Global Wealth Distribution Earth Wealth

 Global Wealth Distribution   Earth Wealth


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By now it should be common knowledge to everyone that in American society, the top wealthiest 1 percentile controls all the political power, holds half the wealth, and pays what is claimed to be the bulk of the taxes (despite mile wide tax loopholes and Swiss bank accounts). The rest of the population is merely filler, programmed to buy every latest self-cannibalizing iteration of the iPad/Pod while never again paying their mortgage and brainwashed to watch 2 hours of prime time TV commercials to keep it distracted from the fact that the last time America was a democracy was around the time the Wright brothers were arguing the pros and cons of frequent flier programs. So far so good. But what about the rest of the world? How is wealth stratified in a global perspective? Where do the "rich" live? What kind of wealth is controlled by various countries? Where are the Ultra High Net Worth people? For answers to all these questions, and much more, confirming that just like in America, the wealthiest 0.5% control over 35% of world wealth, Credit Suisse has compiled and released its latest "Global Wealth Report." The findings are summarized here.
The first figure shows world wealth by region. The US, with its wealth of about $50 trillion, accounts for 25% of total world wealth, which at last check was about $200 trillion. And yes, Europe as a region has a slightly greater wealth portion (32%) than does America (31%).

When it comes to geographic distribution, it is to be expected that North America will have the greatest proportion of people in the ultra wealthy category. Indeed, the chart below confirms this.
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Drilling down into asset composition in various countries, it becomes obvious why the Fed is so focused on keeping the stock market high. With America being the wealthiest country in the world, and the bulk of US wealth held in financial assets, offset by a material amount of debt, which confirms that a deflationary spiral would be the end for the "wealth effect" so desired by Ben Bernanke. More from CS: "Consider first the relative importance of financial versus non-financial assets, and the size of debt. Expressed as a percentage of gross household assets, the pattern clearly differs markedly between poorer and richer countries and regions. In developing countries (see Figure 1), for example India and Indonesia, it is common for 80% or more of total assets to be held in the form of non-financial assets, largely housing and farms. A high proportion of real property is also evident in transition countries in Europe, reflecting in part the wholesale privatization of housing in the 1990s. As countries develop and grow, the importance of non-financial assets tends to decline, so that the share in China, for instance, is now close to half. In the richest countries, financial assets typically account for more than half of household wealth. There are interesting exceptions to this general pattern. Recent robust house price rises have propelled the share of non-financial assets above 60% in France and some other major European countries. South Africa, on the other hand, is an outlier in the developing world, with exceptionally high holdings of financial assets: the figure of 80% exceeds the share found in both the United States and Japan." In other words, the more "developed" the world becomes, the greater the amount of wealth tied into the perpetuation of the Ponzi lies. Small wonder why so few in charge are willing to actually do anything that changes the status quo.

Next, it is time to drill down in the specific composition of the financial assets.
Figure 2 provides more detail, showing the breakdown of financial assets into three categories: currency and deposits, equities (all shares and  other equities held directly by households), and other financial assets for selected countries. To add further detail, in most countries the  reserves of life insurance companies and pension funds form the largest component of “other financial assets.” The composition of financial assets differs considerably across countries, especially with regard to the importance of shares and other equities. One interesting trend we note is that equities are not always a large component of household financial wealth, even in countries with very active financial markets. In the United Kingdom and Japan, for example, equities account for just 13% and 9% of total financial assets respectively. In contrast, they make up 37% and 43% of financial assets in Sweden and the USA, respectively. Broadly speaking, the relative importance of currency and deposits falls as that of bonds and equities increases. On the other hand, the portfolio share of “other financial assets” does not vary a lot, staying in the range of about 40%–45%. However, when we come to the UK, Japan and Colombia, which have the lowest portfolio share of equities, the pattern breaks down. The UK has a moderate currency and deposits share, but the largest “other financial assets” share, reflecting large life insurance and pension reserves. Colombia also has more in the form of “other financial assets” than is typical. Japan, on the other hand, which has a strong tradition of saving in deposit form, has a very large currency and deposits share and only a 35% share of “other financial assets.”
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An interesting detour looks at gender distribution for asset holders in the US and the UK. As the chart below shows, in the UK women appear to hold more risky assets than men.

