DIAMONDS - A Luxury Gem Steeped in Fact & Fable

The diamond is one fabled gemstone! For example, google “Hope Diamond” to see all the legends associated with just this one stone said to bring misfortune to its owners.

- Jim Brace-Thompson

So much lore has grown up around diamonds that it would fill the pages of this magazine for the rest of the year to capture even a portion. Jack Ogden wrote a book about this very topic, published in 2018, Diamonds: An Early History of the King of Gems. I’ll relate just two of the many facts—and fictions—Ogden explores, along with other myths and legends.

Per Ogden, diamond mining originated in India. Most specimens came from riverbeds, where they were found in gravel. The Valley of Gems was especially renowned, but there was a problem: it had sheer cliffs and was filled with poisonous snakes!