DIAMOND. The mere mention of the word fills the mind with a multitude of concepts and images. Diamond is a mineral, a natural crystalline substance, the transparent form of pure carbon. Diamond is something superb, the peerless "king of gems" that glitters, dazzles, and symbolizes purity and strength. Diamond is for engagement and the 75th wedding anniversary, for a commitment to never-ending love. Diamond is indomitable, the hardest surface known. Diamond is exotic, formed in Earth's interior and shot to the surface by extraordinary volcanoes. A diamond is likely the oldest thing you will ever own, probably 3 billion years in age, fully two thirds the age of the Earth. Diamond is a strategic and high-tech supermaterial for our technological society. Diamond is a shape. This exhibition presents the fascinating story of the nature of diamonds.

What's In a Name
Today diamond symbolizes wealth, durability, status, and peerless quality. Across time and cultures, diamond has also been associated with invulnerability, lightning, magic, healing, protection, and poisoning. In unraveling the history and associations of diamond, we also need to know the history of the words attached to it: Did the words used by the ancient Indians or Greeks signify the same thing they do today, or something very different?

"Diamond" comes from the Greek adamao, transliterated as "adamao," "I tame" or "I subdue." The adjective "adamas" was used to describe the hardest substance known, and eventually became synonymous with diamond. It is difficult to determine at what point in history the hardest known substance become diamond. "Adamas" may have previously referred to the next hardest mineral, corundum -- the gem variety is sapphire -- or to something else altogether. Tracing the history of diamond is complicated by this problem with names.

The Royal Gem
An act of Saint Louis (Louis IX of France, 1214-70) that established a sumptuary law reserving diamonds for the king bespeaks the rarity of diamonds and the value conferred on them at that time. Within 100 years diamonds appeared in royal jewelry of both men and women, then among the greater European aristocracy, with the wealthy merchant class showing the occasional diamond by the 17th century.

Enameled gold pendant with a central diamond rosette formed by 12 diamonds, surrounded by alternating rubies and emeralds; first third of the 16th century, 5.2 cm across. click to zoom in

The earliest European ornamental and regal applications feature diamond points that resemble the Roman style of natural points in rings. Unlike the Roman examples, the European points may have been polished, if only to remove surface irregularities and coatings of any foreign mineral. The taboo on modifying a diamond crystal into a gem, which originated in India, ends around this time in both Europe and India. There is no recorded explanation, but the implications of the rise of diamond's popularity in ornamentation are nothing short of revolutionary -- as more diamonds reach Europe, demand for the brilliant gem increases.

The earliest diamond-cutting industry is believed to have been in Venice, a trade capital, starting sometime after 1330. Diamond cutting may have arrived in Paris by the late 14th century; for Bruges -- on the diamond trade route -- there is documentation for the technique in 1465.

Diamond Love and Betrothal Rings
Diamond has served many forms of jewelry superbly, but the smallest form is the one that catches our interest the most -- the diamond ring given in token of love and marriage. The actual history of this tradition transcends the perception of its creation as marketing hyperbole. The modern solitaire is just the most recent step on a long road from the past.

Rings date back several millennia, but ones given as tokens of love are first noted by the comic Roman poet Plautus in the 2nd century BCE. Wedding rings are known because of interior inscriptions recording the marriage contracts signed in the presence of the Emperor's image. The custom was continued and Christianized by the 4th century, demonstrated by St. Augustine's imploring priests to permit weddings without the exchange of rings. Byzantine wedding rings are thick gold bands with round or oval bezels depicting the couple face to face, or receiving Christ's blessing on their union.

The significance of the wedding ring was clearly defined in the 7th century by the bishop and chronicler Isidore of Seville (c. 560-636): "It was given by the spouser to the espoused whether for a sign of mutual fidelity or still more to join their hearts to this pledge and that therefore the ring is placed on the fourth finger because a certain vein is said to flow from thence to the heart." The portraits above present Hapsburg Emperor Maximilian I (by Bernard Strigel, ca. 1500) and Mary, his wife, Duchess of Burgundy and daughter of Charles the Bold (ascribed to Niclas Reiser, ca. 1500). The union in 1477 was celebrated by the exchange of a diamond betrothal ring, which would have been an early example and perhaps the first royal one.

