When did diamonds first become recognized as precious stones and used for jewelry? The earliest reference to them has been uncovered in a Sanskrit document dated around 300 BCE. They have been associated with the gods and have been applied to decorate religious icons and statues. In India, only kings, the highest caste, were allowed to personal them.

Although diamonds had been traded east and west of India, they were definitely still prized in their natural crystal state, or polished to improve the shine and luster of them. The 1st guild of diamond cutters was established in 1375, and it was then that the practice of cutting the stones and faceting them was developed.

From the earliest times, diamonds have been the province of kings and queens. In fact, within the 13th century, Louis IX of France decreed that only royalty could personal diamonds, a dictate which faded away about 100 years later. By the late 15th century, they had been applied as wedding rings.

The biggest diamond ever discovered was a 3106-carat diamond discovered in 1905 in a mine owned by Thomas Cullinan, for whom the stone was produced. It was cut into smaller stones, the biggest being created into the 530-carat Wonderful Star of Africa diamond, cut by the Asscher Brothers, a well-known diamond firm to this day. It’s also referred to as the Cullinan I diamond, and is set inside Scepter on the Cross in the United Kingdom. A smaller stone cut from the Cullinan diamond is referred to as the Lesser Star of Africa. It weighs 317 carats and is component of the Imperial State Crown. Both gems could be seen as component in the British Crown Jewels which are displayed within the Tower of London. The rest on the Cullinan diamond was cut into 11 smaller-weight stones and several fragments.

While the Cullinan diamond is the largest diamond ever identified, there is a rumor that the man who discovered the diamond really broke off component with the diamond prior to presenting it to the mine’s owner. This diamond, if the rumor is true, would have been 5,000 carats!