Abstract
This chapter shows how in the course of history the diamond became the most valuable precious stone. Legends, myths, scandals, and dramas: all contributed to the growth of its value. The diamond became a symbol of love, wealth, power, passion, and survival. In the modern consumer society, the symbolic value of the diamond is changing. It is no longer an exclusive product for the rich or women. The creation of the diamond value goes farther than the reach of producers or consumers. Political and economic processes conducted and manoeuvred by powerful diamond multinationals are the most important reason why the value of the diamond remains so high.
. . . a piece of charcoal, which costs millions . . .
(Israeli diamantair)
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Adamas also means invincible or indestructible.
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The Nature of Diamonds in: American Museum of Natural History, http://www.amnh.org/ exhibitions/diamonds/name.html.
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Ibid.
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The god Balaji is very popular and highly honoured in India, and wears a huge shimmering diamond crown of 27 kg, with about 28,000 stones. His hands are also covered with diamonds, as well as his earrings and other accessories (Cockburn, 2002. ‘Diamonds: The real story,’ National Geographic Magazine, March).
- 6.
In: Hayahalom, 2004, no. 177, pp. 79–80.
- 7.
Quotation of Specialists from the International Center for Gemology. Hayahalom, 2004, no. 177, p. 77.
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‘The brown color of the eye of the hare,’ The Nature of Diamonds in: American Museum of Natural History, http://www.amnh.org/exhibition/diamonds/name.html.
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‘The pretty nuance of a petal of kadl,’ ibid.
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‘The sheen of a burnished sword,’ ibid.
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Lapidaries presented the qualities of different stones, their power, whether they could reproduce, and other properties.
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The Nature of Diamonds in: American Museum of Natural History, http://www.amnh.org/ exhibitions/diamonds/middle.html.
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Also known as ‘the Star of Africa’, found in Pretoria and weighed in at 3106 carats.
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Called so after Henry Philip Hope, a rich banker, one of the owners of the diamond at the end of the ninteenth century.
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In Christianity the heart symbolizes the centre of our emotions, in Islam, a person’s spiritual centre.
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The Roman god of love, Cupid (the Greek god of love, Eros), shoots an arrow into a heart, causing the person to fall passionately in love, symbolising love as a combination of pleasure and pain. These Cupid’s arrows are tipped with magic diamonds!
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The reason a woman wears a diamond ring on her third finger of the left hand comes from the Egyptian belief that the vena amoris (vein of love) goes directly from the heart to the third finger of the left hand.
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Used for analysis of the light which can be radiated by various instances.
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BBC News, 16 February, 2004.
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Quoted by BBC Russian. com, on: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/life/newsid_3547000/3547502.stm.
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de Volkskrant, 2 July, 2005.
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The finest pink diamond is owned by Queen Elizabeth II.
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Very small natural marks.
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The word carat originated from the carob tree of Ceratoria siliqua, the seeds of which are well known for their consistent weight and uniformity. Historically diamonds and gemstones were weighed against these seeds, before one carat was fixed at 0.2 g.
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Rapaport News, 7 October, 2005, on: http://www.diamond.net.
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Rapaport News, 29 November, 2005, on: http://www.diamonds.net.
- 28.
Israeli Diamond Institute, 24 January, 2005, on: http://www.diamond-il.co.il.
- 29.
Antwerp Facets Magazine, 2004, no. 12.
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One of them, Martine Glicksman, became the first female member of the Antwerpsche Diamantkring, one of Antwerp’s diamond exchanges (Antwerp Facets Magazine, 2004, no. 12).
- 31.
Stein, N. 2001. The De Beers story: A new cut on an old monarchy. Fortune, 19 February, 2001.
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Siegel, D. (2009). The King of Gems: How the Diamond Became the Most Precious Stone. In: The Mazzel Ritual. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-95960-3_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-95960-3_3
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