Origins In India
Knowledge of diamond and the origin of its many connations starts in India, where it was first mined. The word most generally used for diamond in Sanskrit is translitereated as vajra, "thunderbolt," and indrayudha, "Indra's weapon." Because Indra is the warrior god from Vedic scriptures, the foundation of Hinduism, the thunderbolt symbol indicates much about the Indian conception of diamond. The flash of lightning is a suitable comparison for the light thrown off by a fine diamond octahedron and a diamond's indomitable hardness. Early descriptions of vajra date to the 4th century BCE which is supported by archaeological evidence. By that date diamond was a valued material.

Writings: The earliest known reference to diamond is a Sanskrit manuscript, the Arthasastra ("The Lesson of Profit") by Kautiliya, a minister to Chandragupta of the Mauryan dynasty in northern India. The work is dated from 320-296 before the Common Era (BCE). Kautiliya states "(a diamond that is) big, heavy, capable of bearing blows, with symmetrical points, capable of scratching (from the inside) a (glass) vessel (filled with water), revolving like a spindle and brilliantly shining is excellent. That (diamond) with points lost, without edges and defective on one side is bad." Indians recognized the qualities of a fine diamond octahedron and valued it.

Archaeology: No diamonds have been found in ancient sites, but holes in ancient beads show diamond's "footprint," cylindrical holes with conspicuous concentric grooves left by a twin-diamond drill. The holes are unlike the marks of any other modern or ancient drilling technique -- a signature of this diamond technology. Beads from sites in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Yemen and Egypt show the marks of diamond drills prior to 700 CE and as early as the 4th century BCE in Yemen.

Hindu Interpretations ans Indian Transformations
The "Ratnapariksa" of Buddha Bhatta is a 6th-century text on gems. The manuscript summarizes Indian knowledge about diamond, which it introduces through an origin myth -- a window into the culture's cosmology and values. Buddha Bhatta describes the hierarchy of diamonds, their powers and virtues, and their distribution among the castes.

The Virtues of Diamond: A diamond octahedron was highly valued: "He who, having pure body, always carries a diamond with sharp points, without blemish, free from all faults; that one, as long as he lives, knows each day will bear some things: happiness, prosperity, children, riches, grain, cows and meat. He who wears [such] a diamond will see dangers recede from him whether he be threatened by serpents, fire, poison, sickness, thieves, flood or evil spirits."

The Finest Diamond: A diamond that flashed rainbow colors was best: "Even if it has blunt points, if it has a speck, a crack, the diamond that has the reflection of the rainbow procures wealth, grain and sons. The king who carries, so it is said, a beautiful diamond with glittering flashes has a force that triumphs over all other powers and becomes master of all neighboring lands." Rainbow dispersive color from a diamond octahedron takes overall precedence and the finest colorless diamonds, transparent octahedra with rainbow reflections, are reserved for kings.

The Hardness of Diamond: Diamond's supreme hardness was recognized: "The gems and the metals that exist on earth are all scratched by the diamond: the diamond is not (scratched) by them. A noble substance scratches that which is noble and that which is not; the diamond scratches even the ruby. The diamond scratches all and is not scratched by any."

"Manipariksa" (a text similar to the "Ratnapariksa" but more modern), Samvat 1855 (CE 1798), folio page 1: "Vajrapariksa" chapter; script is "Devangari."

There was a powerful king of the Danavas named Bala, endowed with great strength and who proved his valor by conquering the three worlds.

In more than one battle, Divaspati was vanquished by him, and the wife of Heros, Sachi, was not able to raise her head with pride.

