Two events near the end of the 19th century helped change the role of diamonds for the next century. First, the discovery in the 1870s of diamond deposits of unprecedented richness in South Africa changed diamond from a rare gem to one potentially available to anyone who could afford it. Second, the French crown jewels, sold in 1887, were consumed by newly wealthy capitalists, particularly in the United States, where a taste and capacity for opulent consumption was burgeoning.

Before the 1870s diamonds were still rare, and associated with the aristocracy. In 1871, however, world annual production, derived primarily from South Africa, exceeded 1 million carats for the first time. From then on, diamonds would be produced at a prodigious rate. Simultaneously, the fall of Napoleon III in 1871 left the Third Republic of France with a problematic symbol of monarchy: the crown jewels, largely reset by Empress Eugenie in the style of the great Louis kings. It was decided to auction the bulk, retaining a few key objects for the State. With French buyers such as Boucheron and Bapst in attendance, Tiffany & Co. of New York bought the major share; 22 lots for $480,000, a sum greater than the combined purchases of the 9 next-largest buyers. This was an announcement of the United States as a country prepared to display its wealth as well as its power in the new century.

Joan Bennett wore her Flato "Hand of God" brooch on a chain for a 1946 RKO publicity photograph. click to zoom in	Paulette Goddard was photographed by Horst for Vogue (January 1941) wearing a Verdura shell clip to hold down the scarf of her Hattie Carnegie cabana suit. click to zoom in
President and Mrs. Eisenhower at a 1959 reception with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and his wife. Mamie Eisenhower wears a diamond bracelet given to her by the Premier of Tunisia. click to zoom in	Standard Oil heiress Millicent Rogers, owner of the Verdura shell clip shown here, was an avid jewelry collector. In this photograph she is wearing part of her famous collection of Southwest Indian jewelry. click to zoom in
Mark Messier of the New York Rangers carrying the Stanley Cup after helping the Rangers win the NHL championship in 1994. Each member of the championship team is given a commemorative diamond ring.	First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton wears the Henry Dunay-designed "Kahn Canary" diamond ring in her official portrait at the 1997 Inaugural Ball. click to zoom in

Diamond Circle photo: Courtesy the Metropolitan Opera.
Joan Bennett photo: Courtesy private collection
Paulette Goddard photo: Courtesy Vogue. (c) 1941 The Conde Nast Publications, Inc.
Millicent Rogers photo: Courtesy Millicent Rogers Museum of Northern New Mexico, Taos.
Eisenhower photo: Courtesy Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas
Mark Messier photo: Courtesy Mark Messier
Hillary Clinton photo: Courtesy Linda Goldstein