Discoveries

Just a few managed to survive, out of which a small amount with an appropriate size and good quality were cut and polished to be renowned as some of the finest pieces of jewelry. Diamonds are rare and are found only in a few secluded sites, spread among the oldest parts of the continents. For years, the only source known to man was one remote area in India, where diamonds were first appreciated for their capacity to disperse light.

New discoveries were made in Borneo in the 7th century and in Brazil in the 18th century. Despite its insignificant size, the Brazilian finding was so popular that the ruling Portuguese marked the occasion with great joy. Festivals were staged in Lisbon, with special masses said and messages of congratulations were sent by the Pope and European monarchs.

More celebrations came in 1866 when, at last, a truly significant source of diamonds was discovered in South Africa. Strangely, it owed nothing to the art or energy of the world's eager prospectors. A farmers' child was playing with some brightly colored stones found beside a river, one of which was recognized as a diamond.

The gem cut from it was appropriately named "Eureka" and it marked the start of a remarkable new episode in the story of the emergence of diamonds.

At present, in spite of modern technologies, diamonds are still difficult to discover. Geologists search relentlessly for these precious gems, usually in very remote places, like the frozen tundra of Siberia and Canada to the parched deserts and ocean floors of Africa.

Love and Diamonds