HERE IS THE BRIEF HISTORY OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE DIAMOND - PRINCESS CUT DIAMNDS
3.3 Billion years ago
Almost 200 km below the earth’s surface carbon began to evolve under extreme pressure and heat, the beginnings of the formation of the most valued commodity on earth, the Diamond.
322 BC - 185 BC
Diamonds begin to appear in Europe as accent decoration in other forms of Jewelry. King Louis IX of France bestows rarity to diamonds and establishes intrinsic value on them. Within 100 years diamonds appeared in royal jewelry of both men and women, then among the greater European aristocracy.
1214-1300 A.D
The earliest diamond-cutting industry is believed to have been in Venice, a trade capital, starting sometime after 1330.
1477
The Archduke Maximillian of Austria “proposes” to his wife to be Mary of Burgundy with a Diamond Ring, a symbol of his betrothal. Hence the first recorded engagement ring. It was worn on the 3rd finger of the right hand, in order to be against a specific vein that goes directly to the heart.
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Antwerp Belgium, the most important wholesale diamond center of the period, where a Diamond-cutters' Guild was soon to be established.
1600 – 1750
The Diamond was the first and foremost symbol of ultimate wealth and prosperity in Europe. India was the only know source of Diamonds. Brazil was soon to follow.
1860
A discovery of diamonds near Hopetown, south of Kimberley in South Africa, gives birth to the modern diamond industry. The 1870s and 1880s in the Northern Cape saw a mad rush to the newly discovered diamond fields.
1905
The world's largest gem quality diamond, the Cullinan, was found in South Africa. Uncut, it weighed 3025 carats. It was presented to King Edward VII for his 66th birthday.
1939
The criteria for Diamonds established. The standards and the 4 C’s, Cut, Colour, Carat, and Clarity are published.
1967 - 2000
Botswana becomes the largest producer of Diamonds by value in the world. The Centenary, found in 1986, was polished from a 599 carat gem. The rough diamond was cut into various stones, the largest of which bears the name Centenary and, at 273 carats, is the Largest Modern Cut, Top Color, Flawless Diamond in the world.
Princess Cut Diamond News
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 - Diamonds in America are associated with the heat of romance, but the famed and feared Hope Diamond feels cool, almost chilly as it draws warmth away from the palm of the hand. Museum security guards stood by nervously Thursday as curators — joking they hoped the gem’s storied curse wouldn’t rub off — allowed a reporter and photographer to hold the diamond briefly after it was removed from its case for scientific study.
The first thought that comes to mind is, “Wow!”
It’s like holding a bit of ancient India, the French Revolution, Georgian England and Gilded Age America in one magnificent moment.You cradle the walnut-size, 45.5-carat stone — heavier than its translucence makes it appear — turning it from side to side as the light flashes from its facets, knowing it’s the hardest natural material yet fearful of dropping it.
Once part of the French crown jewels, the fabled gem is now the star of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. It normally resides in a special protective display case in a secure room.
THE LABORATORY AND THE LEGEND
For the testing it was taken to a museum laboratory, reachable down winding corridors and through three locked doors. It was only the second time in 20 years the Hope has been removed from its necklace setting, where it is surrounded by bright clear diamonds that intensify its blue color.
National Gem Collection Curator Jeffrey Post ordered the lights turned off and focused an ultraviolet beam on the Hope Diamond. Then he switched off the beam and, in pitch dark, the diamond glowed bright orange-amber.It’s that strong color, which lasts for several seconds after the diamond is exposed to ultraviolet light, that intrigues scientists. What causes the gem to fluoresce remains a mystery — Post speculates it’s related to chemical impurities that give it that blue color.
But the Hope Diamond has inspired legends over the years and some may prefer those to sheer science.
Some say, for instance, that the glowing color reflects the blood of royalty spilled in the French Revolution and the trail of bad luck said to have followed the stone over many years — including the bankruptcy of the Hope family for whom it is named and the death of the young son of later owner Evalyn McLean.The claimed curse notwithstanding, this diamond has been nothing but good luck for the Smithsonian, Post said. Attendance jumped after jeweler Harry Winston donated it to the museum in 1958, he said, and that gift spurred others, helping the museum to build its world-class gem collection.
Two other of the world’s best blue diamonds were also on hand for the research, the Smithsonian’s Blue Heart, 30.8 carats, and the Steinmetz Heart of Eternity, 27.6 carats. Princess cut diamonds are the rage these days.
The Hope is slightly blue-gray compared with the other two. The Hope was mined in India and the others in South Africa, so they shouldn’t be expected to be exactly the same, Post explained. Both of the other stones also glowed following exposure to ultraviolet light, but only briefly compared with the Hope. The Steinmetz also glowed amber while the Blue Heart had a brief white glow.
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