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History and Background
Diamonds were first discovered in India in around 800 B.C., and were prized by cultures throughout the world for their beauty and rarity. Early societies were particularly impressed with their hardness - the name ‘diamond’ is derived from the Greek word adamas, meaning ‘unconquerable.’ This makes them especially popular for showing love and commitment, in many types of Fine Jewellery including Engagement Rings and Eternity Rings. View all Diamond Jewellery at Astley Clarke.
Historically, considerable powers have been attributed to diamonds. They were used as the eyes of Hindu devotional statues in perhaps their earliest symbolic usage, because they were thought to be endowments from the gods. This usage is thought to date from at least 400 BC. The Greeks believed that diamonds were the tears of the gods and the Romans believed they were splinters of fallen stars. Diamonds are a vital symbol in Tibetan Buddhism, which is also known as Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle), and contains the Diamond Sutra as one of its most important texts.
In Western culture, the endurance and value of diamonds makes them popular for symbolising eternity and love, and they are the stone most commonly seen on Engagement Rings and Eternity Rings. View all Diamond Jewellery at Astley Clarke.
The diamond is the birthstone for people born in April, and is also used as the symbol of a sixty-year anniversary, such as a Diamond Jubilee.
Diamonds have long been popular in literature. Notable works of fiction include Ian Fleming's Diamonds Are Forever (1956), F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Diamond as Big As the Ritz (1922), and Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age (1995).
Famous diamonds of the type that have fuelled this literature are held by many diverse owners in collections all over the world.
Elizabeth Taylor has a very famous jewelry collection which includes the 33.19 carat Krupp diamond and the 69.42-carat pear shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond, given to her by Richard Burton, which now hangs from a diamond necklace. Richard Burton also gave her a heart-shaped yellow diamond, originally a gift from Shah Jahan in 1621 to his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who inspired the Taj Mahal.
Priscilla was engaged to Elvis with a 3.5 carat diamond engagement ring circled by 21 smaller diamonds and diamond chips.
Madonna received an antique Edwardian three-stone diamond ring with a decorative platinum band from Guy Ritchie. The ring was supposed to represent their family: mother, father and son Rocco.
Queen Elizabeth II owns several seminal diamonds, including the Stars of Africa, Cullinan I (530-carats) and Cullinan II (317-carats). These were cut from the Cullinan, the largest diamond ever mined, weighing in at 3,106 carats, or just under one and a half pounds. This was cut into 9 major stones and 96 smaller stones. She reportedly refers to the Cullinan III and Cullinan IV, 94- and 63-carats respectively and also part of her collection, as "Granny's Chips."
The Idol's Eye is a flattened, pear-shaped stone the size of a chicken’s egg that was once set in the eye of a Hindu idol before it was stolen. Legend has it that it was given as a ransom by the Sheik of Kashmir for the return of the beautiful Princess Rasheetah to the Sultan of Turkey who had abducted her.
A truly historic diamond was discovered in 1701 by an Indian slave near Golconda. It weighed 410 carats and came to be owned by William Pitt, the English Prime Minister. It was then sold to the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France when Louis XV was still a child in 1717, and came to acquire its name, ‘The Regent’. It was set in the crown Louis XV wore at his coronation and after the French Revolution, came into the possession of Napoleon Bonaparte who set it in the hilt of his sword. It is now on display at the Louvre.
View all Diamond Jewellery at Astley Clarke.
Historically, considerable powers have been attributed to diamonds. They were used as the eyes of Hindu devotional statues in perhaps their earliest symbolic usage, because they were thought to be endowments from the gods. This usage is thought to date from at least 400 BC. The Greeks believed that diamonds were the tears of the gods and the Romans believed they were splinters of fallen stars. Diamonds are a vital symbol in Tibetan Buddhism, which is also known as Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle), and contains the Diamond Sutra as one of its most important texts.
In Western culture, the endurance and value of diamonds makes them popular for symbolising eternity and love, and they are the stone most commonly seen on Engagement Rings and Eternity Rings. View all Diamond Jewellery at Astley Clarke.
The diamond is the birthstone for people born in April, and is also used as the symbol of a sixty-year anniversary, such as a Diamond Jubilee.
Diamonds have long been popular in literature. Notable works of fiction include Ian Fleming's Diamonds Are Forever (1956), F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Diamond as Big As the Ritz (1922), and Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age (1995).
Famous diamonds of the type that have fuelled this literature are held by many diverse owners in collections all over the world.
Elizabeth Taylor has a very famous jewelry collection which includes the 33.19 carat Krupp diamond and the 69.42-carat pear shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond, given to her by Richard Burton, which now hangs from a diamond necklace. Richard Burton also gave her a heart-shaped yellow diamond, originally a gift from Shah Jahan in 1621 to his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who inspired the Taj Mahal.
Priscilla was engaged to Elvis with a 3.5 carat diamond engagement ring circled by 21 smaller diamonds and diamond chips.
Madonna received an antique Edwardian three-stone diamond ring with a decorative platinum band from Guy Ritchie. The ring was supposed to represent their family: mother, father and son Rocco.
Queen Elizabeth II owns several seminal diamonds, including the Stars of Africa, Cullinan I (530-carats) and Cullinan II (317-carats). These were cut from the Cullinan, the largest diamond ever mined, weighing in at 3,106 carats, or just under one and a half pounds. This was cut into 9 major stones and 96 smaller stones. She reportedly refers to the Cullinan III and Cullinan IV, 94- and 63-carats respectively and also part of her collection, as "Granny's Chips."
The Idol's Eye is a flattened, pear-shaped stone the size of a chicken’s egg that was once set in the eye of a Hindu idol before it was stolen. Legend has it that it was given as a ransom by the Sheik of Kashmir for the return of the beautiful Princess Rasheetah to the Sultan of Turkey who had abducted her.
A truly historic diamond was discovered in 1701 by an Indian slave near Golconda. It weighed 410 carats and came to be owned by William Pitt, the English Prime Minister. It was then sold to the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France when Louis XV was still a child in 1717, and came to acquire its name, ‘The Regent’. It was set in the crown Louis XV wore at his coronation and after the French Revolution, came into the possession of Napoleon Bonaparte who set it in the hilt of his sword. It is now on display at the Louvre.
View all Diamond Jewellery at Astley Clarke.
