The modern diamond industry began with South African diamonds. It all started with two teenagers named Erasmus Jacobs and Cecil Rhodes. Learn how Jacobs discovered the first South African diamond and how Rhodes built a diamond empire.In this blog, we will explain the following:
Erasmus Jacobs’s surprising discovery
The first people to discover diamonds in South Africa’s Northern Cape province were teenagers, farmers and a shepherd. The discovery of South African diamonds marked the beginning of the modern diamond industry. In 1866, Erasmus Jacobs, a farmer’s son, found the first important South African diamond while collecting “beautiful stones” with his friends near the banks of the Orange River. Among Jacobs’ collection of stones, one particularly shiny pebble caught the eye of his neighbor, Schalk Van Niekerk. Schalk Van Niekerk offered to buy the stone from Jacobs’ mother, but the boy’s mother gave it to him instead. The stone changed hands several times before it was eventually passed to an amateur geologist, who identified it as a 21.25 carat diamond. The giant South African diamond was named Eureka, which means “I have found it.”
The Eureka diamond, found by 15-year-old Erasmus Jacobs, was the first significant diamond ever found in South Africa. The diamond is on public display at the Kimberley Mine Museum.
Most people were skeptical and had little interest in the find until 1869, when a shepherd found a large pebble. He first wanted to trade it for a place to stay, then for breakfast. Everyone turned him down. Finally, he went to the man who had originally found Erasmus Jacobs’s shining stone—Schalk van Niekerk. In exchange, Niekerk gave the shepherd a horse, 10 cows, and 500 sheep, nearly all his possessions. His gamble paid off. The pebble turned out to be an 83.5-carat South African diamond. Niekerk sold it for £11,200 (then $56,000 USD), nearly 100 times the value of what he had paid Jacobs. The gem was named the Star of South Africa. The gem was later sent to England, where it was cut into a 47.69 ct pear-shaped gem and purchased by the Earl of Dudley.
The 47.69 ct pear-shaped Star of South Africa diamond forms the pendant of this necklace. This exquisite diamond was discovered by a shepherd in 1869. Courtesy: De Beers
The discovery of this South African diamond sparked a diamond rush in the area. In 1871, diamonds were discovered on the De Beers brothers’ farm. In addition, more and more diamonds were discovered on other local farms, which quickly transformed this hot and barren land into a town called Kimberley, with a population of 50,000.
South Africa’s Premier Diamond Mine was an open-pit mine opened in 1902 and operated for several decades.
Cecil Rhodes’ Diamond Empire
Another enterprising 17-year-old English boy, Cecil Rhodes, founded what many consider to be the beginning of the modern diamond industry. Rhodes traveled to South Africa to try cotton farming. When that failed, he found himself in the diamond fields of Kimberley, where he made a living by pumping water from the mines. By the age of 18, he had enough money to buy mining rights. The deeper the mines went, the harder the ground became, making mining too expensive and dangerous for individual miners, so they sold their rights to businessmen like Rhodes. Rhodes, with the help of the Rothschilds, soon acquired all of De Beers’ mining rights. In 1888, he also acquired all of Kimberley’s diamond mines. Rhodes combined his mining assets to form De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd, which would grow into a global diamond monopoly.
The Kimberley Mine in South Africa, known as The Big Hole, is a prime example of an open-pit mine, which involves removing diamond-bearing kimberlite rock and then processing it to extract the diamonds.
How South African Diamonds Changed Diamond History
The South African diamond rush changed two things: 1. the world’s supply of diamonds and 2. how diamonds are found. In the ten years after the discovery of diamonds in South Africa, the world’s diamond production increased tenfold. Before the discovery of diamonds in South Africa, the world’s supply of diamonds was extremely limited. India was the world’s main supplier of diamonds until the 17th century, when Brazil entered the world diamond stage and became a major diamond producer. However, the diamonds in these countries were alluvial diamonds, which were broken off from the parent rock and carried downstream along the river. These diamonds were rare and hard to find, so they were reserved for kings and royal families
Octahedral diamond crystals in kimberlite host rock from South Africa.