The gods could not defeat this indomitable warrior in open combat; so they requested him, in the guise of a favor, to become the victim of their sacrificial ritual (yagna).

The powerful Bala exceeded the highest serenity of great souls: in the pride of his courage he replied "Yes" to the gods.

Firm in his resolve and asking for nothing in the face of the agony that extinguished his life-giving breath, he was tied to a stake by thirteen strings, like an animal; he was bound by his own word.

His birth being pure and so pure his deed, that the remains after the flames, the bones of his body, became the seed of gems (and had the power of the Gods in them).

Gods, Yakshas, Siddhas, Serpents made a great plundering of these seeds of precious stones.

In their hasty flight through the clear sky, they dropped some pieces, and everywhere the pieces fell.

In the sea, the rivers, the mountains, the forests, this seed, by its inconceivable weight, became the resting place [the deposits].

Caste, Color and Buddhism
Caste and Colors: The different castes were only permitted to own diamonds of a specific color, as shown in the illustrations below. Only kings could possess all colors of diamonds.

Brahmin (priests and rulers) "the whitest of the conch, of the lotus, or of rock crystal" (white to colorless)

Kshatriya (landowners and warriors) "the brown color of the eye of the hare" (probably verging on red)

Vaisya (merchant class) "the pretty nuance of a petal of a kadl" (yellow)

Sudra (lower classes) "the sheen of a burnished sword" (gray to black)

Buddism: As Hindu symbols were incorporated into Buddhism, diamond became a Buddhist symbol of religious virtue. The poem "Questions of King Milinda,"* makes the symbolism clear:

Just, O King, as the diamond is pure throughout; just so, O King, should the strenuous Bhikshu [seeker of truth], earnest in effort, be perfectly pure in his means of livelihood. This, O King, is the first quality of the diamond he ought to have.

And again, O King, as the diamond cannot be alloyed with other substance; just so, O King, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, never mix with wicked men as friends. This, O King, is the second quality of the diamond he ought to have.

And again, O King, just as the diamond is set together with the most costly gems; just so, O King, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, associate with those of the highest excellence, with men who have entered the first or second or third stage of the Noble Path, with the jewel treasures of the Arahats, of the recluses of the threefold wisdom, or of the sixfold insight. This, O King, is the third quality of the diamond he ought to have. For it was said, O King, by the Blessed One [the Buddha], the god over all gods, in the Sutta Nipata:

Let the pure associate with the pure, Ever in recollection firm; Dwelling harmoniously wise, Thus shall ye put an end to griefs.

Into the Mediterranean
Although there was contact between India and the Mediterranean in ancient times, the timing of the association of the word "adamas" with diamond is difficult to establish. The presence of diamond in Rome by about 100 CE is established by the writings of Pliny the Elder (23--79 CE), by sapphire engravings, and by talismanic diamond rings.

Hesiod, a Greek poet of the 8th century BCE, mentions adamas but clearly refers to iron, with its "unbreakable quality." Theophrastus (c. 372--322 BCE), a student of Plato and author of "De lapidibus" ("On Stones"), apparently uses adamas to refer to emery, a rock containing corundum, the next hardest mineral.

Pliny the Elder, who died during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, wrote the encyclopedia "Historia naturalis," a fundamental source of classical information. He states: "The substance that possesses the greatest value, not only among precious stones, but of all human possessions, is adamas; a mineral which for a long time, was known to kings only, and to very few of them...These stones [diamonds] are tested upon the anvil, and will resist the blow to such an extent as to make the iron rebound and the very anvil split asunder." The idea of diamonds being known to kings only is Indian in origin; the latter erroneous description suggests the loss of many diamonds on the anvil. A further Indian legacy follows: "Adamas, too, overcomes and neutralizes poisons, dispels delirium, and banishes the groundless perturbations of the mind."

Pliny also discussed diamond fragments: "These particles are held in great request by engravers, who enclose them in iron, and are enabled thereby, with the greatest facility, to cut the very hardest substances known." Roman engraved sapphires, cameos, and intaglios from the first century are undoubtedly the product of diamond engraving points.

