DIAMOND HISTORY

 The story of the diamond begins in a remote era the world’s history, lost in the mists of time. For untold ages the diamond lay hidden and unregarded within the earth, until man at last recognized it as the most precious of all nature’s creation and begins to use it for his own delight and benefit. We will probably never know exactly when the the first diamonds were discovered. But we do know that from ancient time until eighteenth century, India was the world’s sole supplier. Although it is impossible to locate the first discovery, there are very early documents that mention the diamond and perhaps explain why man showed such special interest in it. Many histories maintain that the diamond has been known since ancient times.

            In Greek literature from very early datethe word adamas  ( which eventually gave its name, via Latin adamus, adamantinus, to the diamond) is often used in sense very close to that of yahalom, being similarly associated with the idea of invincibility. The first known use of the word occurs in the works of the poet. Hesiod, who lived in the eighth  century B.C. But nowhere in Hesiod, or in any other writing of that period, is the term applied to a diamond or any other precious stone. For some eight centuries the word adamas was applied exclusively to iron, to describe its unbreakable quality. Not until the first century A.D. was the word used as a noun, by that time, no doubt, designating a diamond. It appears as such in the celebrated Roman encyclopedia, the natural History of Pline the Elder.

India: The first Producer
It is curious that in all the numerous, lengthy arguments among historians over the origin of diamonds, discussion nearly always centers on the countries that acquired the gems and never on the country that produce them. From ancient times until Brazil entered the picture in the eightieth century, India was the only significant diamond producing country. Until the twentieth century, source for the study of diamonds in India were largely unavailable. In 1905, however, an ancient Sanskrit manuscript was discovered, the Artha Sastra of Kautilya, which may be translated as “ The Lesson Of Profit”. This remarkable work is basic text providing invaluable detail of the economic and legal history of India in the fourth century B.C. kautilya was the minister of king Chandragupta Maurya and had helped put him on the throne of the kingdom of Magdha. king Chandragupta, who ruled from about 320 to 298 B.C., was the founder of the maurya dynasty and may be called the first emperor of India. We know of him also through the Greek Megasthenes, who lived at his court until the discovery of the Artha Sastra, in fact, megasthenes was our sole source of information on this period. A careful reading of Kautliya’s treatise reveals unquestionably that not only were diamonds known in the fourth century B.C., but they were commodities in a very active trade, were subject to regular taxation and customs duties, and were one of the sources of the royal revenue.

Adamas: the Ancient Criteria Of Value
Why was it that people ascribed such value to the diamond before any technique had been invented to cut this “ king of precious stones ”? In the rough. Most diamonds appear comparatively dull and unattractive. To find the answer to this question it is necessary to turn again to India, in the years between the beginning of the Maurya period in the fourth century B.C. and the end of the Gupta Period in the sixth century A.D. The Artha Sastra refers to a body of  Oils and standards of practice developed by specialist to regularize taxes and other charges applied to diamonds and other precious stones.