Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s Travels In India

Concerning Diamonds, And The Mines And Rivers Where They Are Found; And Especially Of The Author’s Journey To The Mine Of Rammalakota
(via Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s Travels In India / V Ball / Edited by William Crooke)

The diamond is the most precious of all stones, and it is the article of trade to which I am most devoted. In order to acquire a thorough knowledge of it I resolved to visit all the mines, and one of the two rivers where diamonds were found; and as the fear of dangers has never restrained me in any of my journeys, the terrible picture that was drawn of these mines, situated in barbarous countries to which one could not travel except by the most dangerous routes, served neither to terrify me nor to turn me from my intention. I have accordingly been at four mines, of which I am about to give descriptions, and at one of the two rivers whence diamonds are obtained, and I have encountered there neither the difficulties nor the barbarities with which those imperfectly acquainted with the country had sought to terrify me. Thus I am able to claim that I have cleared the way for the others, and that I am the first European who has opened the route for the Franks to these mines, which are the only places in the world where the diamond is found.

The first of the mines which I visited is situated in the territory of the King of Bijapur in the Province of Carnatic, and the locality if called Rammalakota, situated five days journey from Golkonda, and eight or nine from Bijapur. The fact that the two Kings of Golkonda and Bijapur were formerly subject to the Mogul, and were then only Governors of the Provinces which they acquired by their revolt, caused it to be said, and to be still said by some people, that the diamonds come from the Empire of the Great Mogul. It is only about 200 years since this mine of Rammalakota was discovered, at least so far as I have been able to ascertain from the people of the country.

All round the place where the diamonds are found the soil is sandy, and full of rocks and jungle, somewhat comparable to the neighborhood of Fontainebleau. There are in these rocks many veins, some of half a finger and some of a whole finger in width; and the miners have small irons, crooked at the ends, which they thrust into the veins to drawn from them the sand or earth, which they place in vessels; it is in this earth that they afterwards find the diamonds. But as the veins do not always run straight, as some ascend, while others descend, they are obliged to break the rocks, always following the direction of the veins. After they have opened them out, and have removed the earth or sand which may be in them, they then commence to wash it two or three times, and search it for whatever diamonds it may contain. It is in this mine that the cleanest and whitest-watered diamonds are found; but the evil is that in order to extract the sand more easily from the rocks the miners strike such blows with a heavy iron crowbar that it fractures the diamonds, and gives rise to flaws. This is the reason why so many thin stones come from this mine, for when the miners see a stone in which there is a flaw of some size, they immediately cleave it, that is to say split it, at which they are much more accomplished than we are. These are the stones which we call thin (foible), which make a great show. If the stone is clean they do not do more than just touch it with the wheel above and below, and do not venture to give it any form, for fear of reducing the weight. But if it has a small flaw, or any spots, or small black or red grit, they cover the whole of the stone with facettes in order that its defects may not be seen, and if it has a very small flaw they conceal it by the edge of one of the facettes. But it should be remarked that the merchant prefers a black point in a stone to a red one. When there is a red one the stone is roasted, and the point becomes black. I learned this trick at length so well that when I examined a parcel of stones which came from this mine, and saw that there were facettes on any of them, especially small facettes, I was certain that there was some speck of flaw in the stone.

There are at this mine numerous diamond cutters, and each has only a steel wheel of about the size of our plates. They place but one stone on each wheel, and pour water incessantly on the wheel until they have found the ‘grain’ of the stone. The ‘grain’ being found, they pour on oil and do not spare diamond dust, although it is expensive, in order to make the stone run faster, and they weight it much more heavily than we do.

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s Travels In India (continued)