Looking at the history of global wealth per adult, net worth peaked just before the first ponzi/credit/housing bubble popped, confirming that a major portion of the then-record $50K/adult net wealth was imaginary. Yet it may have far more to drop: as CS says, "despite the financial crisis, the past decade has in fact been a relatively benign period for household wealth accumulation. Global net worth per adult rose 43% from USD 30,700 in the year 2000 to USD 43,800 by mid-2010. Since the number of adults increased from 3.6 billion to 4.4 billion over this period, aggregate household wealth rose by 72%. One important factor here was the depreciation of the dollar against most major currencies, which accounts for part of the rise in dollar-denominated values, but average net worth still increased by 24% when exchange rates are held  constant." The next question is how much latent dollar devaluation has been accrued to this point and how much more is due to only gradually emerge.

The next chart is rather self-explanatory. The richest nations, with wealth in 2010 above USD 100,000 per adult, are found in North America,  Western Europe, and among the rich Asian-Pacific and Middle East countries. They are topped by Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Singapore and  France, each of which records wealth per adult above USD 250,000. Average wealth in other major economies such as the USA, Japan, the  United Kingdom and Canada also exceeds USD 200,000.

And some more detail on the various wealth regions:
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Emerging wealth: The band of wealth from USD 25,000 to USD 100,000 covers many recent EU entrants (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic,  Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Cyprus) and important Latin American countries (Mexico, Brazil, Chile), along with a number of Middle  Eastern nations (Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain).
Frontier wealth: The main transition nations outside the EU, including China, Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, fall in the USD 5,000 to USD 25,000 range, together with some of their Far East neighbors (Indonesia, Thailand) and most of Latin America (Colombia,  Ecuador, Peru, El Salvador). The group also contains a number of African nations at the southernmost tip (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia) and on the Mediterranean coast (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt).
Finally, the category below USD 5,000 comprises almost all of South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, and almost all of Central and West Africa.

Next is a pie chart of with a detailed break down of wealth distribution by region.

Credit Suisse provides a look at geographic wealth distribution by decile:
To be among the wealthiest half of the world, an adult needs only USD 4,000 in assets, once debts have been subtracted. However, each adult requires more than USD 72,000 to belong to the top 10% of global wealth holders and more than USD 588,000 to be a member of the top  1%. The bottom half of the global population together possess less than 2% of global wealth, although wealth is growing fast for some members of this segment. In sharp contrast, the richest 10% own 83% of the world’s wealth, with the top 1% alone accounting for 43% of global assets. Figure 4 shows how the regions of the world are represented amongst the wealth deciles. Unsurprisingly for example, North America and Europe together make up the lion’s share of the top wealth decile (10%). China has relatively few representatives at the very top and bottom of the global wealth distribution, but dominates the middle section, supplying more than a third of those in deciles 4–8. The sizeable presence of China in the middle section reflects not only its population size and moderate average wealth level, but also relatively low wealth inequality. China’s position in the global picture has shifted upwards in the past decade as a consequence of a strong record of growth, rising  asset values and the appreciation of the renminbi relative to the US dollar. China already has more people in the top 10% of global wealth  holders than any country except for the USA, Japan and Germany, and is poised to overtake both Germany and Japan in the near future.

Next is the chart that everyone has seen as it pertains to America,
but few have seen in terms of the entire world. Per CS, Figure 1 shows
“The global wealth pyramid” in striking detail. It is made up of a solid
base of low wealth holders with upper tiers occupied by fewer and fewer
people. We estimate that 3 billion individuals – more than two thirds
of the global adult population – have wealth below USD 10,000. A further
billion adults (24% of the world population) are placed in the USD
10,000–100,000 range, leaving 358 million adults (8% of the world
population) with  assets above USD 100,000. Figures for mid-2010
indicate that 24.2 million adults are above the threshold for dollar
millionaires. While they make up less than 1% of the global adult
population, they own more than a third of global household wealth. More
specifically, individuals with wealth above USD 50 million are estimated
to number 81,000 worldwide.

