History of Diamonds

 

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History of Diamonds
The history of diamonds. Before the Medieval era Diamonds were worn rough, or cut and polished only on their upper surfaces. It was in this form that diamonds used to ornament temples, goblets, reliquaries, and crowns. The history of cutting Diamonds dates back to the beginning of the 1400's in Paris. Diamonds became popular in jewelry and from this time the history of diamonds accelerated and many famous diamonds were cut. The following history timeline of diamonds details important dates relating to famous diamonds and the history of diamonds.

History Timeline of Diamonds
The following timeline & history of diamonds details important historical events and dates:

Dates in HistoryTimeline & History of Diamonds
800 BCDiamonds discovered in India
327 BCAlexander the Great brings the first diamonds to Europe from India.
296 BCSanskrit manuscript called the 'Arthasastra', or 'the Lesson of Profit' mentions a diamond
1074One of the first examples of diamond jewelry history when a Hungarian queen's crown, is created.
1150'sThe Briolette of India, is a legendary diamond of 90.38 carats, which was believed to have been brought to England by Eleanor of Aquitaine
1375The Point Cut was developed which follows the natural shape of a raw diamond, reducing waste in the diamond cutting process.
1382A 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
Dates in HistoryTimeline & History of Diamonds - 1400's & 1500's

1407The 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."
1423It 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
1434Johannes Guttenberg (1398 – 1468) learnt gem cutting and polishing from Andreas Drytzehen of Strasbourg.
1458Lodewyk (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.
1467Louis van Berquem designed the light yellow 137 carat Florentine Diamond  for the Valois Family commissioned by Duke of Burgundy
1477Mary 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
1520The 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

1526The first Mogul emperor, Babur (1483-1530) acquired the Pink Agra Diamond
1570The pale yellow Sancy Diamond was purchased in Constantinople by the French Ambassador to Turkey, Nicholas Harlai, the Seigneur de Sancy
Dates in HistoryTimeline & History of Diamonds - 1600's & 1700's
1631Jean 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)
1643The Grand Condé, a light pink pear-shaped stone, was given to Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé by King Louis XIII of France
1650'sCardinal 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
1664The 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.
1669The Spoonmaker's Diamond (aka the Kasikci diamond) was found on a rubbish heap at Egrikapi in Istanbul
1681Vincent 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

1691The Hortensia diamond, a pale orangey-pink diamond, was added to the Crown Jewels of France by King Louis XIV
1701The colorless Regent diamond discovered by a slave in the Parteal Mines on the Kistna River
1726The 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'sThe 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
1762The 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
1792The French Blue Diamond, later to become the Hope Diamond, was stolen from the French Crown Jewels during the French Revolution
Dates in HistoryTimeline & History of Diamonds - 1800's & 1900's
1837The Tiffany Diamond Company was founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany
1839A large blue diamond, called the "Hope Diamond," appears in the gem catalogue of Henry Philip Hope
1850'sThe Black Orlov (aka Orloff) Diamond was acquired by the Russian Princess Nadia Vyegin-Orlov (aka Orloff)

1851The 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
1853The Star of the South was found in the Bagagem Diamond Mines in Brazil
1854Royal Asscher Diamond Company was founded
1866The Eureka Diamond was cut from the first diamond found in South Africa
1869The Star of South Africa, a 47.69-carat old style pear-shaped diamond, was found in South Africa
1877The Tiffany Yellow was found in South Africa
1880The colorless Porter Rhodes Diamond came from the claim of Mr. Porter-Rhodes in the Kimberly Mine
1889The Iranian Yellows - African diamonds acquired by Nasseridin Shah
1895The Jubilee Diamond, a colorless, cushion-shaped diamond, was found in the Jagersfontein Mine
1902The 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'sThe Archduke Joseph, a colorless cushion shaped diamond, was found and named after a Hungarian prince Archduke Joseph August (1872-1962)
1900'sThe 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

1909The Blue Heart diamond weighs 30.82 metric carats and was cut by Atanik Ekyanan of Neuilly, Paris
1916The Tereschenko Diamond was secretly taken out of Russia on the eve of the Russian Revolution
1924Uncle 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.
1933La Favorite Diamond was mined in South Africa and exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair
1934The Jonker Diamond was found by 62-year-old Johannes Jacobus Jonker in South Africa
19411941 The Walska Diamond, a 95-carat yellow briolette cut stone, was bought by Ganna Walska (1887-1984) who was a Polish opera singer
1950The 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
1957The Nepal ("The Ageless Diamond" ) was purchased by Harry Winston from an Indian dealer
1958Nur-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.
1967The Earth Star Diamond was cut from a rough gem weighing 248.9 carats which was found in the Jagersfontein Mine
1968The Asscher cut Krupp Diamond, originally named after Vera Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, was sold at Sothebys to Elizabeth Taylor.
1969The famous couple purchased the Taylor-Burton pear-shaped diamond

1969The 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
1969The 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
1973The black Amsterdam Diamond was first exhibited at D. Drukker & Zn., Amsterdam
1977The 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
1999The American Star Diamond was purchased by the EightStar company of California
2002The Beluga Diamond (a 41-carat stone from the Golconda area of India): The Ashoka cut diamond was developed by the William Goldberg firm
Dates in HistoryTimeline & History of Diamonds

The above  timeline & history of diamonds details important historical events and dates
 

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Timeline & History of Diamonds
The following timeline & history of diamonds details important historical events and dates. Fascinating information about the history of diamonds. History of Diamonds provide facts and information about the history of diamonds together with a timeline.

  
 

History Timeline of Diamonds - Precious - Stone - Guide - Facts - Information -Info
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History of Diamonds

 

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