The name diamond derives from the ancient Greek adamas meaning “invincible”.
The ancient Greeks and Romans believed diamonds were tears of the Gods and
splinters from falling stars. In ancient India, Hindus, finding diamonds washed
out of the ground after thunderstorms, believed they were created by bolts of
lightning and attributed so much power to these stones they went so far as to
place diamonds in the eyes of some of their statues. In the middle Ages and
Renaissance period, every ring set with a precious stone was considered an
amulet that conveyed magical powers like fearlessness and invincibility upon the
wearer. An act of Louis IX of France that established a law reserving diamonds
for the king, bespeaks of the rarity of diamonds and the value conferred on them
at that time. Within 100 years diamonds appeared in royal jewelry of both men
and women, then among the greater European aristocracy as symbols of power.
Over the last few century, the diamond acquired its unique status as the
ultimate gift of love . It wasn’t until 1477 when Archduke Maximillian of
Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy, that the diamond engagement
ring was introduced.