Records show from the 8th to the 16th century, the gemstone trade routed rough Indian stones by land and sea through Venice, Lisbon, and the Netherlands. In the 17th century, as the presence of the British in India increased, the East India Company began to dominate the export of diamonds from India.
Rough diamonds were routed through London and circulated from there to other cities, such as Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Paris, all of which were cutting centers that specialized in faceting gemstones into table, rose, brilliant, and other cuts. By adding more facets, lapidaries were able to unlock even more brilliance and "fire" (the rainbow of spectral hues) within the gemstone.
Some diamonds were mined in the Golconda region of India. A 14th-century atlas made in Mallorca illustrates the Valley of the Diamonds as neing a region in India. The crevasse is shown as being full of snakes, and two figures nearby slice red flesh to attract a vulture flying overhead. The mythical geography of the Valley of the Diamonds was also used to represent the region of India in several illustrated texts reaching as far as the Ottoman Empire, as seen in a 16th-century world history, the Maṭāli˓ al-sa˓āda wa manābi˓ al-siyāda.
Europeans have long associated diamonds with the virtues of purity and steadfastness, because of their clarity and hardness (the word "adamant" stems from the same Latin root as "diamond").
As early as the 16th century, rulers in the German provinces incorporated the stones into their insignia; Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria Johann Casimir, for example, incorporated a ring set with a point-cut diamond into his impresa. Even his motto, constanter et sincere, references the virtues associated with the stone.
A London jeweller by the name of Delles obtained a big beautiful green diamond at the end of the 17th century, and cut it into a modified a pear-shaped brilliant cut.
After many years trying to find a suitable buyer, he sold "The Dresden Green" to Augustus II. He paid so much for it that Frederick II of Prussia ("Frederick the Great") complained that "for the siege of Brünn [the capital of Moravia] the king of Poland was asked for heavy artillery. He refused due to the scarcity of money; he had just spent 400,000 thaler for a large green diamond." (At the time, the exorbitant sum would have been worth about four tons of gold.)
So Charles I wasn't the only king to invest in art and short-change the army!
The Stuart Tiara is probably the Dutch royal family's showstopper. Its central diamond is almost 40 carats.
The central diamond is called The Stuart Diamond, and its first recorded owner was Mary II of England, who reigned jointly with her husband, William III.
Mary purchased the diamond after their wedding, and it was first set into a brooch. After Mary's death, William inherited the diamond. Following his death, the diamond returned to the Netherlands as part of his Dutch property.
Many years later, William V, Prince of Orange, fled to England, and while in exile, his wife reset the diamond into a pendant on a necklace. When their son became King in 1815, the diamond became part of the royal collection. The diamond briefly returned to England as it was on display in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The Stuart Diamond was finally placed in a tiara in 1897 when Queen Emma ordered a tiara for her daughter's inauguration. Queen Wilhelmina wore the tiara, including the Stuart Diamond, for her inauguration. She wore the tiara again, albeit without the top row of diamonds and the central Stuart diamond, for her wedding in 1901.
It was a favourite of Queen Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana, but Juliana's daughter Beatrix was never seen in the tiara. Queen Maxima has worn the tiara in several settings.
2 Annotations
Second Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
Records show from the 8th to the 16th century, the gemstone trade routed rough Indian stones by land and sea through Venice, Lisbon, and the Netherlands. In the 17th century, as the presence of the British in India increased, the East India Company began to dominate the export of diamonds from India.
Rough diamonds were routed through London and circulated from there to other cities, such as Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Paris, all of which were cutting centers that specialized in faceting gemstones into table, rose, brilliant, and other cuts. By adding more facets, lapidaries were able to unlock even more brilliance and "fire" (the rainbow of spectral hues) within the gemstone.
Some diamonds were mined in the Golconda region of India. A 14th-century atlas made in Mallorca illustrates the Valley of the Diamonds as neing a region in India. The crevasse is shown as being full of snakes, and two figures nearby slice red flesh to attract a vulture flying overhead. The mythical geography of the Valley of the Diamonds was also used to represent the region of India in several illustrated texts reaching as far as the Ottoman Empire, as seen in a 16th-century world history, the Maṭāli˓ al-sa˓āda wa manābi˓ al-siyāda.
Europeans have long associated diamonds with the virtues of purity and steadfastness, because of their clarity and hardness (the word "adamant" stems from the same Latin root as "diamond").
As early as the 16th century, rulers in the German provinces incorporated the stones into their insignia; Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria Johann Casimir, for example, incorporated a ring set with a point-cut diamond into his impresa. Even his motto, constanter et sincere, references the virtues associated with the stone.
A London jeweller by the name of Delles obtained a big beautiful green diamond at the end of the 17th century, and cut it into a modified a pear-shaped brilliant cut.
After many years trying to find a suitable buyer, he sold "The Dresden Green" to Augustus II. He paid so much for it that Frederick II of Prussia ("Frederick the Great") complained that "for the siege of Brünn [the capital of Moravia] the king of Poland was asked for heavy artillery. He refused due to the scarcity of money; he had just spent 400,000 thaler for a large green diamond." (At the time, the exorbitant sum would have been worth about four tons of gold.)
So Charles I wasn't the only king to invest in art and short-change the army!
For more info on the Dresden Green, see https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/n…
For information about the Indian diamond fields, see https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/n…
Third Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
The Stuart Tiara is probably the Dutch royal family's showstopper. Its central diamond is almost 40 carats.
The central diamond is called The Stuart Diamond, and its first recorded owner was Mary II of England, who reigned jointly with her husband, William III.
Mary purchased the diamond after their wedding, and it was first set into a brooch. After Mary's death, William inherited the diamond. Following his death, the diamond returned to the Netherlands as part of his Dutch property.
Many years later, William V, Prince of Orange, fled to England, and while in exile, his wife reset the diamond into a pendant on a necklace. When their son became King in 1815, the diamond became part of the royal collection. The diamond briefly returned to England as it was on display in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The Stuart Diamond was finally placed in a tiara in 1897 when Queen Emma ordered a tiara for her daughter's inauguration. Queen Wilhelmina wore the tiara, including the Stuart Diamond, for her inauguration. She wore the tiara again, albeit without the top row of diamonds and the central Stuart diamond, for her wedding in 1901.
It was a favourite of Queen Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana, but Juliana's daughter Beatrix was never seen in the tiara. Queen Maxima has worn the tiara in several settings.
For a picture of the tiara, with the Stuart Diamond at the peak, see
https://www.historyofroyalwomen.c…
It's huge.