The diamond

While legend has it that diamonds have been mined in India for 6,000 years, the first evidence of their existence and exploitation dates back to the 4th century BC with Sanskrit texts in India. The first emperor of India had then set the amount of taxes levied on the exploitation of "vajra" ("diamond" but also "lightning" in its translation). However, a Hindu proverb states that "vajra is only scratched by another vajra", so we can conclude that vajra is none other than diamond.

The predominantly transparent color, brilliance and hardness of the diamond have long made the crystal a sacred stone with multiple virtues and powers (see how to clean a rough diamond).

Indeed, Buddhist tradition places the diamond at the center of its Vajrayana philosophy (or "diamond vehicle" according to which the diamond, like truth, is eternal) while Hinduism associates diamond and lightning in its very language ("vajra", as seen above), two elements associated with the god Indra.

In India, it is also said that "He who wears a diamond will see dangers turn away." This notion of invincibility served as an argument for Indian merchants to promote and sell these crystals within the Roman Empire. Presented as a talisman, the diamond escaped aesthetic criteria. Perfectly shaped stones were never to cross the borders of India, as they were reserved for the upper castes, the Brahmins.

In the time of the pharaohs, the diamond symbolized the sun, synonymous with strength, courage and truth; it was placed in the middle of the ankh, the Egyptian hieroglyph meaning "life".

The Greeks and Romans, for their part, associated a strong mysticism with diamonds, which is called "adamas" (indomitable, invincible) in some Greco-Roman texts. Greek mythology thus saw divine tears or pieces of stars in the diamond, while Roman mythology believed that Cupid's arrows were topped with diamond tips (the crystal then being associated with eternal love).

Pliny the Elder even speaks of the diamond as a "rare joy of invincible opulence, resistant to all violence, which breaks under the action of goat's blood" in the 1st century BC. The goat being the symbol of evil, baseness and demonic forces. The diamond was therefore seen as a symbol of purity and good.

The diamond was then considered the precious stone par excellence, giving strength and luck. It would also strengthen the love of spouses by warding off discord, and keep wild animals, ghosts and all the terrifying presences of the night at bay. It was even said to be a prodigious antidote against poisons.

In the Middle Ages in the West, the diamond was credited with healing properties. Popular belief held that it could heal by simple application to a part of the body. It was not until the Renaissance that it was realized that ingesting diamond powder killed more than it healed. The death of Pope Clement VII after swallowing a medicine based on diamond powder reversed beliefs and the crystal was then considered a poison and became an instrument of court intrigues.

A stone of power, the diamond was long reserved for male rulers. It was not until 1477 that the trend faded and began to reverse with the first diamond-set engagement ring. Indeed, Archduke Maximilian I of Habsburg of Austria broke the tradition of metal rings by offering Mary of Burgundy a ring adorned with a diamond. The wearing of the engagement ring, or wedding ring, on the ring finger, however, dates back to the time of the Egyptians, who believed that the "vein of love" connected the heart and the left ring finger.

Today, the diamond symbolizes love, constancy and resilience, as well as April births and 60 years of marriage. It is also said to have virtues of strength and patience.