The Surprising History of Diamonds

Diamonds were once believed to be precious gems obtainable in only one place on Earth, guarded by supernatural creatures and possessing magical qualities. For centuries, they were prized by elites from around the world, and remain prized to this day. What is their story? In this video, we find out.

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Sources And Further Reading

[1] Natural History Museum. "Diamonds: The World's Most Dazzling Exhibition." Natural History Museum, 2005.

[4] Lu, Peter et al. "The Earliest Use of Corundum and Diamond, In Prehistoric China." Archaeometry, 47. 1 - 12. 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2005.00184.x. (2005)

[6] Pliny the Elder. "Naturalis Historia." Translated by John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., and H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. Taylor and Francis, 1855. Chapter 15.

[7] Polo, Marco, and Hugh Murray. "The Travels of Marco Polo." Oliver & Boyd, 1845. Book 3, Chapter 19.

[18] Yarnell, Amanda and C&en Washington. "The Many Facets of Manmade Diamonds." Chemical & Engineering News, American Chemical Society, 2 Feb. 2004,

Picture Attributions

[BlaBla-pfmf]

Lab-created diamonds are now 60% cheaper than natural diamonds because despite being identical to mined ones, marketing has successfully labeled them inferior.

[repetemyname]

The stories about stored and hoarded diamonds are absolutely true, just another way for big business to monopolize the market. Notice how the industry came up with crackpot ideas about buying an engagement ring with the "three times your monthly salary" as a standard starting point. The more you make, the more you spend, how convenient for them.

[sergpie]

As a gemstone nerd and mineral collector, thank you for this upload!

I would like to share a fun-fact;

Blue sapphire is a member of the corundum family, an aluminum oxide that forms a _hexagonal_ crystal structure. We’ll remember this detail.

“Sapphire” as a term, originated from Ancient Greek (“sapheiros”, or blue precious stone), which was possibly borrowed from the Semitic “sappir” (ditto), but is hypothesized to be of Sanskrit origin, where the term for the stone is “sanipriya” (dear/cherished by Saturn).

Saturn, the _sixth_ planet from the sun, has the unique phenomenon of _hexagonal_ polar storms. In astrology from the Indian subcontinent, the tradition of ascribing Saturnian associations with this specific stone, goes back several thousands of years. 🪐 💎

Thanks again! Be well

[skybluskyblueify]

The book The First Fossil Hunters claims that the reasons they thought griffins guarded diamonds is because fossilized ceratopsians sometimes have crystals on them and no one knew what dinosaurs were. These fossils were found in the Gobi desert and other dry areas of the area. Sometimes they eroded out of cliffs that were once sand dunes that buried the ceratopsians often standing upright.

[sudo]

There was an empire in South India called the Vijayanagara Empire (founded 1336 according to Wiki), of which it is said that, fist-sized diamonds were being sold by street vendors, meaning it was commonplace and that empire was so wealthy. Funny how diamond and even gold mines have all but disappeared in India.🤔

[russellst.martin]

I never understood the popularity of diamonds from an aesthetic point of view. Nothing will ever top the beauty of an opal for me.

[nick.]

It is a good day when Fire of Learning uploads. Thank you for helping make my smooth brain not so smooth.

[sergpie]

It ought to be remembered that there are different kinds of diamonds, and that the vast majority of those on the market (and whose value is more easily controlled by released inventory) are “Type I” diamonds, which are characterized by nitrogen in their crystal lattice. Again, this is the most common form, and the form most inflated in value and manipulated by inventory.

Type II (a and b) diamonds are extremely rare, as they are virtually free of any impurities in the crystal lattice, with the exception of Boron being present in Type IIb, which gives the diamond everything from electric conductivity, to colors like pure green and pure blue or violet. The latter are, interestingly enough, what the worlds most famous diamonds have been categorized as.

Not that the ancients or our forefathers would’ve known by analysis; but even simply viewing a Type IIa/IIb will make one understand why they were the object of such desire. These are not withstanding the rarity of diamonds colored by unusual chromophores like chromium, uranium, thorium, etc.

Of note is that practically all Type II (a and b) diamonds are found virtually flawless or at least internally flawless.

[sauceless]

never understood why diamonds are so liked they look like plain cut glass lol, so many other cool gemstones

[oddmott]

I wonder if other precious gems have similarly surprising histories behind them? Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst, the ultra rare Tanzanite, or the ever common Pearl. This could be your next big subseries! XD

[RichMitch]

"How diamonds became desired"

*Shiny*

[palanthis]

Scarcity / Value 101
"Look what I have."
"Hey, that's cool. Are there more of them?"
"Yes, but they are rare and difficult to come by."
"Oh, it's valuable then."

[Floridaboi-Woody]

Emeralds, opals, and ruby's are so much more beautiful and rare than diamonds. Diamond value is a result of marketing.

[mrs.g.]

I opted for a simple wedding band when I got married. I didn't even want an engagement ring. I love how diamonds sparkle, but I'm OK without them.

[bendirval]

I think the big reason they became expensive is because somehow the public got convinced that engagement rings are supposed to have a diamond on them. I wish the how and when of that had been discussed.

[bentationfunkiloglio]

As always, both informative and entertaining.

[planescaped]

I've noticed actual commercials lately pimping diamonds like they're some kind of wholesome commodity.

GF'd diamond industry... seriously!? XD

[abbasalchemist]

Thank you for your hard work on this. But let us not forget that ancient Egyptians also revered the diamond for its spiritual purity. Cheer!

[duncanandrews]

The fact that the Hope Diamond used to be at least 3x larger makes me mad

[nunyabiznes]

I like the idea of synthetic gems. Less likely that they'd fund conflict.