Stone of the month April
The name diamond is derived from the Late Latin diamantem, accusative of diamas, a Graecian variation of adamas, acc. adamanta, to Greek ἀδάμας, adámas, "indomitable". In classical Latin, as in Greek, adamas was the name given to particularly hard materials, such as steel by Hesiod, diamond by Plato and Theophrastus, and sapphire by Pliny.
The oldest diamond finds are reported from India, allegedly as early as the 4th millennium BC. Even back then, diamonds were said to have magical effects, which is why they were also used as talismans. Diamonds were also known and highly valued by the ancient Romans.
The use of diamonds as tools was already described by Pliny the Elder in his work Naturalis historia, XXXVII 60. Around 600 A.D., the first diamond was reported on the Indonesian island of Borneo, but although India was now no longer the only source, the Indonesian finds remained insignificant because the numbers were too small and the transport to the trading cities was too far. It was not until the 13th century that it was discovered that diamonds could be worked, but this was rejected in India because the stones would supposedly lose their magical powers. Today's typical brilliant cut was not developed until around 1910.
In the 18th century, the Indian and Indonesian mines gradually became exhausted. When a Portuguese was searching for gold in Brazil, he discovered the first diamond outside Asia. This discovery caused a "diamond rush". The first diamond in the parent rock kimberlite was found in 1869 in Kimberley in South Africa. One year later, South Africa took over the role of the main supplier, as finds in Brazil also became rarer.
At the World's Fair in Philadelphia in 1876, a stone saw set with diamonds was shown to the general public for the first time. In 1908, diamonds were also discovered on the Diamond Coast of German Southwest Africa, and in 1955, the first diamond was finally produced artificially. The first diamond on the seabed was not found until 1961. Today, Russia is the main supplier of diamonds.
