Healing and Hypnotherapy Volume - 4, issue 12, 1 June 2020 | Page 36
Diamonds reached ancient Rome from India. [2] Diamonds were also
discovered in 700 in Borneo, and were used by the traders of southeast Asia.
[2]
Kohi- noor
The brightest & best: Golconda diamond history
The Golconda diamonds stood apart for their size and crystal clarity. Most
diamonds have traces of nitrogen in them which gives them a yellowish tinge
and they are called Type I. The Golconda diamonds were called Type 2. Even
in this category, they were classified as Type 2a, as they did not have any
nitrogen, considered to be an impurity in diamond. Even those with some
tinge of pink or blue or grey, were classified as Type 2b as they got their
colour from elements such as Boron.
This made the Golconda diamonds, the purest diamonds of the world. Due to
this purity, unlike Type 1 diamonds, they allowed ultraviolet rays and visible
light to pass through them and this gave them a clear, transparent nature.
They were so clear and transparent that they looked like ice cubes. They
gave an effect of water running through the gem.
They were large in size too. They were weighed in units of rati where one rati
was 7/8th of a carat. One of the stones from this region, the Great Mogul, is
recorded to have weighed equivalent of 787 carats.
Carat, the unit to measure the weight of diamonds, comes from the Italian
word carato or Greek word Keration, traceable to the Arabic qirat (horn) for