part II
Chapter XI
DIAMOND
I. INTRODUCTION
DIAMOND,
the most precious of gem-stones, has been known from ancient times in
Indian and other eastern countries, known as Vajra = hirak (Sanskrit);
both the terms are used in the different Indian vernaculars. It is,
commercially, also the most important gem-stone, because it is the
hardest, the most imperishable and the most brilliant of minerals.
Attempts at manufacturing diamonds never proved a success and are only
of scientific interest. It has the simplest composition. It is
crystallized carbon, another form of which is graphite Diamond has
maintained its eminence as the most valuable of gem-stones, but it is
also becoming very valuable in industry which uses all the by-product
and non-precious diamonds.
The
word diamond has been derived from the Greek and Latin terms, 'Adamas'
(16 A.D.) whose original meaning was invincible. By usage the following
changes took place as' adamant',' diamant' and' diamond'. Pliny (100
A.D.) speaks of the rarity of the stones. The Romans knew of it when it
was introduced from India.
The discovery of diamonds in India predates the birth of Christ by several millennia. Kautilya's Arthasastra, a work of third century B.C. refers to six kinds of diamonds from as many mines. It was about the fourteenth century that the cutting.processes
were introduced from India to Europe, and the diamond did not come to
its eminence till the fifteenth century. Till the middle ages, ruby,
peridote and pearl were considered more precious. Indian lapidaries
were the first to realize that diamond could be
66
5B
