Diamonds are a lot of things – a girl’s best friend, a proposal of marriage and of course a beautiful item. But why is that?

Each diamond holds a unique meaning to the wearer, as they are extremely precious in their own right. But there is a common route that all modern diamonds have gone through, making them as sought after as they are. Steeped in history and ancient beliefs, these shiny jewels are some of the most expensive in the world.

Humble Beginnings

The diamonds that we see today were once nothing more than the carbon that makes coal. However, when the earth was being formed, the intense temperatures and pressure created diamonds.

After the lava had cooled down, a substance called Kimberlite brought the gems to the surface.

The oldest diamonds in the world are more than 1 billion years old!

Early Discovery

Diamonds were first discovered in India around 800BC. Since then, a lot of stories followed the gems around – Greek and Roman mythology had variations of how they came to be. Greeks believed they were tears from the gods!

Their indestructible qualities meant that the rich and powerful elite believed they warded off evil spirits.

Modern Diamond Market

A little boy in Kimberley, South Africa discovered one of the treasured items in 1866 and the rest is moreorless history! From 1870 onwards, the diamond market boomed.

Annual production of rough diamonds was well under a million carats throughout the 1870s, around three million by the 1920s, and in the 90s production was in excess of 100 million carats per year!

Looking Back

Although diamonds have been appreciated for centuries, there wasn’t much scientific knowledge about them before the twentieth century.

In the past 50 years, a range of scientists have discovered how they were created and brought to the Earth’s surface, making it easier to locate where more may be hiding. And it appears to be working – in the past couple of decades, diamond sources have been found in Canada and Australia.

As jewellers in Glasgow, we are no stranger to handling gorgeous trinkets and we hope by knowing a bit more about your prized items you will appreciate them even more. We offer a professional jewellery repair service that means we can help you maintain your keepsakes, no matter how old they may be!

For more information about our services, contact us on 0141 946 6333 and we will be more than happy to help.