The term “Golconda Diamond” is a varietal name, which is used within the jewelry trade to denote diamonds, which possess superb luminousness and transparency. Golconda diamonds are universally esteemed as the finest diamonds in the world. Besides indicating a superior quality, the term also denotes that the diamond is probably an old stone, meaning that it was mined centuries ago in the ancient diamond fields of Eastern India.
The characteristic, which sets Golconda diamonds apart from all other diamonds, is a subtle luminous quality. It is an attribute which causes otherwise articulate connoisseurs to be at a loss for words when they attempt to describe it. When asked to describe a Golconda diamond, several of the leading diamond merchants in New York responded with an invitation to see a Golconda stone. One dealer in particular responded “I could talk for hours about Golconda stones. But to really know what I am trying to tell you, you must hold one in your hand. Only then will you understand.”
Golconda diamonds have a degree of transparency rarely seen in stones from other localities, such as Africa, Brazil, Russia or Australia. It is a quality variously called soft, limpid, watery, or pure. It is not to be confused with clarity or freedom of flaws; Golconda diamonds may be relatively imperfect and still possess this unusual transparency. It is not to be confused with colour grade. While they are often of high colours (such as D, E, or F), Golconda diamonds can be G or H colour and still posses this transparency. Rather, it is a quality in which light appears to pass through the stone as if it were totally unimpeded, almost as if the light were passing through a vacuum. In addition, the surface luster appears slightly softer on Golconda diamonds. Certain diamonds from their localities appear to have a cold metallic luster when compared to the soft but luminous luster of a Golconda stone.
Many connoisseurs feel that Golconda diamonds are most charming when they retain their original cuts. Since virtually all Golconda diamonds were minded hundreds of years ago, many exhibit the slightly less than precise cutting styles common to prior to this century. The older cuts tend to emphasize the limpid transparency, which makes Golconda diamonds so special.
It is widely accepted in the jewelry industry that all diamonds, which display this peculiar luminousness, are of Indian origin. For thousands of years India was the only known source for diamonds in the world. Little is recorded of the very early days of diamond mining in India. Nevertheless, it is believed that diamond mining in India first began about 400 B.C. For about two thousand years all diamonds known to mankind were from the area. About 1730, diamonds were discovered in Brazil. Coincidentally, the discovery of the Brazilian diamond deposits occurred about the same time that the majority of Indian diamond mines were depleted. In 1769 and in 1979, large diamond finds were made in South Africa and Australia, respectively. When compared to the antiquity of the Indian mines, all other diamond producing areas are comparatively recent discoveries.
The story of the Indian diamond fields has been recorded via two methods. The older history is told by the earth itself. Over the centuries, geologists have unraveled the mysteries regarding the origin of the deposits. The more recent history of the area is found in the writings of the celebrated French gem merchant, Jean Baptiste Tavernier.
Tavernier visited Persia and India six times between 1630 and 1668, and chronicled in great detail his visits to the Indian diamond mines. The Indian diamond fields are found scattered throughout a broad belt of ancient rocks extending nearly one thousand miles in the north-south direction along the eastern half of the nation. The vast majority of diamonds found in India were discovered in alluvial deposits. Alluvia deposits are secondary deposits formed by the breakdown of older rocks by the forces of nature. Nature tends to concentrate heavier particles and pebbles, including diamonds, in riverbeds. Very little remains of the “parent” rocks, which originally contained the diamonds. These rocks, called kimberlites, formed one hundred miles below the earth’s crust and were pushed up to the surface by violent volcanic action. In time, the kimberlites disintegrated, leaving behind the hard durable diamond crystals, which were originally imbedded in them.
As already mentioned, the diamond belt of India is a broad area extending nearly one thousand miles in length. Within this belt the diamonds are found in five distinct districts, each separated by high terrain. Each district had its own name. Of these, the most famous is the one called the Golconda district. Comprising the Kistna and Godaviri valleys, the Golconda district is believed to have yielded the great historical diamonds of India, including the Koh-i-Noor and the Hope. It should be emphasized that no diamonds have ever been found at the town of Golconda itself. Golconda, the former capital of the district, was simply the commercial centre where diamond were bought and sold. Today, little remains of the original village of Golconda except the ruins of a fort.
Through the writings of Tavernier, we find that diamond mining in the Golconda district reached its climax about the time Tavernier traveled to the area, in the mid-1600s. He mentioned that at the Kollur area within the Golconda district, 60,000 diggers and washers were employed. It is believed that mining activity grew at an explosive rate in the 1600s and decreased just as rapidly in the 1700s, as one deposit after another became exhausted.
Today, diamond production in India is a fraction of what it was during the 1600s and is completely overshadowed by mining in Africa, Australia and Russia. However, Indian diamonds in general, and Golconda diamonds in particular, still reign supreme among gem connoisseurs around the world. The quality of Golconda diamonds, as well as the romance of the old mining districts, will continue to fascinate collectors for centuries to come.
