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  The diamond is the oldest item one can ever own. Diamonds are pure carbon - it is one of the earth’s most common elements. It is a simple material, found in graphite pencils and fireplace soot. Diamonds were formed, and crystallized eons ago under incredible heat and pressure deep in the earth. During the Earth’s growing phase millions of years ago, great volcanic forces pushed the "blue earth" containing diamonds to the surface where they were scattered along rivers and into the oceans. In 1870, in South Africa a diamond was found in the earth far from a river source, and the practice of dry-digging for diamonds was born. These were the beginnings of modern mining.

  The Greek word "Adamas" means unconquerable and indestructible. This is the origin of the word “Diamond”. It is one of the most indestructible natural formations known to man.

  Many early cultures and many countries used diamonds for their own reasons, each with their own meanings. Ancient man used the raw diamond to create tools and carvings. For example, when tribes in Africa and the Middle East expanded their trade with one another, these rare stones became a mode of exchange, the world's first hard currency. The symbols and representations of the diamond are expansive and individual. For some it meant the key to magic, healing, protection and even poisoning; to others - it’s wealth, prosperity, status, and everlasting love. It was even said that in ancient Greece and Rome Cupids' arrows were tipped with diamonds which had an effect equal to nothing. They have been the strength, power and symbols of Kings and Queens, the ruin of kingdoms, and the teardrops of forgotten Gods.

  Today one of the most common uses of the diamond from a sociological aspect is in the engagement and wedding rings. Even in the 2nd Century in Rome,  the ring was used in the ceremony before the Emperor and his blessing. The custom was then continued and mostly Christianized by the 4th century by St. Augustine. Byzantine wedding rings are thick gold bands with round or oval bezels depicting the couple face to face, or receiving Christ's blessing of their eternal union. Today the diamond ring, commits a man and a woman to each other with the expression of strength, purity, brilliance and the indestructible bond of love

Below is a brief look at the history and timeline of the diamond:

3.3 billion years ago

  Almost 200 km below the earth’s surface carbon began to evolve under extreme pressure and heat, the beginnings of the formation of the most valued commodity on earth, - the Diamond.

1200 – 1400AD

  Diamonds begin to appear in Europe as accent decoration in other forms of Jewelry. King Louis IX of France (1226–70), bestows rarity to diamonds and establishes intrinsic value on them. Within 100 years diamonds appeared in royal jewelry of both men and women, then among the greater European aristocracy. The earliest diamond-cutting industry is believed to have been in Venice, a trade capital, starting sometime after 1330.

1477

  The Archduke Maximillian of Austria “proposes” to his wife to be Mary of Burgundy with a Diamond Ring, a symbol of his betrothal. Hence the first recorded engagement ring. It was worn on the 3rd finger of the right hand, in order to be against a specific vein that goes directly to the heart.

1550

  Antwerp Belgium, the most important diamond center of the period, where a Diamond-cutters' Guild was soon to be established.

1600 - 1750

  The Diamond was the first and foremost symbol of ultimate wealth and prosperity in Europe. India was the only know source of diamonds. Brazil was soon to follow.

1860

  A discovery of diamonds near Hopetown, south of Kimberley in South Africa, gives birth to the modern diamond industry. The 1870s and 1880s in the Northern Cape saw a mad rush to the newly discovered diamond fields.

1905

  The world's largest gem quality diamond, the Cullinan, was found in South Africa. Uncut, it weighed 3025 carats. It was presented to King Edward VII for his 66th birthday.

1939

  The criteria for Diamonds established. The standards and the 4 C’s, Cut, Colour, Carat, and Clarity are published.

1967 - 2000

  Botswana becomes the largest producer of diamonds by value in the world. The Centenary, found in 1986, was polished from a 599 carat gem. The rough diamond was cut into various stones, the largest of which bears the name Centenary and, at 273 carats, is the Largest Modern Cut, Top Color, Flawless Diamond in the world.

  Today diamonds are found in all five continents of the world, but not to the same extent in each. The oldest diamond deposits were found in Asia and have been known and worked from the earliest times. Diamonds have been known longer in India than in any other country in the world. There is a comparatively small number of diamonds in existence, which either on account of their size, beauty, or historic and ancient associations, possess a special interest. All the older diamonds famous for their large size and enormous value, which are known by special names, come from India. In recent times, diamonds of remarkable size have been discovered in Brazil and South Africa. The value of such rare stones is naturally enormous and they usually find a place among the crown jewels of different countries, rarely entering into the possession of private individual except in the case of a few wealthy collectors.

