The History of Diamonds : Diamond History

Beginning in 1866, South Africa's humongous diamond deposits were discovered, and a major deposit was found in eastern Siberia in 1954. Currently Western Canada is the site of the world's newest diamond rush. In 1869, a young shepherd boy inadvertently discovered an 83.4 carat rough diamond in South Africa signaling the beginning of the great diamond rush. Prior to this incident, only India and Brazil were considered serious sources of diamonds. Throughout most of history, diamonds were mined from the sand and gravel surrounding rivers. However, in South Africa in 1870, a 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 mining, than ever before. Most recently marine mining has been used.

The largest rough diamond was discovered weighing in at 3,106 carats in 1905. Edward VII chose Joseph Asscher to cut two stones fine enough for the British Crown Jewels. These two stones remain among the largest cut diamonds in the world today.

The Four C's were introduced by De Beers in 1939. This helped educate consumers about diamond quality and value. The Cs stand for cut, color, carat, and my favorite, clarity. These should all be taken into consideration when establishing the right price for a stone.

Consumers can now begin to distinguish the qualities that make up the most valuable diamonds.

The grading of diamonds is a minor art that takes excellent eyesight and long practice. Many will try to master it, but only a handful of people on the planet truly will.

The stones on a diamond are of varying shades of whiteness. Next in importance to the beauty and value of the stone is the cut. Because of the diamond's great power to refract light, a properly cut modern stone will catch rays of light and direct them toward the center of the stone, from which they will be reflected back through the top, the "table", to give the greatest brilliance.

For centuries, the cutting of diamonds was avoided. In India, where all diamonds were mined until the discoveries in Brazil in the eighteenth century, the stones were simply polished and rough points smoothed off, leaving them as near their original size as possible. Sometime before the first travelers from the West appeared, a workman had found a stone that was flat on both top and bottom and polished it crudely with diamond dust to create the ancestor of the table cut. In some period before the fifteenth century, an unknown genius in India began to shape diamonds by cutting facets, for the first time bringing out their brilliance. Eventually, the idea of faceting crossed to Venice and moved north. The earliest record of diamond polishing 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 1550 in Antwerp, the most important diamond center of the period, where a diamond cutters' guild was soon to be established.

As is the case with most stories in diamond history, there are as many conflicting tales about who furnished the first stones in Europe. There is an anecdote about a certain Louis de Berquem, who supposedly lived in Belgium in the fifteenth century and is credited with being the first to cut diamonds to a geometric pattern.

Later sources agree that it was Cardinal Mazarin who gave the impetus in Europe toward the daring innovation of cutting. For it did take daring and some knowledge of diamond cleavage to split or facet a stone correctly, when any error would shatter the gem and leave only a worthless and wretched heap of diamond dust.

All of this romance was reduced to cold science in 1919 when a physicist by the name of Marcel Tolkowsky mathematically determined the precise, most advantageous placing of each of the facets, which until then was arranged at the haphazard whim of the cutter. The Tolkowsky Cut was so superior that all cutters were glad to adopt it, save for a few self-absorbed ones. But even they eventually warmed up to the idea. Even the emerald cut diamond gets its brilliance from faceting: 24 above the girdle, 8 comprising the girdle itself and 24 below.

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. The cutting of a diamond is the only way by which man can enhance the value of a stone; the other three "C's" are either there or they are not. However, cutting can make a vast difference in brilliancy as well as in retail price. There is an ideal cut for diamonds as well as an ideal number of facets, but the ideal cut often reduces the finished stone more than the cutter wishes. To compare a stone to the ideal cut instantly, the diamond office has a "proportion scope", an instrument that magnifies a diamond onto a small screen where the ideal cut is outlined. Too shallow a cut will distort the reflections of light so that they do not flash up through the table properly, but skip away through the sides or the bottom.

The cut of a diamond is reported as shape (round, marquise, etc.), and make (the quality of the cut). The shape of a cut stone is determined by several factors: the original shape and dimensions of the stone, the presence of inclusions or other imperfections, and lastly by the desire of the manufacturer. The make or quality of the cut is determined by the precision of the cutting (its symmetry and proportions) and by the degree of polish.

