|
Year
|
The History of Diamonds
|
|
800
BC
|
Diamonds discovered in India
|
|
327
BC
|
Alexander the Great brings the first diamonds to Europe
from India.
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|
296
BC
|
Sanskrit manuscript called the 'Arthasastra', or 'the
Lesson of Profit' mentions a diamond
|
|
1074
|
One of the first examples of diamond jewelry history
when a Hungarian queen's crown, is created.
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|
1150's
|
The Briolette of India, is a legendary diamond of
90.38 carats, which was believed to have been brought to England
by Eleanor of Aquitaine
|
|
1375
|
The Point Cut was developed which follows the natural
shape of a raw diamond, reducing waste in the diamond cutting process.
|
|
1382
|
A circlet crown was purchased for Queen Anne of
Bohemia, being set with a large sapphire, a balas, and four large Pearls with
a diamond in the centre
|
|
Year
|
The History of Diamonds -
1400's & 1500's
|
|
1407
|
The earliest European records of the history and art
of cutting diamonds originate in Paris
where there was a flourishing guild, the "Lapidaries, Jewel Cutters and
Engravers of Cameos and Hard Stones." Reference is made to a
diamond-cutter named Herman, in 1407. The diamond cutters of Paris
were quite numerous in that year, and lived in a special district known as
"la Courarie, where reside the workers in diamonds and other
stones."
|
|
1423
|
It is documented that the Chief Justice of England ,
Sir William Hankford, gave his great-granddaughter a baptismal gift of a gilt
cup and a diamond ring
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|
1434
|
Johannes Guttenberg (1398 – 1468) learnt gem cutting
and polishing from Andreas Drytzehen of Strasbourg.
|
|
1458
|
Lodewyk (Louis) van Berquem of Brugge,
Belgium created the
first cut diamonds when he discovered that diamonds could be cut by their own
dust. Louis van Berquem invented a diamond polishing wheel called a scaif and
introduced the concept of using absolute symmetry in the placement of facets
on the diamond.
|
|
1467
|
Louis van Berquem designed the light yellow 137 carat
Florentine Diamond for the Valois Family commissioned by Duke of Burgundy
|
|
1477
|
Mary of Burgundy became the first known recipient of a
diamond engagement ring given to her by the Archduke Maximilian of Austria.
The history and tradition of the engagement ring begins
|
|
1520
|
The Rose cut was created to resemble an opening
rose-bud. The two most famous diamond cutters of this time were Giacomo
Tagliacarne and Giovanni delle Corniole who perfected the art of facetted gem
cutting
|
|
1526
|
The first Mogul emperor, Babur (1483-1530) acquired
the Pink Agra Diamond
|
|
1570
|
The pale yellow Sancy Diamond was purchased in Constantinople
by the French Ambassador to Turkey,
Nicholas Harlai, the Seigneur de Sancy
|
|
Year
|
The History of Diamonds -
1600's & 1700's
|
|
1631
|
Jean Baptist Tavernier made a series of six voyages to
India where
he saw some of the world’s most fabulous diamonds and gems. Tavernier
purchased the Koh-i-Noor and the Hope diamonds for his patron King Louis XIV
of France. He
wrote the book "The Six Voyages of John Baptiste Tavernier" which
was published in Paris, 1676)
|
|
1643
|
The Grand Condé, a light pink pear-shaped stone, was
given to Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé by King Louis XIII of France
|
|
1650's
|
Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602 – 1661) serving the
French King Louis XIV, collected diamonds from Catherine the Great and is
credited with the first 'Brilliant cut' diamonds, which were called Mazarins
Double-Cut Brilliants
|
|
1664
|
The Wittelsbach diamond formed a gift from King Philip
IV of Spain
to his 15-year-old daughter, the Infanta Margareta Teresa to celebrate her
betrothal to the Emperor Leopold I of Austria
in 1664. It was a a rare dark blue color.
|
|
1669
|
The Spoonmaker's Diamond (aka the Kasikci diamond) was
found on a rubbish heap at Egrikapi in Istanbul
|
|
1681
|
Vincent Peruzzi, a Venetian diamond polisher,
introduced the "Triple-Cut Brilliant" or "Peruzzi Cut" diamonds
by doubling the number of crown facets from 17 to 33. These are also referred
to as 'Old Mine cuts' or Cushion cuts
|
|
1691
|
The Hortensia diamond, a pale orangey-pink diamond,
was added to the Crown Jewels of France by King Louis XIV
|
|
1701
|
The colorless Regent diamond discovered by a slave in
the Parteal Mines on the Kistna River
|
|
1726
|
The Dresden Green diamond, named after the capital of Saxony,
was sold to King Frederic August I by Marcus Moses who acquired the stone in India.
