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| About Diamonds
Diamonds have held human fascination for centuries. Once cut and faceted diamonds become some of the most beautiful, priceless and sought-after gems on the planet, and have long symbolised romance, devotion, affluence and beauty.
The word 'diamond' comes from the Greek word 'adamas,' meaning unconquerable. Diamonds are the hardest known substance on earth, which is how they earned their name. In Greek mythology, diamonds were tears of the gods. In Roman mythology, diamonds were the splinters of stars that Eros, the god of love, fashioned into arrow tips.
The cut, the brilliance and of course the size of a diamond is what differentiates a stone from being merely ordinary to extraordinary and priceless.
Diamonds were first mined in india, over 2800 years ago. They were recognised as the brightest and hardest of all minerals, and prized by princes and kings as a sign of wealth and power.
The modern era began in 1866 when diamonds were discovered? in Kimberley, South Africa. Today, however, the top four diamond-producing countries are Australia, Zaire, Botswana and the?Russia.
The largest diamond ever discovered, the Cullinan originally weighed 3,106 carats and was cut into 105 stones. The biggest stone cut from it, the Star of Africa, is now among the British Crown Jewels.
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