Some more details on the various tiers of the pyramid:

Bottom of the pyramid
The
various tiers of the wealth pyramid have distinctive characteristics.
The base level is spread broadly across  countries. It has significant
membership in all regions of the world, and spans a wide variety of
family circumstances. The upper wealth limit of USD 10,000 is a modest
sum in developed countries, excluding almost all adults who own houses,
with or without a mortgage. Nevertheless, a surprisingly large number of
individuals in advanced countries have limited savings or other assets.
A
high proportion are young people with little opportunity or interest in
accumulating wealth. In fact, limited amounts of tangible assets
combined with credit card debts and student loans lead many young people
to record negative net worth. In Denmark and Sweden, for example, 30%
of the population report negative wealth. This is an important and often
overlooked segment, not least in the context of the credit crisis.
Low
wealth is also a common feature of older age groups, particularly for
those individuals suffering ill health and exposed to high medical
bills. In fact, the means testing applied to many state benefits,
especially contributions to the cost of residential homes, provides an
incentive to shed wealth. Nevertheless, relatively few people in rich
countries have net worth below USD 10,000 throughout their adult life.
In essence, membership of the base section of the global wealth pyramid
is a transient, lifecycle phenomenon for most citizens in the developed
world.
The situation in low-income countries is different. More
than 90% of the adult population in India and Africa fall in this band;
in many low-income African countries, the fraction of the population is
close to 100%. However, the cost of living is usually much lower. For a
resident of India, for instance, assets of USD 10,000 would be
equivalent to about USD 30,000 to a resident of the United States. In
much of the  developing world, this is enough to own a house or land –
albeit possibly with uncertain property rights – and to have a
comfortable lifestyle by local standards.
Middle of the pyramid
The
billion adults in the USD 10,000–100,000 range form the middle class
from the perspective of global wealth. With USD 32 trillion in total
wealth, it certainly carries economic weight. This tier has the most
regionally balanced membership, although China now contributes almost a
third of the total. The wealth range would cover the median person over
most of his adult life in high income countries. In middle income
countries it would apply to a middle class person in middle age.
However, in low-income countries only those in the top decile qualify,
restricting membership to significant landowners, successful
businessmen, professionals and the like.
High segment of the pyramid
When
we consider the “high” segment of the wealth pyramid – the group of
adults whose net worth exceeds USD 100,000 – the regional composition
begins to change. With almost 358 million adults worldwide, this group
is far from exclusive. But the typical member of the group is very
different in different parts of the world. In high income countries, the
threshold of USD 100,000 is well within the reach of middle-class
adults once careers have been established. In contrast, residents from
low-income countries would need to belong to the top percentile of
wealth holders, so only the exceptionally successful, well endowed or
well connected qualify.
The regional contrast shows up in the
fact that North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions account for
92% of the global membership of the USD 100,000+ group, with Europe
alone home to 39% of the total. As far as individual countries are
concerned, the membership ranking depends on three factors: the
population size, the average wealth level, and wealth inequality within
the country. Only 15 countries host more than 1% of the global
membership. The USA comes top with 23% of the total. All three factors
reinforce each other in this instance: a large population combining with
high mean wealth and an unequal wealth distribution. Japan is a strong
runner-up, the only country at present to seriously  challenge the
hegemony of the USA in the global wealth ranking. Although its relative
position has declined since the year 2000 due to lackluster stock market
and housing market performance, Japan is still home to 15% of
individuals with wealth above USD 100,000.
Top of the pyramid
At
the top of the pyramid, we find the world’s millionaires, where we
again witness a slightly different pattern of membership. The proportion
of members from the United States rises sharply to 41%, and the share
of members from outside of the North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific
regions falls to just 6%. The relative positions of most countries move
downwards, but there are exceptions. The French share is estimated to
double to 9%, while Sweden and Switzerland are each now credited with
more than 1% of the global membership.

