The Book Of Diamonds

By Joan Younger Dickinson
Avenel Books / Crown Publishers
1965

Avenel Books writes:

Diamonds have dazzled every age and society of mankind since before the days of Alexander the Great. For centuries the big rocks were jealously hoarded by the Indian Moguls, then bought and traded for fabulous sums by the crowned heads of Europe; in more recent times, they have found their way into the possessions of wealthy individuals and famed museums.

Today, as any bride knows, diamonds are no longer solely the prerogative of the rich and royalty. Gem diamonds are prized by millions for their romance, their special status, and their investment value. Industrial diamonds are indispensably keeping the wheels of world industry turning. On the current market the values of diamonds are booming.

Never before has the whole story of diamonds been told so dramatically and illustrated so profusely as in this new volume. From the first diamonds every discovered, probably in the Golconda mines of India, the author traces their history and lore, through the Brazilian diggings to the South African diamond rush and the development of the De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., who presently handle eighty percent of the world’s diamonds. Dramatic step-by-step photographs show the process of mining the modern diamond and the intricacies how it is cut and faceted.

Here are the stories of the most famous and infamous diamonds of all times: the Koh-i-noor now in the Tower of London, the Hope in our own Smithsonian Institution, the Regent in the Louvre, the Orloff in the Kremlin, the cleaved and faceted Cullinan adorning the British Crown Jewels, as well as many which have mysteriously vanished, such as the Florentine, the Pigott, and the Stewart. The United States can boast of several famous diamonds found in Murfreesboro, Arkansas; the Uncle Sam and the Star of Arkansas.

Diamonds have played their dazzling roles in American fashion among millionaires and working girls alike. The author tells this story from then embryonic jewelry stores along New York’s Maiden Path in the 1700s to the twentieth-century plush establishments along Fifth Avenue.

But this book is for more than a story of diamonds; it is also a practical guide for anyone who owns a diamond or plans to buy one. It explains and illustrates for the uninitiated the different diamond cuts, the role of carats, and how to buy diamonds for sentiment, for beauty, for show, for flawlessness, or for investment. To the prospective bridegroom and his fiancée, the author offers the accepted etiquette and practical advice on buying the diamond engagement ring and answers the specific questions they are most likely to ask, including how to clean and care for her ring. For students of gemology there is a large, informative glossary of diamond terms.

The Book Of Diamonds is illustrated with many old engravings of diamond mining, reproductions of museum painting, photographs of diamonds being mined and cut, famous diamonds in their present settings, plus a choice collection of award winning traditional and modern diamond pieces: rings, bracelets, brooches, pins, earclips, watches, and tiaras. Everyone who thrills to the diamond’s matchless brilliance will find this an enjoyable and thoroughly worthwhile book to own—along with the diamond that is forever.

About the author
Joan Younger Dickinson began her writing career as a reported in New York for United Press International. For more than a decade she was staff writer and an associate editor of the Ladies Home Journal. Author and editor of several books on social history, she worked in Istanbul, Antwerp, Amsterdam, London, and New York studying the diamond before completing this book.