established
direct communication with India. As before stated, there is evidence
that the points of the crystals were in use six hundred years B. C. as
gravers. After the art of cutting and polishing it was discovered in
the fifteenth century, the gem grew in favor as a jewel, slowly,
however, and the use of it was still confined to the rich and
powerful. In the early part of the seventeenth century, impetus was
given towards its establishment in public knowledge and favor, by the
discovery of new fields in Brazil. From that time it became a theme
for historians and romancers. During the eighteenth century, scientists
were attracted to it, and began to acquire exact information about its
nature, formation, and various qualities, proceeding to make reasonable
speculations regarding its antecedents. This was continued throughout
the nineteenth century with the addition of careful experiments and
research for the trial of theories and the acquirement of definite
knowledge. During the latter part of the nineteenth century, the
opening up of new diamond fields in Africa containing unlimited
quantities, simultaneous with an unexampled development of industry in
all departments throughout the world, and the rapid accumulation of
wealth in the United States, combined to place the gem in a position of
great prominence, not only as the jewel of fortune's favorites
everywhere, but as a great factor in the world's store of enduring
wealth, for while the greater items of food supply and manufactures
must be constantly replenished, to repair the loss by consumption and
wear and tear, the product of the diamond fields simply accumulates.
The opening of the twentieth century sees this superb