And next, is a detailed look at the very top of the pyramid: those individuals which have over 1 million in net worth.

To assemble details of the pattern of wealth holdings above USD 1 million requires a high degree of ingenuity. The usual sources of data – official statistics and sample surveys – become increasingly incomplete and unreliable at high wealth levels. A growing number of publications have followed the example of Forbes magazine by constructing “rich lists,” which attempt to value the assets of particular named individuals at the apex of the wealth pyramid. But very little is known about the global pattern of asset holdings in the high net worth (HNW – greater than USD 1 million) and ultra high net worth (UHNW – from USD 50 million upwards) range.
We bridge this gap by exploiting well-known statistical regularities in the top wealth tail. Using only data from traditional sources in the public  domain yields a pattern of global wealth holdings in the USD 250,000 to USD 5 million range, which, when projected onward, predicts about  1000 dollar billionaires for mid-2010. Although not exactly comparable, this number is very close to the figure of 1,011 billionaire holdings reported by Forbes magazine for February 2010. Making use of the regional affiliation recorded in rich lists allows us to merge the top tail  details with data on the level and distribution of wealth derived from traditional sources in order to generate a regional breakdown of HNW and UHNW individuals. At this time, we do not attempt to estimate the pattern of holdings across particular countries, except China and India which are treated as separate regions. However, as a rule of thumb, residents of the USA account for about 90% of the figure for North America.
The base of the wealth pyramid is occupied by people from all countries of the world at various stages of their lifecycle. In contrast, HNW and UHNW individuals are heavily concentrated in particular regions and countries, but the members tend to share a much more similar lifestyle,  often participating in the same global markets for high coupon consumption items. The wealth portfolios of individuals are also likely to be  similar, dominated by financial assets and, in particular, equity holdings in public companies traded in international markets. For these reasons, using official exchange rates to value assets is more appropriate, rather than using local price levels to compare wealth holdings.
Our figures for mid-2010 indicate that there were 24.5 million HNW individuals with wealth from USD 1 million to USD 50 million, of whom the vast majority (22 million) fall in the USD 1–5 million range. North America dominates the residence ranking, accounting for 11.1 million HNW individuals (45% of the total). Europe accounts for 7.8 million (31.7%) and 4.1 million reside in Asia-Pacific countries other than China and India. We estimate that there are now more than 800,000 HNW individuals in China, each worth between USD 1 million and USD 50 million (3.3% of the global total). India, Africa and Latin America together host the remaining 740,000 HNW individuals (3.0% of the total).

The take home message is that the wealthiest people in the world have the bulk of their wealth entrenched in the current system and any dramatic overhaul or reset of the status quo will be met by the stiff resistance of those who can summon fleet of jets, private armies, and even Fed chairmen on a whim. Whether anyone will have the wherewithal to confront the broken system under such conditions remains to be seen.
And for those seeing more granular detail by country, below are the profiles of the 15 or so wealhtiest countries. Earth Wealth  earth-wealth.blogspot.in/

History of the United States dollar Earth Wealth

History of the United States dollar Earth Wealth
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The history of the dollar in North America pre-dates US independence. It began with the issuance of Early American currency called the colonial script, whereby the issuance of currency was equal to the goods and services in the economy. Even before the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress had authorized the issuance of dollar denominated coins and currency, since the term 'dollar' was in common usage referring to Spanish colonial eight-real coin or Spanish dollar. Though several monetary systems were proposed for the early republic, the dollar was approved by Congress in a largely symbolic resolution on August 8, 1785. After passage of the Constitution was secured, the government turned its attention to monetary issues again in the early 1790s under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury at the time. Congress acted on Hamilton's recommendations in the Coinage Act of 1792, which established the dollar as the basic unit of account for the United States. The word "dollar" is derived from Low Saxon "thaler", an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler" – (coin) from Joachimsthal (St. Joachim's Valley, now Jáchymov, Bohemia, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, now part of the Czech Republic; for further history of the name, see dollar.) – so called because it was minted from 1519 onwards using silver extracted from a mine which had opened in 1516 near Joachimstal, a town in the Ore Mountains of northwestern Bohemia.  
                                                                 ( Earth Wealth )

