Diamonds : History and Colors

History of Diamonds

In Myths about diamonds in valleys are protected by snakes, to the production of millions of carats in diamonds each year, the history of diamonds is one of mystical power, beauty and commercial expertise.

Early History

The recorded history of the diamond is in India 3,000 years ago, where it is that diamonds were the first valued for it's ability to light refraction. In those days, the diamond was used in two ways-for decorative purposes, and as talisman to ward off evil or provide protection in battle.

The Dark Ages

The diamond was also used for some time as medical aid. One anecdote, written during the Dark Ages by St Hildegarde, relates how a diamond held in the hand while making a sign of the cross would heal wounds and cure illnesses. Diamonds were also ingested in the hope of curing sickness. During the early Middle Ages, Pope Clement unsuccessfully used this treatment in a bid to aid his recovery.

The Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages more attention was paid to the worth of diamonds, rather than the mystical powers surrounding them. Due to the heightened public awareness of the value of diamonds, mine owners perpetuated myths that diamonds were poisonous. This was to prevent the mineworkers swallowing the diamonds in an attempt to smuggle them out of the mines. The popularity of diamonds surged during the Middle Ages, with the discovery of many large and famous stones in India, such as the Koh-I-Noor and the Blue Hope. Today India maintains the foremost diamond polishing industry in the world.

Recent Times

During the mid-nineteenth century, diamonds were also being discovered in eastern Australia. However, it was not until late 1970's, after seven years of earnest searching, that Australia's alleged potential as a diamond producer was validated.

On October 2nd 1979, geologists found the Argyle pipe near Lake Argyle: the richest diamond deposit in the world. Since then, Argyle has become the world's largest volume producer of diamonds, and alone is responsible for producing over a third of the world's diamonds every year.

Diamond Colors

Pink Diamonds

The pink diamond is the world's most rare and valuable diamond.The Argyle mine is the world's foremost source of unrivalled intense pink diamonds, producing 95% of the world's supply. However, an extremely small proportion of Argyle Diamonds production is Pink color, in fact less than one tenth of 1% is classified Pink.

The legend of Argyle pink diamond has grown over the past ten years. At the 1989 Christie's auction in New York a 3.14 carat Argyle pink sold for $1,510,000. Privately, Argyle has sold pink diamonds for up to $1 million a carat.

For years the white diamond was considered the world's most beautiful diamond, until the discovery of the Argyle mine heralded the arrival of the Argyle pink diamond. Never before had pink diamonds displaying such intense shades of color been seen. The pink diamonds of India, Brazil and Africa were characteristically light in color and paled even further when placed beside the intensely pink Argyle diamonds. The natural color diamonds have in fact been around as long as the classical whites but in much smaller quantities and never in great demand.

The Argyle pink diamond comes in shades ranging from delicate pastel rose to robust raspberry and full-blooded purple-reds. The prices per carat are determined by the intensity of color. Argyle selects only its most vibrant pink diamonds for polishing at its head office in Perth. There, the stones are polished in a wide range of cuts, such as round brilliant, marquise, oval and pear, to enhance their natural beauty. Polished pink diamonds are available in the same size ranges as traditional commercial sizes.

White Diamonds

White diamonds are produced by mines all over the world in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.The white diamonds recovered from the Argyle mine are particularly brilliant and of high quality.

Champagne Diamonds

Champagne diamonds are naturally colored diamonds that are produced in a wide range of colors from light straw to rich cognac. The 4C's of color, cut, clarity and carat weight apply to colored diamonds just as they do to colorless diamonds except the intensity of color, not lack of it, plays a greater part in the valuation.

Yellow Diamonds

Fancy yellow diamonds come in a broad range of shades ranging from light yellow to a rich canary color. A limited quantity of fancy yellow diamonds is recovered from the Argyle mine.

Blue Diamonds

Fancy blue diamonds are available in a wide range of shades, from the blue of the sky to a more "steely" color than sapphire. Limited quantities of fancy blue diamonds are recovered from the Argyle mine.

Green Diamonds

Fancy green diamonds are also available. Usually, penetration of the color is not very deep and is often removed during the fashioning of the stone. A limited quantity of fancy green diamonds is recovered from the Argyle mine.