Where was the world s first diamond found?

Did you know that diamonds were first discovered in India about 2400 years ago? The stone, which many consider absolutely irresistible, is actually billions of years old. And in a modern world where many question the true value of diamonds, understanding the history of diamond mining and its future is critical.

What are diamonds?

The term “diamond” itself comes from the ancient Greek word “Adamas”, which means “invincible”. And indeed, there are no minerals in the world that surpass it in strength. However, this beautiful stone has deeper symbolism – love, romance, longevity. Diamond, from a chemical point of view, is simply a special crystalline form of carbon. However, the strength of the material is so high that it is the determining factor on the Mohs hardness scale. Simply put, diamond is the hardest substance on Earth. In its pure form, diamond is transparent and colorless. And the first stones, discovered in India 2400 years ago, were just as attractive and shiny as modern ones.

Where were diamonds discovered and mined?

Diamonds were first discovered in India. However, their deposit was relatively small – the sources were quickly exhausted. In the early 1700s, some more diamonds were found in Brazil. But, similarly, their deposit was quickly exhausted, as a result of which the miners were forced to go in search of other sources. In 1866, while exploring the banks of the Orange River in South Africa, 15-year-old Erasmus Jacobs discovered a huge diamond, which he initially mistook for an ordinary pebble. But after the find was appreciated, excavations began in this area. And prospectors discovered a large deposit of new diamonds. The deposit attracted more and more prospectors – and soon large-scale excavations began in the Orange River basin. The miners discovered a large spring, which soon became known as the Kimberley Mine. This deposit significantly increased the world supply of diamonds, but led to a drop in their prices. By the way, today this mine has a not very euphonious name – the “Big Hole” kimberlite pipe – and is completely exhausted. By the end of the 19th century, diamonds were no longer considered a rarity and were even inferior in value to rubies, emeralds and sapphires. To control the production and supply of diamonds, Cecil Rhodes founded De Beers Consolidated Mines, but this did little to increase the price. Only after a lengthy advertising campaign did the market recover. By the beginning of the 20th century, diamonds had once again become the most expensive gemstones in the world, and demand for them was at an all-time high. Today, about 50% of diamonds are mined in South and Central Africa. The remainder comes from kimberlite pipes in India, Canada, Australia, Russia and Brazil. Diamonds can also be found in the USA – in Colorado, Arkansas, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming.

Prospection

In recent decades, the diamond mining industry has worked to develop sustainable and ethical mining practices. Thus, in 2005, the United Nations created the Council for the Responsible Manufacturing of Jewelry. This was the first step towards complying with ethical norms and business standards in the diamond mining industry. For example, this Council developed a set of regulations known as the Kimberlite Process. The Kimberlite Process was created to encourage ethical diamond mining. Many companies are now looking to implement environmentally friendly processes that will help ensure the safety and sustainability of diamond mining in the future. Kimberlite process standards are followed by both small and large enterprises. The business is being rejuvenated to create beautiful stones that can be safely purchased around the world.