South Africa’s diamonds originally came from alluvial diamond mines, but then people discovered diamonds in kimberlite matrix. Finding the matrix meant that diamond mining could be more concentrated and the output was greater. This showed the value of large-scale open-pit mines, which changed the way diamonds were mined.
More diamonds were found during the South African diamond rush than in India in 2,000 years. This made diamonds affordable for the first time to the wealthy middle class. More than a century later, diamonds have become a popular and relatively accessible gemstone. And South Africa, currently the world’s sixth largest diamond producer, continues to play an important role on the world diamond stage.
Famous South African Diamonds
Diamond Industry Doing Good
Diamonds and other mineral resources have been the lifeblood of South Africa’s economy since they were discovered. In 2018, South Africa’s mining areas produced about 10 million carats of diamonds, worth more than $1.2 billion. The diamond industry has created jobs for thousands of South Africans. In 2018, diamond mining alone employed more than 16,000 people. Taxes paid by diamond companies are used to build roads, schools and hospitals. As a result, children in mining towns have higher school enrollment rates than those in non-mining towns.
Students attend a Junior Gemology class organized by GIA at a rural primary school in Limpopo Province, South Africa.
In addition, many diamond companies give back to the communities where they mine. De Beers’ brand Forevermark builds schools and hospitals near its mines and works with UN Women to support women in business, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). De Beers also established the Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve, which is home to lions, elephants, jaguars, African wild dogs and more. Anglo American funded Zimele, a program designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises grow and ultimately create more jobs.
Are South African diamonds ethical diamonds?
If you want to buy ethically mined diamonds, consider diamonds from South Africa. South Africa’s diamond mines have world-class safety and environmental standards, and mine wages are among the best in the industry. South Africa also participates in the Kimberley Process, a global process set up by the United Nations to prevent “conflict” diamonds from entering the mainstream diamond market. The process, named after Kimberley, South Africa, ensures that 99.8% of the world’s diamond production does not contain conflict diamonds.
A diamond cutter works on a diamond at the Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Training School in Johannesburg, South Africa.
To help consumers understand the origin of their diamonds, GIA works with diamond mining companies in South Africa, Canada, Botswana, Russia, Namibia and Lesotho to confirm the origin of diamonds from these locations. This allows consumers to wear their diamonds with confidence, knowing that their purchase supports miners in the countries where the diamonds were mined.
GIA’s Methodology for Determining a Diamond’s Country of Origin
Selected mining companies submit rough diamonds to GIA in documented, unbroken sealed packages. GIA then collects data and images of the rough for analysis. The rough is cut and then sent back to GIA. GIA then uses the markings and data identified during the rough analysis process to scientifically match each polished diamond to its rough, thereby confirming the diamond’s country of origin.
You can learn about the origin of your diamond with the GIA Diamond Origin Report, Diamond Origin Booklet and Diamond Origin App.
The GIA Diamond Origin Report contains a complete and unbiased assessment of the diamond’s 4Cs ( color , clarity , cut , carat weight ), as well as a plotted diagram of the diamond’s inclusions, clearly showing the diamond’s origin. For added security, each diamond is laser inscribed with a unique report number. Consumers interested in learning more about the journey of their diamond and the impact their purchase has on the local community can use the Diamond Origin app, which provides full-color images of the diamond in both rough and polished states, as well as rich content related to the diamond’s country of origin.
Alvadora Engagement Ring by Brilliant Earth Rings like these can be set with diamonds from Russia, Botswana or Canada and come with a GIA Diamond Origin Report. Courtesy of Brilliant Earth.
A diamond’s journey is as amazing as its sparkling appearance. The GIA Diamond Origin Report helps tell the story of a diamond’s journey from the depths of the earth to your jewelry box, and the people who made that journey possible.
