Diamond Jewellery

Diamonds have a long history as beautiful objects of desire, wonder and awe. First found in alluvial (river) deposits in India from the 4th Century BC. Gradually finding themselves in western Europe along trade routes via Venice. However, the first known cutting wasn’t until the 15th and 16th Century when they became the fashionable accessory for the elite classes. Indeed we believe the first engagement ring was for Mary of Burgundy in 1477 from Archduke Maximillian of Austria. The modern diamond market really begins on the African continent though, with the discovery in 1869 of diamonds in Kimberly, South Africa, underground in their original pipe mine where they were first formed. Today central and southern Africa, Russia, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia and Canada are the largest producers.