Results: THE HISTORY OF DIAMOND MINING AND DIAMONDS IN SOUTH AFRICA ** PART THREE ** The discovery of diamonds in South Africa played a pivotal role in the world's diamond history. Today South Africa maintains its position as a major diamond producer.

The first diamond discoveries in South Africa were alluvial. By 1869, diamonds were found far from any stream or river. First in yellow earth and below in hard rock called blue ground, later called kimberlite, after the mining town of Kimberley. Erasmus showed the stone to his father, who in turn showed it to a neighborhood farmer, Schalk van Niekerk. Van Niekerk found the stone to be very intriguing and offered to buy it from the Jacobs family. Not realizing its value, he sent it, via ordinary mail, to Grahamstown, where Dr. William Guybon Atherstone confirmed that it was a 21.24 carat diamond. It was named the Eureka Diamond, and is the single most important diamond in the history of South Africa. Did you know that alluvial diamonds are found in rivers, ocean floors and shorelines?

A few years later, Johannes Nicolaas de Beer and his brother Diederik Arnoldus De Beer, two Dutch settlers, discovered diamonds on their farm. The discovery led to a diamond rush, with people from various parts of South Africa intruding on their land in the hope of finding their very own diamonds. Unable to protect their land from the masses of people flocking upon it, they decided to sell their property. Although the brothers did not become the owners of diamond mines, their name, De Beers, was given to one of the mines, and today, the De Beers name is still synonymous with the diamond industry worldwide. Were you aware that De Beers Group is the world's leading diamond company, employing more than 20,000 people across the global diamond pipeline, with many of these people in the source countries of Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa?

These events led to the Great Kimberley Diamond Rush, where people from all over the world gathered in Kimberley to make money mining diamonds in South Africa. Over the following months, additional diamonds continued to be found, and by 1869 these river diggings had yielded hundreds of diamonds (including the discovery of the 83.5 carat diamond known as the "Star of the South" at Sandfontein). Those involved in the search recognized that the presence of garnets was often a very good indicator of the proximity of alluvial diamonds. Were you aware that garnets and diamonds are often found together?

On the occasion of her Twenty-First Birthday, Princess Elizabeth, was given a present from the people of South Africa. In the form of a diamond necklace, totaling 71.31 carats. In its original design, it was a long diamond chain with the 21 large graduated brilliants (one for each year of her life) set in openwork platinum claw settings, each linked by a baguette-cut diamond and two small brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 87 stones. The largest stone of 10 carats was at the center of the necklace. The Princess was presented with the diamonds, by Field Marshall Smuts at the Birthday Ball held at Government House, Cape Town on 21 April 1947. The Rhodesians gave her a diamond brooch. When the Diamonds were presented at the Ball, a nearby microphone picked up 'her gasp of delight as she opened her treasure'! Were you aware this move helped create a demand and more interest in acquiring diamonds world wide?

De Beers sought images and celebrity for their product. The English Royal Family provided De Beers with the ideal form of celebrity and endorsement. Princess Elizabeth visited the Big Hole in 1947, De Beers hosted a luncheon in her honor, and gave her a diamond jewel. There the Princess received the gift of a 6-carat blue-white diamond, valued at £1500, from Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, the chairman of De Beers. It was presented by his granddaughter, three-year-old Mary Oppenheimer. The detachable snap-piece of the necklace was added later, using the 6-carat stone. "The necklace in its original form was exhibited with the display of Princess Elizabeth's Wedding Gifts at St. James's Palace in November 1947, and was worn by the Princess on her visit to Paris in May 1948. Five years later it was shortened to 15 large stones, and a bracelet was made from the six stones that were removed with the detachable snap piece." Garrard & Co. was responsible for the original necklace in 1947 and its transformation to necklace and bracelet in 1952. The necklace is 40.5 cm long while the bracelet is 17 cm. Did you know Queen Elizabeth II calls these her "best diamonds" and wears them often, even today?

Diamonds in South Africa have a history of almost 150 years, and their discovery in Kimberley made them readily available to the Western World. Diamond mines are a great contributor to the South African economy. There are mines in five of the country's nine provinces, and thousands of local workers are employed to extract them. The diamond industry continues to be one of the country's most lucrative industries, and it played a major role in South Africa becoming one of the most economically successful countries in Africa. Were you aware that even today, the economy of South Africa is the second largest in Africa. However, it is the most industrialized, technologically advanced, and diversified economy on the African continent?

Blood diamonds in Africa are a controversial subject especially because of the violence acts surrounding them. During the years, people have given them more than just one name to emphasize the negative consequences African diamond trade. War diamonds have received their name because they are being mined in war or conflict areas. This is the case of blood diamonds in Africa which are sold financially to support wrong causes such as armies and warlords. Instead of representing love and commitment, blood diamonds in Africa mostly stand for violence, harsh mining conditions, slavery, and more. There was even a movie called "Blood Diamond" that describes some of the tragedies and violent acts that happen during blood diamonds extractions. Have you seen the movie Blood Diamonds?