A brief history of diamond desirability

So wherefore are radical truthful drawn to diamonds? And what makes this gemstone truthful special? The reply is arsenic multifaceted arsenic a superb chopped diamond itself — starting with its properties, arsenic the hardest worldly connected world with the highest thermal conductivity.

‘Tears of the gods’

Diamonds were archetypal discovered successful India, wherever radical thought they were created erstwhile lightning struck rock. The past Greeks believed they were tears of the gods oregon fallen splinters of stars. Prized for centuries for their brilliance and hardness, they were believed to person medicinal, adjacent magical properties. Indian royalty wore diamonds successful their uncut signifier successful jewelry — oregon arsenic protective talismans successful battle.

By the aboriginal 14th century, diamonds from India were making their mode to the large cities of Europe, sparking the archetypal cutting industries successful Venice and Bruges.

A diamond ringing offered by Archduke Maximilian of Austria to Mary of Burgundy successful 1477 is wide touted arsenic the archetypal diamond engagement ring. But it was Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a 17th-century French gem merchant and traveler, who efficaciously got Europe’s elite hooked connected diamonds.

Famous for his voyages to India and Persia, Tavernier brought galore celebrated stones backmost to royal courts crossed the continent. One of his champion customers was France’s King Louis XIV, who couldn’t get capable of his diamonds.

Using the X-ray transmission technology, the institution discovered the diamond successful the Karowe Diamond Mine successful northeastern Botswana. (Photo: Lucara Diamond Corp)

An obsession that, according to historiographer and writer Aja Raden, is simply a operation of science and optics.

“We spell truthful brainsick erstwhile we spot sparkles due to the fact that we’re virtually hard-wired to look for shiny and look for sparkly. All surviving things that tin spot person been programmed to look for thing shiny oregon sparkly due to the fact that it means water… and h2o is life.”

Slogan of the century

On the different hand, Raden added, diamonds are “the taxable and entity of an unthinkable century-long, profoundly archetypal selling run that borders connected a subject people psy-op.”

She’s referring to the iconic De Beers advertisement run that ingrained diamonds into nationalist consciousness. Founded by British imperialist tycoon Cecil Rhodes successful 1888, De Beers controlled accumulation of astir of the world’s diamonds for implicit a century. With an abundance of diamonds from South Africa’s nascent mines abruptly flooding the market, Rhodes understood the lone mode to summation their worth was to power proviso — oregon marque them artificially scarce.

But erstwhile worldwide diamond income slumped aft the Depression of the 1930s, De Beers enlisted the Philadelphia advertisement bureau N.W. Ayer & Son to whip up demand. The resulting 1948 run was thing abbreviated of a coup: “A Diamond is Forever” not lone equated diamonds with romance and eternal emotion — it pioneered merchandise placement successful Hollywood, successful movies and songs, yet utilizing fashionable civilization to make a request for diamonds.

Sales of diamond engagement rings skyrocketed, and the tagline “A Diamond is Forever” is inactive astir today. In 1999, it was named the advertizing slogan of the century.

Sparkles successful fashionable culture

Diamonds person been shining successful arts, euphony and lit passim the ages. The world’s earliest printed publication is the “Diamond Sutra” successful the Chinese language. It dates backmost to 868, and diamond is utilized passim arsenic a metaphor to “cut through” delusion to find a axenic truth.

In literature, diamonds inspired wholly caller genres: Wilkie Collins’ 1868 caller “The Moonstone” astir a stolen Indian diamond was the blueprint for the modern detective novel.

And the synesthetic prime of diamonds successful fashionable euphony — the Beatles’ kaleidoscopic “Lucy successful the Sky with Diamonds” oregon Rihanna’s deed opus “Diamonds” cases successful constituent — has mislaid nary of its allure.

Artists person exploited the dichotomy of diamonds arsenic emblematic of some consumerist nine AND eventual luxury. Andy Warhol added an borderline to his 1980 “Diamond Dust Shoes” silk surface bid with existent diamond dust, portion Damien Hirst’s celebrated formed of a quality skull acceptable with 8,601 diamonds took the contradiction to extremes.

Meanwhile, diamond particulate tin besides beryllium recovered everyplace from precision drill bits to nail files to upmarket look creams — and the imaginable of the diamond arsenic a next-generation semiconductor worldly is being actively researched.

The acheronian broadside of diamonds

But the communicative of diamonds isn’t each sparkle, and galore celebrated stones evoke the analyzable and contentious past of colonialism — similar the legendary Koh-i-Noor, inactive 1 of the highlights of the British Crown Jewels.

Originally from India, the 105-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond survived centuries of intrigue and conquests — earlier the 10-year-old Maharaja of Punjab was forced to manus it implicit to Queen Victoria successful 1849.

Following the decease of Queen Elizabeth II successful September 2022, calls for its instrumentality grew louder successful respective countries. The determination not to see the Koh-i-Noor successful Queen Consort Camilla’s crown for King Charles’ coronation was interpreted variously arsenic a amusement of diplomatic sensitivity and an effort to deflect specified controversy.

Canadian-Indian creator and decorator Reena Ahluwalia, who has reclaimed the Koh-i-Noor arsenic a taxable successful her painting, says it’s a conflicted awesome to this time for galore Indians. “It’s truthful overmuch much than conscionable a precious gem,” she said. “Because it originated successful India it represents some pridefulness and a precise achy reminder of the country’s assemblage past.”

Popular civilization besides played a relation successful anchoring the acheronian broadside of diamonds successful the corporate imagination, arsenic evidenced by the lasting stain of “blood diamonds.” The word emerged successful the 1990s to picture diamonds mined and sold to concern equipped conflict, with countries similar Sierra Leone and Angola emblematic of the problem.

A planetary outcry led to the constitution successful 2003 of a planetary certification strategy to modulate the unsmooth diamond trade. But erstwhile Hollywood brought the contented to the large surface with the movie “Blood Diamond,” its graphic depiction of the diamond commercialized arsenic a perpetuator of ruthless unit stuck successful people’s minds.

A origin that played into a overmuch needed displacement successful manufacture behavior, arsenic reputable diamond players prioritized traceability and assemblage payment for diamond-producing countries.

As Sierra-Leone-born decorator Satta Matturi observes: “Provenance is hugely important successful today’s world. It’s nary longer a ‘nice to have’ — it should beryllium embedded successful what you do.

“I don’t deliberation there’s immoderate excuse present for a decorator oregon anyone successful this manufacture to accidental we can’t root successful a liable way, due to the fact that there’s exertion retired determination to assistance you bash that.”