  The large Indian diamonds are all thought to be of ancient discovery. However, the majority of them do not have records dating to very early times. Probably, the largest among them all is the "Great Mughal" seen in the treasury of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1666, by Tavernier, who both drew and described the stone in detail. The diamond, weighed 280 carats, was in the form of a very high and round rosette and was of good quality. The original stone is supposed to have been found in the mines of Golconda in South India between 1630 and 1650 and is supposed to have weighed 787 carats. The subsequent history of the Great Mughal is a complete blank. It is variously supposed to have been lost or destroyed, to be in existence under another name, such as the "Orloff" diamond. Others believe it be in the possession of the crown jewels of the Shah of Persia.

  Another large diamond of the same weight has been described in the memoirs of Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty. According to this account the diamond has long been famous in India, and had formed the spoils of war of many Indian princes, finally passing into the possession of Babur in 1556. Nadir Shah appropriated the Babur's diamond after invading India in the year 1739. He renamed it as “Koh-i-noor”. It passed into the hands of Ranjit Singh in the year 1813, and after the British annexation of Punjab, became the property the East India Company and presented to Queen Victoria in the year 1850 and was re-cut to a size of 106 carats. The Koh-i-noor, today a part of the British Crown jewels, is now a stone of considerable beauty, slightly grayish in color, with a brilliant luster, but it is a question whether re-cutting it was money well invested,  since the gem,  though a much more brilliant and attractive jewel,  has ceased to be an object of interest to the mineralogist or antiquarian; for,  in its present form - an oval stone, weighing one hundred and six carats - there is no suggestion as to its natural shape,  while all interest attached to it by association is now lost with the loss of its identity

  Among the Russian Crown jewels, the "Orloff" is the largest of all diamonds and may be found in the Diamond Treasury of Russia in Moscow. Tavernier's description of the Orloff diamond is very similar to two other gems- The Great Mughal and the Koh-i-noor:

  300 Carats when found, slightly bluish green in colour, and exceptionally pure in clarity. Cut: Mogul-cut rose, there are so many historical episodes involving the Orloff. First, it may have been set at one time as the diamond eye of Vishnu's idol (one of the Hindu Gods) in the innermost sanctuary temple in Sriangam, before being stolen in the 1700s by a French deserter. However, the deserter just dug one eye from its socket, because he was terror-stricken at the thought of retribution, so he couldn't take the other. He went to Madras, and sold the stone quickly to an English sea-captain for 2,000 pounds.

  The time passed, the stone arrived at Amsterdam where the Russian count Grigori Orloff, an ex-lover of Empress Catherine the Great was residing. He heard about rumors of the stone, and he bought the diamond for 90,000 pounds and took it back to Russia for Catherine's favor. The stone has been called the Orloff since then. Catherine received his gift and had it mounted in the Imperial Sceptre. She gave a marble palace to Grigori in exchange for the Orloff. However, Grigori couldn't get Catherine's love. Grigori Orloff passed away at the nadir of disappointment in 1783.

  In 1812 the Russians, fearing that Napoleon with his Grand Army was about to enter Moscow, hid the Orloff in a priest's tomb. Napoleon supposedly discovered the Orloff's location and went to claim it. However, as a solider of the Army was about to touch the Orloff, a priest's ghost appeared and pronounced a terrible curse upon the Army. Napoleon scampered away without the Orloff.

  Among the Persian Crown jewels are two large diamonds, the "Darya-e-Noor" (Sea of Light) that weighs 186 carats, and the other "Taj-e-Mah" (Crown of the Moon), which weights 146 carats. Both are of purest clarity and are cut as rosettes and valued at one million pound sterling.

  The "Regent" or "Pitt" is a large diamond forms a part of the French Crown jewels. It had its origins in India in 1701 and was purchased by Pitt the Governor of Madras. The Regent of France acquired it in 1717 for 80,000 pounds and it was re-cut from 410 to 136 carats. In the valuation of the French Crown jewels in 1791 this diamond was stated to be worth 480, 000 pounds.

  The "Florentine" is a large diamond now forms a part of the imperial treasury at Vienna. This diamond is distinctly yellow in color, and weighs 139 carats. It is beautifully clear and shows a fine fire. After frequently changing hands it came to the possession of Duke of Tuscany, who brought it to Vienna, its final resting place

  The “Blue Hope” - 45.52 Carats, the ironically named Hope diamond (named for its purchaser, Henry Thomas Hope) may have had a long and illustrious history before it became associated with a run of bad luck for its owners.

  It is thought to be a part of the famous Blue Tavernier Diamond, brought to Europe from India in l642. The Blue was purchased by King Louis XIV who had it cut to 67.50 carats from 112 carats to bring out its brilliance. The diamond was stolen during the French Revolution, and a smaller diamond of similar color was sold in 1830 to Hope, an English banker. After inheriting the diamond, Hope's son lost his fortune.

  It was eventually acquired by an American widow, Mrs. Edward McLean, whose family then suffered a series of catastrophes: her only child was accidentally killed, the family broke up, Mrs. McLean lost her money, and then committed suicide. When Harry Winston, the New York diamond merchant, bought the stone in 1949, many clients refused to uch the stone. It is now on display at the Smithosonian Institute in Washington.

