Legend has it that Europeans first discovered African diamonds in a Shaman’s leather pouch. The African Shaman used his diamonds as Shamans of the world use quartz crystals. Anciently, diamonds were worn as unpolished stones. They were treasured for their beauty and powers.

The Philosopher's Stone
The Diamond is an ancient symbol of the perfected man whose divine spirit shines forth. As the rough diamond is dull and lifeless when first removed from the earth, so the spiritual nature in its “earthly” state reveals little of its inherent luminosity. In the hands of the skillful lapidary, the diamond is transformed into a sparkling gem from whose facets pour streams of rainbow colored fire, so upon the lathe of the Divine Lapidary, the spirit of man is ground and polished until it reflects the glory of its Creator from every atom. He lives by spirit.

The Philosopher’s Stone represents the realization and accomplishment of the ideal. In philosophy, the diamond of the Wise Man is “supreme and unalterable Reason. To find the Absolute in the Infinite, in the Indefinite, and in the Finite, this is the Great Work of the Sages.” He who possesses the Philosopher’s Stone possesses Truth, the greatest of all treasures. He is immortal because Reason takes no account of death. He is healed of Ignorance-the most loathsome of all diseases. To the mystic, the Philosopher's Stone is perfect love, which transmutes all that is base and “raises” all that is dead. Diamonds are the most magical of all gems.

Because it was believed that diamonds were fragments of stars and the tear drops of the Gods, the diamonds possessed magical qualities of the Gods and had powers far beyond the understanding of common man. The warriors stayed clear of the Kings and those who were fortunate enough have the magical diamonds in their breast plates. So, they survived the wars by the magic of the diamonds and were blessed by the Gods and had lives of good fortune. Much of this lore still lives today in a simple saying, “diamonds are a girls best friend.” In ancient Greece and Summaria, diamonds were the status symbols of Kings and the very wealthy.

The Greek word “adamas,” meaning unconquerable and indestructible, is the root word of the word diamond. Diamonds were worn because they were thought to give a person strength, invincibility, courage, and magical powers over the dark side of life. Rainbows of color gave the stones magical powers over the evil eye of the sorceress and magicians of the day.

Tradition of the Diamond Engagement Solitaire Ring
The earliest record of a man giving a large diamond to a woman for her hand in marriage was in 1477. The Archduke of Austria gave it to Mary of Burgundy. We have five hundred years of romance and the tradition of giving a large solitaire diamond, or a diamond wedding set, to the woman you wish to betroth, have now passed.