Diamond jewelry has been valued and worn throughout most of recorded history, although the art and science of cutting loose diamonds is relatively new – and diamond jewelry has only been available to the general public for the last 150 years or so.
The mid-1500’s were an energetic time; Martin Luther of Germany and Henry VIII of England had broken with the Church of Rome; Ivan IV (the Terrible) expanded Russia to its present-day borders, and Ottoman sultan Suleiman extended the Turkish empire as far west as Vienna. It was during this time of ferment that the first diamond-cutters’ guild was formed in Antwerp, located in present-day Belgium. An industry soon developed for the purpose of appraising loose diamonds, giving birth to the modern diamond jewelry market. Antwerp continues to be the center of the international diamond jewelry trade.