great
Mogul
The world's third largest gem-quality diamond was
named after Shah Jehan who built the Taj Mahal. It was found in the
mid-seventeenth century in Hyderabad, India. It's whereabouts are
not presently known, and it may no longer exist as a single large
stone e. It has been confused with several other famous diamonds,
most importantly the Orloff, which has also been described as a
faintly blue rose-cut stone.
It is said that the stone was so badly cut that the
lapidary, instead of being paid by the Shah, was forced to pay a
heavy fine. When Tavernier so the Mogul, he described it as looking
like an egg, and weighing 280 old carats.
The Darya-i-Nur
The Darya-i-Nur is a
flawless, transparent pink stone, estimated at 175 to 195 carats. It
is the largest and most remarkable gem in the Crown Jewels of Iran,
and was one of the spoils of Persia's attack on Delhi in l739. It is
now set in a gold frame with other diamonds, topped by a crown
bearing lions with ruby eyes, holding scimitars. It was worn by the
last Shah for his coronation in l967.
The Koh-i-Nur
The name of this diamond
means "Mountain of Light" and its history, dating back to1304, is
the longest of all famous diamonds. It was captured by the Rajahs of
Malwa in the sixteenth century by the Mogul, Sultan Babur and
remained in the possession of late r Mogul emperors. It may have
been set in the famous Peacock Throne made for Shah Jehan.
After
the break-up of the Persian empire the diamond found its way to
India. It may have traveled to Afghanistan with a bodyguard of Nadir
Shah, who fled with the stone when the Shah was murdered, to be
later offered to Ranjit Singh of the Punjab in exchange for military
help (which was never delivered). After fighting broke out between
the Sikhs and the British, The East India Company claimed the
diamond as a partial indemnity, and then presented it to Queen
Victoria in 1850.
When the stone came from India, it weighed l986
carats; it was later recut to l08.93 carats. It was first worn by
the Queen in a brooch. It was later set in the State Crown, worn by
Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary, and 1937 was worn for by Queen
Elizabeth for her coronation. It is kept in the Tower of London,
with the other Crown Jewels.
The Hope
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Diamond Magic
Diamonds were once believed to hold many magical,
mystical and medicinal properties. The phosphorescence of certain
diamonds (their ability to glow in the dark) was considered a proof
of the stone's extraordinary powers. Diamonds were thought to calm
the mentally ill, and to ward off devils, phantoms and even
nightmares. They were supposed to impart virtue, generosity and
courage in battle, and to cause lawsuits to be determined in the
wearer's favor. A house or garden touched at each corner with a
diamond was supposed to be protected from lightning, storms and
blight.
The ancient Indians believed the the human soul could
pass through various incarnations, animating gemstones as well as
plants and animals. And Plato, the Greek philosopher, shared the
belief that gems were living beings, produced by a chemical reaction
t o vivifying astral spirits. Later philosophers divided precious
stones into male and female specimens, and even claimed that they
could "marry" and reproduce!
Minerals were among the first medicinal ingredients.
In the middle ages it was believed that a diamond could heal if the
sick person took it bed and warmed it with his body, of breathed
upon it while fasting or wore it next to the skin. A diamond held in
t he mouth would correct the bad habits of liars and scolds. And
diamonds were worn as a talisman against poisoning.
Diamond powder administered internally, however, was a
legendary poison. The Turkish Sultan Bajazet (1447 - 1513) was
perhaps murdered by his son, who slipped a large quantity of
powdered diamond in his father's food. In l532, his doctors dosed
Pope Clement VII with fourteen spoonfuls of pulverized gems,
including diamond, which resulted in death for the patient, as well
as a very high bill for his treatment. In the same century,
Catherine de Medici was famous for dealing out death by diamond
powder, and Benvenuto Cellini, the famous s Italian goldsmith,
described an attempt on his life by an enemy who ordered diamond
powder to be mixed in his salad. But the lapidary responsible for
grinding the diamond filched the stone, replacing it with powdered
glass (thereby saving Cellini).
The association of diamonds with poison may have been
promoted to discourage the practice of stealing diamonds by
swallowing them, particularly during mining.
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The Story of the Hope
Diamond
The history of the stone that was eventually
named the Hope diamond began when the French merchant
traveller, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, purchased a 112 3/16-carat
diamond. This diamond, which was most likely from the Kollur
mine in Golconda, India, was somewhat triangular in shape and
crudely cut. Its color was described by Tavernier as a
"beautiful violet.".
Tavernier sold the diamond to King Louis XIV of
France in 1668 with 14 other large diamonds and several
smaller ones. In 1673 the stone was recut by Sieur Pitau, the
court jeweler, resulting in a 67 1/8-carat stone. In the royal
inventories, its color was described as an intense steely-blue
and the stone became known as the "Blue Diamond of the Crown,"
or the "French Blue." It was set in gold and suspended on a
neck ribbon that the king wore on ceremonial occasions.