  The best known yellow diamond “The Tiffany” was found in the De Beers mine at Kimberly in 1878 and weighed 287.42 carats. The following year it was bought by Charles Lewis Tiffany, the famous Fifth Avenue Jeweler, and was cut in Paris as a cushion-shaped brilliant with 90 facets, cut weight 128.54 carats. The Tiffany Yellow is one of the largest yellow diamonds in existence. Eighty years were to pass after its discovery before the beautiful orange-yellow diamond was set in a piece of jewelry. The Tiffany Yellow diamond was mounted in a necklace and worn for the first time as a personal ornament at the Tiffany Ball in Newport, Rhode Island in 1957. The honor of this first wearing went to the Ball's chairwoman, Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse.. In 1971 the Tiffany returned to South Africa for the exhibition which marked the centennial celebration of the Kimberley Mine. After an absence of forty years from London, Tiffany's re-opened their branch in Old Bond Street in 1986 and displayed the diamond to herald their return. The sole hiatus in the otherwise uneventful history of the Tiffany has centred on reported attempts to sell the diamond which was valued at $12,000,000 at the end of 1983.

  The 128.54-carat Tiffany Yellow remains on permanent display on the ground floor of the Tiffany & Co. store in New York City.

  The "Dresden Green" diamond preserved in the "Green Vaults" of Dresden is the most famous representative of the stones of this color. It has a fine apple-green color, perfectly transparent, almond shaped in form and weighs about 40 carats. Since 1748 it has been the property of the Saxon Crown. It is said August the Strong paid 60000 thalers to acquire it.

  The "Kimberly diamond" was originally a 490-carat rough diamond found in the Kimberly mines of South Africa. It was cut into its present size of 70 carats in the year 1921 and again into an emerald shape in the year 1951. It was widely exhibited until a private collector in Texas purchased it in the year 1971.

  Harry Winston first purchased the "Niarchos" diamond as a part of 8.4 million dollars deal. It is a blue-white flawless diamond, weighing about 128 carats. It was sold 1957 to Stavros Niarchos, the Greek shipping Magnate who gave the diamond its present name.

  The "Oppenheimer" diamond purchased by Harry Winston was presented to the Smithsonian Institution in memory of the late Sir Ernest Oppenheimer of De Beers Consolidated Mines. This almost perfect yellow crystal, weighing approximately 253 carats was found in the Dutoitspan Mine, Kimberly, South Africa in 1964

  The "Star of Sierra Leone" when it was first found weight approximately half-a-pound, and was the third largest diamond ever found. The 969-carat diamond was subsequently cut into seventeen exquisite individual diamonds, six of which are now set in the Star of Sierra Leone Brooch.

  The "Kahn Canary" diamond, which weighs 4.25 carats, is a unique find because of its flawless condition and a pleasing natural triangular yellow shape and has remained in its uncut form. The diamond was first discovered by George Stepp of Carthage Arkansas in crater of Diamonds State Park and later sold to Kahn Jewelers.

  The "Hortensia" is a peach colored diamond was named after Hortense de Beauharnais, the stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Hortensia had been part of the French Crown Jewels since Louis XIV bought it. At present, Hortensia is on display in the Louvre, Paris.

  The "Idol's eye", weighing 70.2 carats is flattened pear shaped diamond that is believed to have once set in the eye of an idol before it was stolen. Legend has it that it was given as a ransom for Princess Rasheedah by the King of Kashmir to the Sultan of Turkey who had abducted her.

  The "Jubilee Diamond" weighing about 245 carats the most perfectly cut of all large diamonds. Its facets are so exact that it can be balanced on the culet point, which is less than two millimeters across. At present this majestic diamond is on display at the DeBeers Diamond Pavilion in Johannesburg.

  The "Great Chrysanthemum" weighing nearly 104 carats is a pear shaped diamond cut from 198.28 carat brown rough found in South Africa in 1963. Julius Cohen, a New York City dealer, bought the rough and had it cut to reveal the diamond's rich golden-brown, chrysanthemum-like color. In 1971, the diamond was exhibited at the Kimberly Centenary Exhibition in South Africa. The diamond also was shown in the Diamonds-International Academy Collection at the Diamond Pavilion in Johannesburg in 1965. Recently, Julius Cohen sold the Great Chrysanthemum to an undisclosed foreign buyer.

  The “Cullinan” diamonds or the “Star of Africa” as it is popularly known, discovered in 1905, are all parts of the nine large diamonds and form the property of the British Imperial Crown jewels. The largest weighs 530 carts. The Cullinan II adorns the center-front of Imperial State Crown of Britain and can be viewed with the other crown jewels in the Tower of London.