Part of: Art Deco diamond jewellery
Diamonds were first discovered in India, in river gravels, more than 2,000 years ago; the Arthashastra, a Sanskrit text of around the 4th century BC, already describes them. For centuries India was the world’s only source. Diamonds reached Rome through trade, became the jewels of medieval European royalty, and gave the first recorded diamond engagement ring in 1477. New sources changed everything: Brazil in the 1720s, South Africa from 1867, where the Kimberley mine and the Cullinan diamond made history, and later Russia, Botswana, Canada and Australia.
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Diamond history timeline
- About 4th century BC
- Event
- The Arthashastra describes diamonds traded in India
- 1st century AD
- Event
- Pliny the Elder writes of "adamas", the hardest substance known
- 1300s to 1400s
- Event
- Diamond cutting develops in Venice, Bruges and Paris; point and table cuts
- 1477
- Event
- Archduke Maximilian of Austria gives Mary of Burgundy a diamond ring
- 1500s
- Event
- Antwerp becomes the centre of the diamond trade
- 1600s
- Event
- Golconda mines in India supply famous stones; the rose cut spreads
- 1720s
- Event
- Diamonds found in Minas Gerais, Brazil
- 1867
- Event
- The Eureka diamond is found near Hopetown, South Africa
- 1871
- Event
- The Kimberley diamond rush begins; the "Big Hole" is dug
- 1888
- Event
- De Beers Consolidated Mines formed under Cecil Rhodes
- 1905
- Event
- The Cullinan, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, is discovered
- 1919
- Event
- Marcel Tolkowsky publishes the proportions of the modern round brilliant
- 1947
- Event
- The slogan "A Diamond is Forever" is created for De Beers
- 1954
- Event
- General Electric produces the first reproducible synthetic diamonds
- 2003
- Event
- The Kimberley Process for rough diamonds comes into force
When and where were diamonds first discovered?
Diamonds were first found in India, washed out of the rock into rivers and gravels. The exact date is unknown, but by about the 4th century BC the Arthashastra describes them as precious stones for royal treasuries. The Sanskrit word for diamond, vajra, also means thunderbolt. For roughly two thousand years India, and above all the Golconda region of the Deccan, was the only known source, producing stones such as the Koh-i-Noor and the diamond later cut as the Hope.
Diamonds in Greece and Rome
Diamonds reached the Mediterranean through trade with India. The Greek word adamas, "unconquerable", gave us both "adamant" and "diamond". In the 1st century AD the Roman writer Pliny the Elder described diamond in his Natural History as the hardest of all things. Romans set uncut diamond crystals in rings, valuing them for their hardness and supposed powers.
Medieval and Renaissance Europe
- Royal jewels. Diamonds became the jewels of kings and nobles; Charles V of France held a notable collection in the 1300s.
- The first cuts. Cutters in Venice, Bruges and Paris polished the natural octahedron into the point cut, then flattened its top into the table cut.
- The first engagement ring. In 1477 Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy, the first recorded diamond engagement ring.
- Antwerp. From the 1500s Antwerp became the centre of the diamond trade and of cutting, a role it still holds.
Brazil: the first new source
Around the 1720s diamonds were found in Minas Gerais in Brazil, ending India’s long monopoly. Brazilian diamonds supplied Europe through the 1700s and into the 1800s, when the rose cut and the old mine cut were the typical cuts of Georgian jewellery.
South Africa and the diamond rush
In 1867 a child found a bright stone near Hopetown on the Orange River; it proved to be a diamond, later named the Eureka. In 1871 diamonds were found at Kimberley, and the rush that followed dug the famous "Big Hole" by hand. By the end of the century South Africa was the world’s leading producer, and Cecil Rhodes had combined the mines into De Beers Consolidated Mines in 1888. In 1905 the Cullinan diamond was found at the Premier mine: 3,106 carats in the rough, it was cut into the Great Star of Africa and the Second Star of Africa, now in the British Crown Jewels.
The 20th century
- The modern brilliant. Old European cuts gave way to the modern round brilliant after Marcel Tolkowsky set out its ideal proportions in 1919.
- Marketing. De Beers controlled much of the rough diamond supply, and its 1947 slogan "A Diamond is Forever" tied diamonds to engagement rings.
- New mines. Major deposits were opened in Russia, Botswana, Canada and Australia.
- Synthetic diamonds. General Electric produced synthetic diamonds in 1954, at first for industry; gem-quality laboratory-grown diamonds followed.
- Grading. The four Cs (cut, colour, clarity and carat) became the standard language of diamond grading.
Diamonds today
Since 2003 the international trade in rough diamonds has been governed by the Kimberley Process, set up to keep conflict diamonds out of the market. Russia produces the most diamonds by volume, and Botswana is a leading producer by value. Laboratory-grown diamonds are now widely sold, and laboratories can identify them.
Reading history in a diamond's cut
- Point and table cut
- Period
- Medieval to 1600s
- What to look for
- Natural octahedron, or a flat top on it
- Rose cut
- Period
- 1500s to 1800s
- What to look for
- Flat base, domed top of triangular facets
- Old mine cut
- Period
- 1700s to late 1800s
- What to look for
- Cushion shape, high crown, small table, large culet
- Old European cut
- Period
- About 1880 to 1930
- What to look for
- Round, small table, high crown, open culet
- Modern round brilliant
- Period
- From the 1920s on
- What to look for
- Round, large table, small or no culet
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What decides the value of diamond jewellery?
For the diamonds: carat, colour, clarity and cut, and any laboratory certificate. For the jewel: the maker, the metal, the period and design, and the condition. Antique cuts are judged on their own terms. We never publish figures; every piece is different.
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- Carat
- Colour
- Clarity
- Cut
- Certificate
- Maker
How selling works
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- 2
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- 3
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Questions people ask
When were diamonds first discovered?
In India, more than 2,000 years ago. The Arthashastra, a text of around the 4th century BC, already describes diamonds.
Where were diamonds first discovered?
In the rivers and gravels of India, especially the Golconda region of the Deccan, which was the world’s only known source for centuries.
When did diamonds become popular?
Among European royalty in the Middle Ages; the first recorded diamond engagement ring was given in 1477. Diamonds became widely popular after the South African finds of the 1860s and 1870s, and engagement rings after the "A Diamond is Forever" campaign of 1947.
Where do diamonds come from today?
Mainly Russia, Botswana, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
What was the largest diamond ever found?
The Cullinan, found in South Africa in 1905, at 3,106 carats in the rough. Its largest polished stones are in the British Crown Jewels.
How are diamonds formed?
From carbon deep in the Earth’s mantle under great heat and pressure, carried to the surface by volcanic kimberlite and lamproite pipes.
Related guides
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