King Louis XV, in
1749, had the stone reset by court jeweler Andre Jacquemin, in
a piece of ceremonial jewelry for the Order of the Golden
Fleece (Toison D'Or). In 1791, after an attempt by Louis XVI
and Marie Antoinette to flee France, the jewels of the French
Royal Treasury were turned over to the government. During a
week-long looting of the crown jewels in September of 1792,
the French Blue diamond was stolen.
In 1812 a deep blue diamond
described by John Francillion as weighing 177 grains (4 grains
= 1 carat) was documented as being in the possession of London
diamond merchant, Daniel Eliason. Strong evidence indicates
that the stone was acquired by King George IV of England. At
his death, in 1830, the king's debts were so enormous that the
blue diamond was likely sold through private channels.
The first reference to the
diamond's next owner is found in the 1839 entry of the gem
collection catalog of the well-known Henry Philip Hope, the
man from whom the diamond takes its name. Unfortunately, the
catalog does not reveal where or from whom Hope acquired the
diamond or how much he paid for it.
Following the death of Henry
Philip Hope in 1839, and after much litigation, the diamond
passed to his nephew Henry Thomas Hope and ultimately to the
nephew's grandson Lord Francis Hope. In 1902 Lord Francis Hope
obtained permission from the Court of Chancery and his sisters
to sell the stone to help pay off his debts. It was sold to a
London dealer who quickly sold it to Joseph Frankels and Sons
of New York City, who retained the stone in New York until
they, in turn, needed cash. The diamond was next sold to Selim
Habib who put it up for auction in Paris in 1909. It did not
sell at the auction but was sold soon after to C.H. Rosenau
and then resold to Pierre Cartier that same year.
In 1910 the Hope diamond was
shown to Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean, of Washington D.C., at
Cartier's while on her honeymoon in Paris, but she did not
like the setting. Cartier had the diamond reset and took it to
the U.S. where he left it with Mrs. McLean for a weekend. This
strategy was successful. The sale was made in 1912 with the
diamond mounted as a headpiece on a three-tiered circlet of
large white diamonds. Sometime later it became the pendant on
a diamond necklace as we know it today.
Harry Winston Inc. of New York
City purchased Mrs. McLean's entire jewelry collection,
including the Hope diamond, from her estate in 1949. This
collection also included the 94.8-carat Star of the East
diamond, the 15-carat Star of the South diamond, a 9-carat
green diamond, and a 31-carat diamond that is now called the
McLean diamond.
For the next 10 years the Hope
diamond was shown at many exhibits and charitable events world
wide by Harry Winston Inc., including as the central
attraction of their Court of Jewels exhibition. On November
10, 1958, they donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian
Institution, and almost immediately the great blue stone
became its premier attraction.
The Hope diamond has left the
Smithsonian only four times since it was donated. In 1962 it
was exhibited for a month at the Louvre in Paris, France, as
part of an exhibit entitled Ten Centuries of French Jewelry.
In 1965 the Hope diamond traveled to South Africa where it was
exhibited at the Rand Easter Show in Johannesburg. In 1984 the
diamond was lent to Harry Winston Inc., in New York, as part
of the firm's 50th anniversary celebration. In 1996 the Hope
diamond was again sent to Harry Winston Inc., in New York,
this time for cleaning and some minor restoration work.
The weight of the Hope diamond
for many years was reported to be 44.5 carats. In 1974 it was
removed from its setting and found actually to weigh 45.52
carats. It is classified as a type IIb diamond, which are
semiconductive and usually phosphoresce. The Hope diamond
phosphoresces a strong red color, which will last for several
seconds after exposure to short wave ultra-violet light. The
diamond's blue coloration is attributed to trace amounts of
boron in the stone.
In the pendant surrounding the
Hope diamond are 16 white diamonds, both pear-shapes and
cushion cuts. A bail is soldered to the pendant where Mrs.
McLean would often attach other diamonds including the McLean
diamond and the Star of the East. The necklace chain contains
45 white diamonds.
In December of 1988, a team
from the Gemological Institute of America visited the
Smithsonian to grade the great blue stone according to present
day techniques. They observed that the gem shows evidence of
wear, has a remarkably strong phosphorescence, and that its
clarity is slightly affected by a whitish graining that is
common to blue diamonds. They described the color as a fancy
dark grayish-blue. An examination on the same day by another
gemologist using a very sensitive colorimeter revealed that
there is a very slight violet component to the deep blue
color, imperceptible to the naked eye. Still, one can only
wonder that the original 112 3/16-carat stone bought by
Tavernier was described as "un beau violet" (a beautiful
violet).
HOPE DIAMOND DATA
WEIGHT: 45.52 carats
DIMENSIONS:
Length 25.60 mm
Width 21.78 mm
Depth 12.00 mm
CUT: Cushion antique brilliant
with a faceted girdle and extra facets on the pavilion.
CLARITY: VS1. Whitish graining is
present.
COLOR: Fancy dark
grayish-blue | |
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in all the facts of diamonds, the history, the science etc. Please
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REMARKABLE DIAMOND
FACTS
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