Curiously, early Chinese references to diamond cite its coming from Rome in iron scribes. Chinese interest in diamond was strictly as an engraving or carving tool, primarily for jade, or as a drill for beads and pearls.

Diamonds were traded out of India by both sea and land routes. Classical stories of sources in Ethiopia and the legend of the Valley of Diamonds may have originated from the circuitous trade routes and from attempts to mask the ultimate source of diamonds, India. For centuries after, rulers of the intervening lands also kept finer diamonds from being carried across their territories, thus diminishing the quantities of diamonds that could reach the Mediterranean region.*

Myths and Legends
The Breastplate of Judgment: In Exodus of the Hebrew bible, the "Breastplate of the High Priest" contains a white or colorless stone labeled µwlhy -- "yahalom." In the 3rd century BCE this word, which means "the smiter" in Hebrew, was translated to "adamas," "indomitable," in Greek, indicating that the stone was thought to be a diamond. But this interpretation is problematic: The size of the Breastplate would require a diamond measuring in inches -- extraordinarily large; the stones were engraved using emery -- impossible on diamond; and the text precedes knowledge of diamond outside of India. "Yahalom" is now interpreted as engraved onyx for pressing into clay seals.

The Valley of the Diamonds: This Hellenistic legend was allegedly brought west after Alexander the Great (356--323 BCE) conquered Persia and invaded what is now northern India; it roughly coincides with early trade contact. The following is a blending of Aristotle and al-Kazwini:

Aristotle says that no one except Alexander ever reached the place where the diamond is produced. This is a valley, connected with the land Hind. The glance cannot penetrate to its greatest depths and serpents are found there, the like of which no man hath seen, and upon which no man can gaze without dying. However, this power endures only as long as the serpents live, for when they die the power leaves them . . . Now, Alexander ordered that an iron mirror should be brought and placed at the spot where the serpents dwelt. When the serpents approached, their glance fell upon their own image in the mirror, and this caused their death. Hereupon, Alexander wished to bring out the diamonds from the valley, but no one was willing to undertake the descent. Alexander therefore sought counsel of the wise men, and they told him to throw down a piece of flesh into the valley. This he did, the diamonds became attached to the flesh, and the birds of the air seized the flesh and bore it up out of the valley. Then Alexander ordered his people to pursue the birds and to pick up what fell from the flesh.

Other versions of this tale come from the Arabian "Tales of a Thousand and One Nights," and from Marco Polo's (1254? -- 1324?) "Book of Marvels" (1298). It has been described as a deterrent to treasure seekers. The adherence of diamonds to flesh has been linked to diamond's property of sticking to fat or grease, and suggests that diamonds were the true subject.

St. Epiphanius was the Bishop of Cyprus at Salamina in the 4th century and wrote an early Greek treatise on the 12 stones of the Breastplate of the High Priest and their Christian symbolic interpretation; first translated by Conrad Gesner, Zurich, in 1565. This frontispiece is from a 1743 edition.

Chinese writings on diamond refer to "kun wu" and "kin-kang" as jade-cutting knives. The image at lower right represents diamond, "the hard clear stone." From "The Great Materia Medica," by Li Shih Chen (Ming Dynasty, printed in 1784).

Trade With India and Portugal
Diamonds begin appearing in European regalia and jewelry in the 13th and 14th centuries. The early diamond trading capital was Venice, where diamond cutting probably originated sometime after 1330. By the late 14th century, the diamond trade route went to Bruges and Paris, and later to Antwerp. By 1499, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to the Orient around the Cape of Good Hope, providing Europeans an end-run around the Arabic impediment to the trade of diamonds coming from India. Goa, on India's Malabar Coast, was set up as the Portuguese trading center, and a diamond route developed from Goa to Lisbon to Antwerp.

