Introduction
Ever since their discovery over three thousand years ago diamonds have fascinated men and women everywhere. The reasons for the fascination are embodied in the name. Diamond is a derivative of the Greek word adamant which means to tame, to subdue. Hence the association of diamonds with power (Eric Bruton FGA, 1970).
Investors have committed funds to precious gems for thousands of years, and these gems have themselves influenced history. Several notable examples include Marco Polo, probably the most famous gem dealer, who told entertaining stories to the Mongol leader Kubla Khan for which he received gifts of turquoise, jade, and rubies mined in Burma and sapphires from Ceylon.
In the seventeenth century, French monarch Louis XIV was reported to wear colored gems--that is, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds--in the daytime and colorless diamonds at night. He felt that the diamond "fire" added magic to his candlelit ballroom.
After World War I the Florentine, a 137.27 carat diamond was lost and become part of history as the imperial family of Austria was forced to leave the country because of its loss (Adcock George., 1980).
Harry Winston, probably the most famous modern day gem dealer, made headlines when he donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. This 44.5 carat, deep blue diamond is among the three most valuable in the world (the others being the Star of Africa and the Cullinan II) and is exhibited proudly at the museum.
Major diamond discoveries, sales, and auctions have historically been of great interest. Among the more notable are the discovery in 1893 of the 969-carat Excelsior diamond in South Africa, the discovery of the largest diamond in the Soviet Union (342.5 carats) in the Yakutia region near the end of 1981, the sale by auction on November........
