Motley Talk about Diamonds
How we have been manipulated into buying diamonds, and other fun facts about the sparkly stone that is billions of years old.
Dear Friends, I plan to visit Hatton Garden next week, the diamond district in London. Before that I wanted to learn a little more about the gems. So many women have at least one diamond, and diamonds seem to have become the gem of choice for engagement rings. Though it seems odd to me that ‘diamonds are a girl’s best friend’, when a diamond engagement ring symbolises the promise of a partnership with another person, who will hopefully be your best friend.
The components of your jewellery, the gold, silver & gems, are the oldest things you will ever own. Your diamond may be as old as 3.5 billion years. When even the youngest diamond was formed 900 million years ago, it was before the land turned green (500-600 million years ago), and even before the dinosaurs and the first mammals roamed the earth (300-200 million years ago). That twinkly diamond in your ring is OLD.
A diamond is a close relative of coal, both are made from carbon (the Latin word for carbon is ‘carbo’ meaning coal). Coal is an impure carbon whereas a diamond is a very pure form of carbon. Coal is usually found at a depth of about 2 miles (3.2 km) beneath the earth’s surface. Diamonds are formed at a depth of about 90 miles (150 km), where they are subjected to immense pressure and temperatures of at least 1050 degrees C (2000 degrees F).
It is thought that diamonds were brought to the earth’s surface by ancient deep-seated volcanic eruptions. When the eruption reached the surface it built up a mound of volcanic material that eventually cooled; the diamonds are contained within that volcanic material. Diamonds are usually found by digging a mine, though they can be found on the seashore and by rivers.
Until the 20th Century diamonds were extremely rare. India was the first country to mine and sell diamonds. The Golconda region in India had the most famous diamond mine, and its people were the only diamond traders until the 18th Century. Indians valued diamonds as tools and wealth but rarely displayed them. Partly because diamonds were not the sparkly stones we know today; the sparkle is due to modern cutting techniques (and fancy lights in jewellery shops).
One of the most famous of the Golconda diamonds is the Koh-i-Noor (Mountain of Light). It is not known when the Koh-i-Noor was mined but the diamond was mentioned in 1526 when it was given in tribute. It belonged to the Mughal Emperors for a while, then was taken as spoils of war in 1739 by Afsharid Shah of Persia. By 1813 it found its way back to India to Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire.
In 1850 the Koh-i-Noor was given as a present (amidst much controversy) to Queen Victoria. The diamond was re-cut and Queen Victoria wore it as a brooch.
There is a legend that the Koh-i-Noor will bring bad luck if worn by a man, so it was set into the front of the crown the Queen Mother wore as Queen Consort. It will be worn by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, when the time comes but in the meantime it can be seen in the Tower of London.
In 1725 diamonds were discovered in Brazil, but the availability of diamonds remained very limited. Then in 1867 Erasmus Jacobs, a 15-year-old boy, was sitting by the Orange River in South Africa when he saw a clear blue / white stone. A neighbour thought the stone might have some value and it was sent by mail (in an ordinary paper envelope) to a mineralogist, who confirmed that it was a 21.25 carat (4.250g) diamond. The stone was sold, and with his share Jacobs had enough money to buy five farms. It was later called the Eureka Diamond. People in the region then began looking for bright stones by the river and in 1869 the Dudley diamond (an 84 carat rough diamond) was discovered by a shepherd boy, triggering the first diamond rush.
Cecil Rhodes started by renting water pumps to miners during the South African diamond rush, and with the profits he bought up the claims of small mining operators and started a mining company. Two Dutch brothers Diederik and Johannes De Beer discovered diamonds on their farm, but they were forced to sell by the British government. Rhodes bought the farm, which became the site of two successful diamond mines and in 1888 Rhodes called his company De Beers.
At the time Indian diamond supplies had been exhausted but it soon became apparent that there were a lot of diamonds in South Africa. De Beers bought up all the mines they could, and until the start of the 21st century De Beers controlled 85% of rough diamond distribution. They restricted the number of diamonds released into the market to perpetuate the myth that diamonds are scarce and should therefore command high prices. However, few customers were interested in buying diamonds and certainly not for engagement rings. So, De Beers decided to market an idea rather than a product.
In 1948 De Beers started an advertising campaign which promoted the sentimental value of a diamond engagement ring ‘A diamond is forever’. The campaign started the concept that a diamond ring signified the love of the giver, that love would last forever, and the size & value of the stone indicated social status. Also, that true love was represented by a new diamond engagement ring.
It was a very successful campaign and nowadays 80% of American women have a diamond engagement ring.
I always assumed that diamonds can’t be broken, that they last forever, keep their value and of course sparkle prettily. It turns out that this is not entirely true.
A diamond is the hardest known natural material. A diamond can only be cut by another diamond. But a diamond is brittle, and it can be smashed with a hammer. A diamond can also be scratched, so don’t leave them rattling around with your other jewellery.
A diamond is not forever. But there is no need to panic. Although a diamond will degrade and turn into graphite it will take billions of years.
Unless you own one of the famous diamonds like the Koh-i-Noor a diamond will not increase in value. Rather the value of a new diamond ring will decrease because of the retail mark-up when bought, and pre-owned engagement rings are not marketable. It also depends on the current price for diamonds1.
Diamonds only sparkle when cut & polished. Over time the cutting techniques have improved:
There are lots of tall tales and superstitions around diamonds. In India, where they had experience of diamonds, they thought a diamond was useful to work stone and to poison an enemy.
In Ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder (died 79 CE) thought a diamond would melt in goat’s blood, and when worn could neutralise poison, dispel insanity and drive away worry. So, I am going to sell my goats, drape myself in diamonds and not worry about the cost.
Or I could make a diamond out of my own carbon! Click here to see how they do it.
Diamond prices have little or no relation to the cost of extraction (production). Also, there is no shortage of rough diamonds throughout the world.