Timed to coincide with the first virtual World Diamond Congress, the World Diamond Museum unveiled Diamonds Across Time, a stunning 432-page book that celebrates every aspect of history's most coveted precious stone.
Diamonds Across Time includes essays from 10 internationally renowned jewelry experts and is richly illustrated with high-quality images of gems and jewels, archival documents, rare drawings and eye-popping photographs.
The new book presents new discoveries, explores extraordinary collections, looks back on history and trade, investigates the nature of diamonds, reviews legendary gems, celebrates jewelry collections and spotlights great designers. The volume places diamonds in the context of the political, social and cultural stage on which their histories were etched.
Above all, the contributors tell the human stories that underpin the adoration of diamonds.
Dr. Usha R. Balakrishnan, the chief curator of the World Diamond Museum, compiled and edited the book, which includes her own monograph, titled The Nizam Diamond, Bala Koh-i-noor, the Little Koh-i-noor in the Sacred Trust of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
"There is a saying that, 'It takes a village to raise a child' and the same goes for making a great book," Balakrishnan told rough-polished.com. "Diamonds Across Time involved people from all over the world — all of us united by a love for diamonds."
Other topics include the following:
• Diamonds of the French Crown Jewels – between West and East, by François Farges;
• A Concise History of Diamonds from Borneo, by Derek J. Content;
• Indian Diamonds and the Portuguese during the rise of the Mughal Empire, by Hugo Miguel Crespo;
• Two Large Diamonds from India, by Jack Ogden;
• The Romanov Diamonds - History of Splendour, by Stefano Pappi;
• The Londonderry Jewels 1819-1959, by Diana Scarisbrick;
• Dress to Impress in South East Asia, by René Brus;
• Powerful Women Important Diamonds, by Ruth Peltason;
• One in Ten Thousand; the Unique World of Coloured Diamonds, by John King.
“The establishment of the World Diamond Museum marks the first step in the long journey to reignite the passion for diamonds, chronicle traditions, explore cultures and show the eternal relevance of beauty, even in present times," wrote Alex Popov, Founder of the World Diamond Museum, in the book's foreword. “This volume unites diverse stories that reveal the many meanings of the diamond and how human emotions and beliefs are reflected in its thousands of facets. The book is illustrated with incredible photographs of rarely seen gems and jewels from closely held collections and reconstructions of historical diamonds, done with the help of state-of-the-art computer technology.”
The book will be available soon on the World Diamond Museum's website.
Credits: Images courtesy of the World Diamond Museum.