A 1486 woodcut, made by Bernard von Breydenbach, Mainz, Germany. click to zoom in

European contact with Indian diamond miners is depicted in this frontispiece engraving from Jean-Baptiste Tavernier's "Les Six Voyages..." (Amsterdam, 1678). click to zoom in
Prior to the 16th century, Venice was the key trading center between Western Europe and eastern regions like India and China. Consequently diamond trading went through Venice, where cutting techniques were probably developed after 1330.

Mogul rule of India (1526--1857) was marked by the flowering of art and architecture. This period, when diamond production increased, is notable for the creation of lavish objects like the Peacock Throne of Shah Jahan (1592--1666), which may have held the Koh-i-Noor diamond as a dangling bauble always in view of the shah's eyes. Many of the great riches of Persia were obtained by Nadir Shah when he sacked Delhi in 1739, taking the jewels and Peacock Throne back to Teheran, where most of the looted objects reside today among the Iranian Crown Jewels. Sadly, the Peacock Throne of Shah Jahan was apparently destroyed soon after Nadir Shah's death.

The Middle Ages and the Lapidaries
Diamonds disappear from Europe for nearly 1,000 years after the rise of Christianity. Roman talismanic and Eastern magical symbolism rendered diamond abhorrent to the rising new religion. Simultaneously, Persia and the new Middle Eastern states gained control over much of the trade, and diverted any diamonds that might flow from India.

Despite its physical absence, diamond survived conceptually, as the Middle Ages witnessed a rediscovery and reinterpretation of early writings on stones. Medieval treatises called lapidaries presented the qualities of different stones; their power; their efficacy as medicine, poison, or antidote; whether they could reproduce; and sundry other properties. Lapidaries were written until the Age of Enlightenment, in the 18th century.

Page on "Adamas" (diamond) from a version of "De gemmarum," by Marbode. Printed in Cologne, 1539.
Marbode, Bishop of Rennes (1061--1081), wrote "De gemmarum," on the spiritual and medicinal attributes of gems. In a book lacking in the expected Christian symbolism, Marbode describes diamond: "This stone has aptitude for magical arts, indomitable virtues it provides the bearer, nocturnal spirits and bad dreams it repels, black poisons flee, disputes and screams are changed. Cures insanity, strikes hard against enemies. For these purposes the stone should be set in silver, armored in gold, and fastened to the left arm."

Title page to series of treatises by various authors, edited by Conrad Gesner, Zurich, 1565. The upper ring is set with a natural diamond point, a talisman for courage and invincibility, the lower with amber. The circumference comprises the 12 stones of the Breastplate.
Diamonds were believed to render their owners courageous and fearless. Thus nobles like Cosimo the Elder, Florence (1389-1464), Henry II of France (1519 -- 59), and perhaps the Dukes of Burgundy used them as symbols in rings and even wore them into battle. Girolamo Cardano (1501--76), an Italian physician, mathematician, and author of "De gemmis et coloribus" (1566), compares the power of the diamond to the light of the sun: If viewed directly it blinds. "It indeed renders fearless, but there is nothing that contributes more to our safety than prudence and fear; therefore it is better to fear." Although Cardano is credited with having grasped the evolutionary principles of life, his empirical experiments with talismanic values of gems are poorly documented.

The Renaissance
In the first half of the 16th century monarchs such as Francois I of France (r. 1515-47) and Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547) vied for the best stones for setting in jewels. The new decorative vocabulary, which reflected the emulation of Classical art, included putti, acanthus leaves, scrolls, nymphs, satyrs, bucrania, cornucopias, masks, and military trophies, as well as architectural elements. Diamond never dominates in jewels, which are almost always cultural or spiritual statements as well as displays of wealth. Rich gold settings for diamonds are enhanced with enamels over the latter half of the century. The brooch, previously so important, is eclipsed by the pendant, the quintessential Renaissance jewel.

