When the Indian deposits were all but worked out, having produced - it is estimated - some 12 million carats over a period of two thousand years, Brazil, where diamonds were first discovered about 1830, took over as the world’s main diamond supplier. Diamonds are still mined in Brazil, but most of the diamonds that [...]
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There are six similar but quite distinct platinum metals. Besides platinum itself there is ruthenium, osmium, iridium, rhodium (which, as was mentioned in the section on gold, is used to plate white gold), and palladium. Palladium is considerably lighter than platinum and greyer in colour. Despite considerable expenditure in the 1950s in an attempt to [...]
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In the twenties platinum wedding rings became more fashionable than gold ones. At the same time the top jewellers of Europe - such as Boucheron, Cartier and Asprey - were beginning to use this strong white metal for the delicate mounts in which they set the finest of diamonds, rubies and emeralds. It seemed that [...]
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