We work with responsible diamond suppliers

At Goldsmith we pride ourselves on offering 100% natural, ethically sourced diamonds. We purchase them from cutting plants that work directly with mining companies and that follow the Kimberlite Process. Therefore, we are confident that our jewelry contains only the highest quality stones, sourced in an environmentally friendly and ethical manner. So when you buy diamond jewelry from Goldsmith, you’re not only getting a piece that’s breathtakingly beautiful. You can rest assured that you are also supporting a legal industry that has been around for centuries. Diamond is a mineral, a crystalline modification of pure carbon, the hardest substance found in nature and the most famous gemstone. Diamonds that are absolutely transparent and free from flaws are said to be “pure water.” Such diamonds, if they do not have any color tint, with the exception of bluish, are most highly valued. The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, as a result of an open auction for the sale of special-sized diamonds weighing 10,8 carats or more on the domestic market, held on the territory of the Gokhran of Russia, sold stones with a total weight of 3,4 thousand carats for a total amount of about 12,8 million dollars, RIA reported News in Gokhran. Diamond is a mineral, a crystalline modification of pure carbon, considered one of the most valuable precious stones. Diamonds are formed in geologically stable areas of continents, at depths of 100-200 km, where temperatures reach 1100-1300 degrees Celsius and pressure 35-50 kilobars. Such conditions promote the transition of carbon from graphite to another modification – diamond, which has a cubic structure densely packed with atoms. After spending billions of years at great depths, diamonds are brought to the surface by kimberlite magma during volcanic explosions, forming primary diamond deposits – kimberlite pipes. The first of these pipes was discovered in southern Africa in the Kimberley province; after this province, the pipes were called kimberlite, and the rock containing precious diamonds was called kimberlite. To date, thousands of kimberlite pipes have been found all over the world, but only a few dozen of them are industrially diamond-bearing, in which mining is profitable. Currently, diamonds are mined from two types of deposits: primary (kimberlite and lamproite pipes) and secondary – placers. Diamond mining is a complex and labor-intensive process that requires significant financial investments in the initial stages. On average, about 1 carat of diamonds is extracted from one ton of rock from primary deposits and 3-5 from alluvial deposits. Diamond crystallizes as octahedra (a regular polyhedron with eight triangular faces) with sparkling smooth edges and, less commonly, as cubes with roughly etched edges. Diamond is the hardest substance found in nature. It is marked by the German mineralogist and geologist Mohs on his hardness scale as a 10, but the difference in hardness between diamond and corundum, which has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, is enormous. It is difficult to measure the absolute hardness of a diamond, but various methods of determining relative hardness have produced figures indicating that diamond is 90 to 180 times harder than corundum. Cutters have experimentally found that the hardness of a diamond varies depending on the direction in the crystal, with the direction corresponding to the octahedron face being characterized by the greatest hardness, and the direction corresponding to the cube face being the least hard. Despite its exceptional hardness, diamond under the influence of a strong blow easily splits along planes parallel to the faces of a regular octahedron. This property of diamond is used to give stones a certain shape before they are cut and polished. Diamonds that are absolutely transparent and free from flaws are said to be “pure water.” Such diamonds, when they do not have any color tint, with the exception of bluish, are most highly valued. Stones with a faint yellowish tint are called “unclean water” stones and are valued much lower. Most often, diamonds are colorless, but there are exceptions. The 137-carat Fiorentino that mysteriously disappeared at the beginning of the century was golden yellow in color. The famous “Orlov” weighs 199,6 carats and has a greenish-blue tint. Weighing just 45,5 carats (or 9,1 g), the Hope Diamond is a rare, deep sapphire blue color of remarkable clarity. Red diamonds are highly prized, of which there are only 10 in the world, including the only known purple-crimson diamond in the world. The metric carat used to measure the weight of diamonds is 0,2 grams or 200 milligrams. Diamonds weighing more than 15 carats are rare; diamonds weighing hundreds of carats are the greatest rarity. The largest diamond found was named “Cullinan”. It was discovered in 1905 near the city of Pretoria in South Africa. The Cullinan weighed 3106 carats (or 621 g) and cost £9 million. During processing, “Cullinan” was split into 105 parts; the largest of them weighing 516,5 carats (or 103,3 g) was called the “Star of Africa”. One of the most famous diamonds in the world, the Regent, is kept in the Louvre. The Regent Diamond weighing 400 carats (80 g) was found in 1701 in Golconda (India). Now it weighs 27,35 g after cutting and is valued at $3 million. A diamond (from the French “brilliant” – brilliant) is a diamond that has been given a special shape through processing, the so-called brilliant cut, which maximizes the optical properties of the stone. Diamonds, like fingerprints, are unique – no two stones are completely identical. Diamonds, on the contrary, are made according to strictly defined rules. Of all the cut shapes, round diamonds are the most popular, perhaps due to their strong “play” and greater return of white light to the observer than other cuts. The round cut sets the standard for other shapes and accounts for over 75% of all diamonds sold to date. This 57- or 58-sided shape consists of a crown (top), girdle (widest part), and pavilion (bottom). To achieve maximum play in a round diamond, certain proportions must be strictly maintained. Fancy cut diamond shapes can be divided into two groups: wedge, in proportions close to a round diamond (marquise, pear, oval, heart, princess, radiant, etc.) and stepped (emerald, baguette, etc.). The step cut is composed of tiers (steps). Fancy wedge cut diamonds can sometimes have a “bow tie” effect, when a large dark highlight (spot) appears on the surface. Its appearance is associated with deviations in the proportions of the cut and symmetry of the stone. This effect negatively affects the appearance of the diamond. The first “C” is carat weight. At this stage, the exact weight of the stone is determined by weighing it on scales or calculating using formulas if the diamond is fixed in the product. The weight of a diamond is expressed in carats. The second “C” is color. Completely colorless diamonds are quite rare, and almost all stones have shades of varying colors and intensities. The expert’s job is to accurately determine the intensity and color of a diamond under standard lighting using color standards. The third “C” is clarity (purity). At this stage, all internal imperfections (defects) of the stone are identified. The fourth “C” is cut (cut quality). At this stage, characteristics of the diamond’s shape, cutting quality and finishing are given.
Based on these parameters, one can judge how a given diamond stands out among other diamonds, on the basis of which it may be more expensive, or, conversely, cheaper. The world leaders in diamond mining are Africa and Russia. The main African diamond-producing countries are Botswana, South African Republic and Congo (Democratic Republic), Angola and Namibia. According to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the volume of diamond production in Russia in 2008 amounted to 36,925 million carats with a total value of 2,509 billion dollars. The average cost of one carat of diamonds mined in the Russian Federation was $67,95. According to materials from the Kimberley Process (as part of the Kimberley Process, the international community is fighting illegally mined diamonds in conflict zones, Botswana became the world leader in diamond mining in value terms in 2008. Diamonds worth $3,273 billion were mined in this country. Russia in production in value terms took 2nd place in the world. In the world ranking for production in carats (36,925 million), Russia took first place in the world. Material prepared on the basis of RIA Novosti information and open sources