History Of Diamonds

Diamonds were first recognized and mined in India, where significant alluvial deposits of the stone could then be found. The earliest written reference can be found in the Sanskrit text Arthasastra (completed around 296 BC), which describes diamond's hardness, luster, and dispersion. Diamonds quickly became associated with divinity, being used to decorate religious icons, and were believed to bring good fortune to those who carried them. Ownership was restricted among various castes by color, with only kings allowed to own all colors of diamond.

Diamonds were traded to both the east and west of India, and were recognized by various cultures for their gemological and industrial uses. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder noted diamond's ornamental uses, as well as its usefulness to engravers due to its hardness, in his work Naturalis Historia. In China, diamonds seem to have been used only for engraving jade and drilling holes in beads. Archeological evidence from Yemen suggests that diamonds were used as drill tips as early as the 4th century BC. In Europe, however, diamonds disappeared for almost 1,000 years following the rise of Christianity due to two effects: early Christians rejected diamonds due to their earlier use in amulets, and Arabic traders restricted the flow of trade between Europe and India.

Until the late Middle Ages, diamonds were most prized in their natural octahedral state, perhaps with the crystal surfaces polished to increase luster and remove foreign material. Around 1300, the flow of diamonds into Europe increased via Venice's trade network, with most flowing through the low country ports of Bruges, Antwerp, and Amsterdam. Also around this time, the taboo against cutting diamonds into gem shapes (established over 1,000 years earlier in the traditions of India) ended, allowing the development of diamond cutting technology to begin in earnest. By 1375, a guild of diamond polishers had been established at Nuremberg. Over the following centuries, various diamond cuts were introduced which increasingly demonstrated the fire and brilliance diamonds are treasured for today: the table cut, the briolette (around 1476), the rose cut (mid 16th century), and by the mid 17th century, the Mazarin, the first brilliant cut diamond design. In 1919, Marcel Tolkowsky determined an ideal round brilliant cut, a design that continues to set the standard for comparison for modern gems. However, the evolution of diamond cuts continues on to this day.

The rise in popularity of diamonds as gems seems to have paralleled increasing availability through European history. In the 13th century, King Louis IX of France established a law that only the king could own diamonds. However, within a century diamonds were popular gems among the moneyed aristocratic and merchant classes, and by at latest 1477 had begun to be used in wedding rings. Popularity continued to rise as new cuts were developed that enhanced the diamond's aesthetic appeal, and has largely continued unabated to this day; diamonds have proven popular with all classes in society as their cost becomes within reach. A number of large diamonds have become historically significant objects, as their inclusion in various sets of crown jewels and the purchase, sale, and sometimes theft of notable diamonds, have sometimes become politicized.