The Seventeenth Century
Around 1600, gems assume more importance than their settings, marking a change in jewelry design that coincided with the peak century of Indian diamond production. The role of metal in jewelry is reduced to that of a framework, and enamel disappears from the front of jewels, now used only on the backs. The classical elements favored in the Renaissance are eventually replaced by naturalism in the form of sprays of leaves and flowers, ribbons tied into knots, and simplified geometric lozenges, ovals, and circles. The rose-cut diamond is seen in combination with the aging point and table cuts, closely packed together in continuous lines or clusters. The first brilliant-cut diamonds, an enhancement of the table-cut, appear, and further strengthen the feature role of diamond in jewelry. In addition, silver begins to be substituted for the traditional gold settings to avoid yellow reflections cast over the diamond's white brilliance.

The Eighteenth Century
In the 18th century the diamond soars to new heights and abundance in jewelry, now worn principally by women. Substantial quantities of diamonds were now arriving from South America, making conspicuous display of the gem possible. The jewelry is breathtakingly elegant, revealing the full beauty of the rose- and brilliant-cut stones. Claws hold the stones in silver settings, which from the 1760s are backed with gold to avoid tarnishing the wearer's skin and dress. Diamonds were reserved for evening since it was considered vulgar to parade them by day. Rather than a miscellany of jewels of different types, a parure -- a matched set of jewelry -- was now worn at all important social events.

The Nineteenth Century
Diamond parures, branch forms for the side of the head, stomachers, and bow-knots abound through the age of Romanticism and the Second Empire in France and into the Belle Epoque. While once the prerogative of royalty and those at the very top of society, abundant supplies from South Africa from the 1870s on made diamonds available to all who could afford them. Seen under the blaze of gas and electric lighting, diamond's brilliance showed to greater advantage than colored stones, and so designs incorporated them in far greater numbers than at any time in history. As an alternative to silver and to white gold, settings are increasingly executed in platinum, which can carry the weight of many stones in a lighter setting.

The Twentieth Century
Two events near the end of the 19th century helped change the role of diamonds for the next century. First, the discovery in the 1870s of diamond deposits of unprecedented richness in South Africa changed diamond from a rare gem to one potentially available to anyone who could afford it. Second, the French crown jewels, sold in 1887, were consumed by newly wealthy capitalists, particularly in the United States, where a taste and capacity for opulent consumption was burgeoning.

Before the 1870s diamonds were still rare, and associated with the aristocracy. In 1871, however, world annual production, derived primarily from South Africa, exceeded 1 million carats for the first time. From then on, diamonds would be produced at a prodigious rate. Simultaneously, the fall of Napoleon III in 1871 left the Third Republic of France with a problematic symbol of monarchy: the crown jewels, largely reset by Empress Eugenie in the style of the great Louis kings. It was decided to auction the bulk, retaining a few key objects for the State. With French buyers such as Boucheron and Bapst in attendance, Tiffany & Co. of New York bought the major share; 22 lots for $480,000, a sum greater than the combined purchases of the 9 next-largest buyers. This was an announcement of the United States as a country prepared to display its wealth as well as its power in the new century.

Joan Bennett wore her Flato "Hand of God" brooch on a chain for a 1946 RKO publicity photograph. click to zoom in

Paulette Goddard was photographed by Horst for Vogue (January 1941) wearing a Verdura shell clip to hold down the scarf of her Hattie Carnegie cabana suit.

President and Mrs. Eisenhower at a 1959 reception with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and his wife. Mamie Eisenhower wears a diamond bracelet given to her by the Premier of Tunisia.

Standard Oil heiress Millicent Rogers, owner of the Verdura shell clip shown here, was an avid jewelry collector. In this photograph she is wearing part of her famous collection of Southwest Indian jewelry.

Mark Messier of the New York Rangers carrying the Stanley Cup after helping the Rangers win the NHL championship in 1994. Each member of the championship team is given a commemorative diamond ring.

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton wears the Henry Dunay-designed "Kahn Canary" diamond ring in her official portrait at the 1997 Inaugural Ball.

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