There are several major diamond shapes, Round (Brilliant Cut), Oval, Marquise, Emerald Cut, Princess Cut, Pear, Radiant, and Heart as well as smaller cuts and stones that are cut for supporting roles (For instance, Baguette Cut and Rose Cut).

Since more than half the weight of a stone may be lost in faceting, cutters are often tempted to sacrifice brilliance for a larger stone. That is why it is possible to buy a "flat" stone for less than a smaller stone with the ideal cut. That is also why the unknowing buyer thinks she is getting a bargain when she finds a larger stone selling for the same price as a smaller stone. Usually, this sacrifice is well worth it.

The last "C" in judging stones is the weight, the carats, so named from the seeds of the carob tree, which were used to balance the scales in ancient Oriental bazaars. About 142 carats weigh an ounce; stones of less than a carat are called "pointers" (100 points equal one carat).

Buyers must never forget that all four "C's" are taken into account in the price. A one-carat flawless diamond will fetch much more than an off color, flawed or poorly cut stone of much greater weight. Flaws can be studied under the diamond scope, which can magnify up to forty-five times, to determine if a slight re-cutting of the stone will eliminate the defect.

Estimates are that 85% of the diamonds sold in the country as "flawless" are not. In Europe, the term is not used at all. A stone of good color, though flawed, is more beautiful than a flawless stone of poor color - and is easier to resell.

Hoarding has always been a favorite form of hedge against disaster in unstable countries. Diamonds are not only the most portable form of wealth but have a stable universal market, as opposed to the currency of any one country. The price of diamonds fluctuates less than that of anything else precious, such as gold, in the free market, for the simple reason that there is no free market in diamonds.

From 1960 through 1969, wholesale prices of diamonds over a carat rose almost twice as much as the Dow-Jones industrial average. There is small chance prices will go down, not only because of the cartel, but because the supply of diamonds has not increased at a time when the custom of giving an engagement ring, once chiefly popular only in the Western world, has spread around the globe. Also, the market in the United States has gradually changed; the once popular one quarter carat diamond ring is too small; most young people now want a half carat or larger.

As it has for eighty years, DeBeers keeps the supply remarkably in line with demand. Fearing the news that large river deposits had been found in Russia, the diamond minded were worried about the thought of competition. The sad fact is that even Russia markets most of her diamonds through DeBeers. It is more profitable that way. In all, 85 percent of the world's diamonds are parceled out at the ten sights (sales) a year in London, where DeBeers sells its wares. Each producer is guaranteed a fixed percentage of total output. That is DeBeers commits to buy that amount and market it through the Central Selling Organization (CSO). Producers in turn are charged a handling and marketing fee, ranging between 10 - 20%, depending on the amount purchased and the general demand situation. Over 80% of the world's diamonds were traded through the CSO in its early days. Recent developments have caused a downward trend in this percentage; present estimates range between 65 - 75 percent.

By regulating both the industrial and gemstone diamond markets since the late 1800's, De Beers has effectively maintained the illusion of diamond scarcity. Successful marketing campaigns have persuaded consumers to believe that diamonds are precious, invaluable symbols of romance. Every preconceived notion that consumers have about diamonds is the result of De Beers. By keeping a tight control on the supply of diamonds, they have successfully kept the price stable and rising for a common mineral that is merely depressed carbon. The operating strategy that De Beers has successfully kept the company's stronghold is simple: restrict the number of diamonds released into the market in any given year and perpetuate the myth that they are scarce and should therefore command high prices.

As a matter of principal, prices are never lowered by DeBeers. This tightly knit organization has proven beneficial for most in different ways: For producers, often state run diamond mines in developing countries relying heavily on diamonds, are provided with a stable inflow of foreign currency. For dealers, they enjoy stable price increases, which can easily be passed on to consumers. DeBeers, however, seems to be benefiting the most from the agreement, asking for what producers often perceive as inappropriately large fees and in turn charging prices to merchants at their own discretion. The temptation for both producers and dealers to bypass the CSO is therefore quite significant.

You can learn more history and view diamond rings at Danforth Diamond.

Be sure to check out our wedding rings as well as our engagement rings when you visit. Thanks for stopping by!