Joys Forever

The allure and mystique of diamonds has sparkled through the ages

Forged in the white-hot stew of elemental forces that churns deep beneath the Earth’s surface, and one of the toughest naturally occurring materials ever to be discovered, diamonds have fired mankind’s imagination for millennia, captivating us with their dazzling beauty.

It is believed that diamonds were first discovered in India some 5,000 or so years ago. Later, the ancient Greeks described them as the tears of the gods, and diamonds were also highly prized by the Romans, philosopher Pliny the Elder writing in the first century AD that “the diamond is the most valuable, not only of precious stones, but of all things in this world.”

Such fascination continues into the 21st century: last year more than $39 billion was spent on diamond jewelry in the United States alone, and global sales exceeded $79 billion. And while nature has played a major role in diamonds’ allure, humans have also been crucial. “The Earth makes this amazing material, but it is man who brings out its beauty,” says Rick Moore, Store Director at Bellusso Jewelers at Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas.

Technology, of course, has advanced massively since it was first discovered that the dust from one diamond could be used to cut another. Today, highly skilled crafts people, working in locales as distant as Antwerp, Mumbai and new York, take rough diamonds and, through precise faceting and polishing, create gems that catch light and sparkle with breathtaking radiance. And there are many cuts to choose from, each with its own unique appeal. They include the ever-popular brilliant cut; the elegant and octagonal emerald cut; the cushion cut, with its rounded corners; and the angular and contemporary princess cut.