At Isle of Her, all our collections and customised diamond jewellery pieces are ‘Made in India’, and we say that with hearts full of pride.
Ask someone about India, and their answers will most likely include at least one of the following - it’s the second most populated country in the world, it’s the home of amazing (but sometimes risky) food, and it’s where the Taj Mahal is!
Diamonds were discovered in India!
While all of those are true, did you know that India is believed to be the first place where diamonds were found? Aha - Caught you there, didn’t we?
India has actually always had a rich history with diamonds – be it mining, polishing or international trade. You will be amazed to know (because so were we) that India accounts for more than 90% of the global polished diamond manufacturing by value (for context, that is 11 out of every 12 diamonds in the world – let that sink in). India also accounts for an estimated 70% of the world’s diamond export.This just means, at Isle of Her, we’re taking you closer to the source of polished diamonds used to create diamond jewellery, and eliminating the number of inbetweeners that it would normally take for it to reach the western world.
Why this is important to you is because we’re able to cut out unnecessary overheads and offer more women the opportunity to buy and afford diamond jewellery that isn’t confined to their engagement ring!
Still curious to find out more about the history of diamonds in India? Read on!
There isn’t an exact date to determine when Diamonds were first found in India; however, there are many references from the 4th century when Alexander the Great conquered India.
The legend goes that Alexander the Great discovered a valley at the heart of which lay countless diamonds. The valley was guarded by snakes and eagles, and it was believed that the mere looks of the snakes were fatal. Alexander the Great first used mirrors to kill the snakes, but his soldiers still refused to go down the valley. Eventually, mutton pieces were thrown down, with the hope that the diamonds would stick onto them, and the eagles would bring them up.
More recently in history, the world-famous Koh-I-Noor diamond (which translates to ‘Mountain of Light’) was discovered in the Golconda mines in South India in the early 13th century. The diamond weighed over 790 carats (take a minute to think about that), and was considered to have magical powers. It soon became a legend that whoever owned the diamond ruled the world and thus began one of many long battles (both bloody and violent) to gain possession of this beauty that now rests (very well-guarded) at the Tower of London.
The Koh-I-Noor is just one of many of India’s Golconda diamonds that are now scattered across the globe including the 67 carats ‘Hope’ Diamond in Washington, the 189.62 carats ‘Orlov Diamond’ at the Moscow Kremlin in Russia and even the 140 carats ‘Regent Diamond’ in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
What began as an early diamond producing country and the trading centre has now become a global leader of manufacturing and an important consumer market.
When the whole world is turning to India for diamonds, what is it that’s stopping you?
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