New Book Charts Story of Diamonds

RAPAPORT... The World Diamond Museum, a virtual exhibition, has published its first book on the history of the precious stone as part of an effort to invigorate passion for diamonds.The 432-page work, Diamonds Across Time, contains chapters on famous and important stones, the history of diamonds in specific countries, and colored diamonds. It was compiled and edited by Usha Balakrishnan, the museum's chief curator, and is priced at GBP 95 ($127).The World Diamond Mark Foundation launched the museum, also known as Facets of Mankind, in 2016, promising to bring together gems from around the globe. Its founder, Alex Popov, penned the book's foreword."This volume unites diverse stories that reveal the many meanings of the diamond and how human emotions and beliefs are reflected in its thousands of facets," Popov wrote. "The book is illustrated with incredible photographs of rarely seen gems and jewels from closely held collections and reconstructions of historical diamonds, done with the help of state-of-the-art computer technology." Image: Facets of Mankind. (World Diamond Museum)