It has a fancy green color, weighs almost 41 carats, has 58 facets and has a
pear shaped cut
|
|
1760's
|
The Orlov (aka Orloff) Diamond was mounted in the
Russian Imperial Sceptre, during the reign of Catherine the Great
(1762-1796). It has a bluish-green tint
|
|
1762
|
The Shah Diamond,an 88.70-carat, was found in Golconda,
India. It was included
in the Great Imperial Crown for Catherine the Great which was made by a
jeweller called Jeremia Posier
|
|
1792
|
The French Blue Diamond, later to become the Hope
Diamond, was stolen from the French Crown Jewels during the French Revolution
|
|
Year
|
The History of Diamonds -
1800's & 1900's
|
|
1837
|
The Tiffany Diamond Company was founded by Charles
Lewis Tiffany
|
|
1839
|
A large blue diamond, called the "Hope
Diamond," appears in the gem catalogue of Henry Philip Hope
|
|
1850's
|
The Black Orlov (aka Orloff) Diamond was acquired by
the Russian Princess Nadia Vyegin-Orlov (aka Orloff)
|
|
1851
|
The Koh-i-Noor diamond was re-cut to 105 carats for
Queen Victoria (Empress of India) by a stone-cutter from Amsterdam.
This famous diamond is part of the British Crown jewels
|
|
1853
|
The Star of the South was found in the Bagagem Diamond
Mines in Brazil
|
|
1854
|
Royal Asscher Diamond Company was founded
|
|
1866
|
The Eureka Diamond was cut from the first diamond
found in South Africa
|
|
1869
|
The Star of South Africa, a 47.69-carat old style
pear-shaped diamond, was found in South Africa
|
|
1877
|
The Tiffany Yellow was found in South
Africa
|
|
1880
|
The colorless Porter Rhodes Diamond came from the
claim of Mr. Porter-Rhodes in the Kimberly Mine
|
|
1889
|
The Iranian Yellows - African diamonds acquired by
Nasseridin Shah
|
|
1895
|
The Jubilee Diamond, a colorless, cushion-shaped
diamond, was found in the Jagersfontein Mine
|
|
1902
|
The Cullinan (aka the Star of Africa) was found by
Frederick Wells, the superintendent of the Premier Mine in South Africa, and
named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, who opened the mine and was visiting that
dayAbraham and Joseph Asscher cut the enormous 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond
at the request of King Edward VII in 1902 when the Asscher cut was patented.
|
|
1900's
|
The Archduke Joseph, a colorless cushion shaped
diamond, was found and named after a Hungarian prince Archduke Joseph August
(1872-1962)
|
|
1900's
|
The Spirit of de Grisogono at 312.24 carats was also
found in the early 1900's and is the world's largest cut black diamond
|
|
1909
|
The Blue Heart diamond weighs 30.82 metric carats and
was cut by Atanik Ekyanan of Neuilly,
Paris
|
|
1916
|
The Tereschenko Diamond was secretly taken out of Russia
on the eve of the Russian Revolution
|
|
1924
|
Uncle Sam is the nickname for the largest diamond
discovered in the United States
which was discovered by W. O. Bassum at Crater of Diamonds state park in Murfreesboro,
Arkansas.
|
|
1933
|
La Favorite Diamond was mined in South
Africa and exhibited at the Chicago
World's Fair
|
|
1934
|
The Jonker Diamond was found by 62-year-old Johannes
Jacobus Jonker in South Africa
|
|
1941
|
1941 The Walska Diamond, a 95-carat yellow briolette
cut stone, was bought by Ganna Walska (1887-1984) who was a Polish opera
singer
|
|
1950
|
The Allnatt Fancy Vivid Yellow 101.29 carat Diamond
was found at the Premier Diamond Mine in South
Africa. It was named after its original
owner, Alfred Ernest Allnatt
|
|
1957
|
The Nepal
("The Ageless Diamond" ) was purchased by Harry Winston from an
Indian dealer
|
|
1958
|
Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond was used as a centrepiece of the
tiara designed for the wedding of Empress Farah to the the last Shah of Iran,
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
|
|
1967
|
The Earth Star Diamond was cut from a rough gem
weighing 248.9 carats which was found in the Jagersfontein Mine
|
|
1968
|
The Asscher cut Krupp Diamond, originally named after
Vera Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, was sold at Sothebys to Elizabeth Taylor.
|
|
1969
|
The famous couple purchased the Taylor-Burton
pear-shaped diamond
|
|
1969
|
The Zale Light of Peace Diamond (blue-white) was
purchased by the Zale Corporation of Dallas
weighing a total of 434.6 carats. It is believed to have come from Sierra
Leone, Africa
|
|
1969
|
The Sultan of Morocco is a 35.27 carat cushion cut
grayish-blue diamond. Cartier lent this diamond to the New
York State Museum
for their World of Gems Exposition
|
|
1973
|
The black Amsterdam Diamond was first exhibited at D.
Drukker & Zn., Amsterdam
|
|
1977
|
The Kahn Canary Diamond was Discovered in the Crater
of Diamonds State Park, near Murfreesboro, Arkansas
|
|
1997
|
The Pumpkin Diamond is a Fancy Vivid Orange was found
by a farmer on South Africa
|
|
1997
|
The Golden Jubilee Diamond was presented to the King
of Thailand for his Golden Jubilee and was designed by Gabi Tolkowsky
|
|
1999
|
The American Star Diamond was purchased by the
EightStar company of California
|
|
2002
|
The Beluga Diamond (a 41-carat
stone from the Golconda area of India):
The Ashoka cut diamond was developed by the William Goldberg firm
|
