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CHAPTER ONE
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THE EARLY HISTORY OF DIAMONDS
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From the earliest times the
diamond has fascinated mankind. The diamond is the best known and most
admired ornament which Nature has provided for man, "a thing of beauty and a joy forever." Of many of her beauties, Nature gives us glimpses only. The diamond sparkles and flashes whenever and wherever the light finds it, while the generations which successively enjoy its beauty fade and are forgotten.
Among
all the stones that our world's fancy holds precious, the diamond
stands preeminent. The diamonds that gleamed with such strange fire in
an idol's eye before the rising of the Star of Bethlehem may be
sparkling today with more dazzling radiance in the crown of an emperor.
By
the traffic of Rome from the East the diamond was gradually carried
Westward, but owing to the inability to cut and polish it until the
fifteenth century, it was not classed as the equal of rubies and
emeralds. Even in the middle of the sixteenth century, it was ranked by
Benvenuto Cellini as third among precious stones, placing the value
1
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