Search Results: Diamond industry

The Cullinan Diamond was discovered in Transvaal, South Africa in 1905 and presented as a birthday gift to Edward VII of England (r. 1901-1910) by the Transvaal Government. It weighed well over 3,000 carats, making it the largest gem-quality...

During the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840), textile production was transformed from a cottage industry to a highly mechanised one where workers were present only to make sure the carding, spinning, and weaving machines never stopped. Driven...

Bangkok was once more commonly known as the Venice of the East due to the intricate network of waterways that crisscrossed the city in the 19th century CE. There were few roads in the 1800s CE so the city's inhabitants travelled and traded...

The affair of the diamond necklace (1784-86) was a scandal that centered around Queen Marie Antoinette of France (l. 1755-1793). Although the queen was innocent of any involvement in a plot to steal a luxurious diamond necklace, the scandal...

The Koh-i-Noor diamond (also Koh-i-Nur or Kūh-e Nūr) is one of the largest and most famous cut diamonds in the world. It was most likely found in southern India between 1100 and 1300. The name of the stone is Persian meaning ‘Mountain of...

The production of steel during the British Industrial Revolution became cheaper and more reliable thanks to the Bessemer converter, a type of blast furnace that removed undesirable impurities from pig iron. The superior strength and durability...

The Crown Jewels of the monarchy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are today kept in the Tower of London and date mostly to the 17th century, with a few later sparkling additions such as the Koh-i-Noor and Cullinan...

A 1908 photograph of the rough Cullinan diamond which was discovered in Transvaal, South Africa in 1905. The diamond weighed 3,106 carats. Nine large stones and 96 smaller ones were cut from the diamond. Cullinan I is now set in the Sovereign...

Stone tool chopper belonging to the Oldowan tool industry (c. 2.6-1 million years ago). Oldowan tools overlap in terms of time with Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, and Homo erectus, as well as with later Australopithecines, and it is possible...

The Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross of the British Crown Jewels. The sceptre was made in 1661 CE and the large stone is the Cullinan I diamond, added in 1911 CE. The diamond weighs 530 carats and is also known as the Star of Africa. The British...