Indian Jewelry » Diamonds in India

Retrospection on India's great past would show that it is the original gems land which discovered natural gemstones as well as the craft and art of turning out exquisite jewels by cutting, polishing and setting them into various ornaments. Thus, India has the unique distinction of being not only a natural gem mineral producer, but also the first and foremost processing centre for all-time great gems.

India has a glorious history of diamond mining, processing and trading. It was at one time, the undisputed leader in this field. Diamond production in India is, in fact, traced back to many centuries B.C.. The first ever diamond in the world was mined in India. Some of the superlative, most famous diamonds of the world like the Great Moghul,Koh-i-noor, Hope, Pitt, Nizam, Idol's Eye, Orloff, etc., were also 'born' in India. During the 16th and 17th centuries, diamond mining in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh remained a flourishing activity. In fact, India was the sole producer and supplier of diamonds to the world before the discovery of Brazilian fields in the 17th century and the later emergence of South Africa, Russia and Australia, as major producers. Today twenty countries of the world are mining natural diamonds and 30 are processing them, yet India maintains its leading position mainly because of processing smalls, which most of the other cutting centres are not in a position to take on due to various reasons.