   Because gold and silver in the open marketplace vary independently, the production of coins of full intrinsic worth under any ratio will nearly always result in the melting of either all silver coins or all gold coins. In the early 19th century, gold rose in relation to silver, resulting in the removal from commerce of nearly all gold coins, and their subsequent melting. Therefore, in 1834, the 15:1 ratio of silver to gold was changed to a 16:1 ratio by reducing the weight of the nation's gold coinage. This created a new U.S. dollar that was backed by 1.50 g (23.22 grains) of gold. However, the previous dollar had been represented by 1.60 g (24.75 grains) of gold. The result of this revaluation, which was the first-ever devaluation of the U.S. dollar, was that the value in gold of the dollar was reduced by 6%. Moreover, for a time, both gold and silver coins were useful in commerce.                                                                                   Earth Wealth

In 1853, the weights of US silver coins (except, interestingly, the dollar itself, which was rarely used) were reduced. This had the effect of placing the nation effectively (although not officially) on the gold standard. The retained weight in the dollar coin was a nod to bimetallism, although it had the effect of further driving the silver dollar coin from commerce. Foreign coins, including the Spanish dollar, were also widely used[1] as legal tender until 1857.                                                               Earth Wealth

With the enactment (1863) of the National Banking Act during the American Civil War and its later versions that taxed states' bonds and currency out of existence, the dollar became the sole currency of the United States and remains so today.

In 1878, the Bland-Allison Act was enacted to provide for freer coinage of silver. This act required the government to purchase between $2 million and $4 million worth of silver bullion each month at market prices and to coin it into silver dollars. This was, in effect, a subsidy for politically influential silver producers.

The discovery of large silver deposits in the Western United States in the late 19th century created a political controversy. Due to the large influx of silver, the value of silver in the nation's coinage dropped precipitously. On one side were agrarian interests such as the United States Greenback Party that wanted to retain the bimetallic standard in order to inflate the dollar, which would allow farmers to more easily repay their debts. On the other side were Eastern banking and commercial interests, who advocated sound money and a switch to the gold standard. This issue split the Democratic Party in 1896. It led to the famous "cross of gold" speech given by William Jennings Bryan, and may have inspired many of the themes in The Wizard of Oz. Despite the controversy, the status of silver was slowly diminished through a series of legislative changes from 1873 to 1900, when a gold standard was formally adopted. The gold standard survived, with several modifications, until 1971.

The sudden jump in the price of gold after the demise of the Bretton Woods accords was a result of the significant prior debasement of the US dollar due to excessive inflation of the monetary supply via central bank (Federal Reserve) coordinated fractional reserve banking under the Bretton Woods partial gold standard. In the absence of an international mechanism tying the dollar to gold via fixed exchange rates, the dollar became a pure fiat currency and as such fell to its free market exchange price versus gold. Consequently, the price of gold rose from $35 per troy ounce (1.125 $/g) in 1969 to almost $500 (29 $/g) in 1980.
Shortly after the gold price started its ascent in the early 1970s, the price of other commodities such as oil also began to rise. While commodity prices became more volatile, the average exchange rate between oil and gold remained much the same in the 1990s as it had been in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Fearing the emergence of a specie gold-based economy separate from central banking, and with the corresponding threat of the collapse of the U.S. dollar, the U.S. government approved several changes to the trading on the COMEX. These changes resulted in a steep decline in the traded value of precious metals from the early 1980s onward.

In September 1987 under the Reagan administration the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury James Baker made a proposal through the International Monetary Fund to use a commodity basket (which included gold).[citation needed]
The federal government began issuing currency that was backed by Spanish dollars during the American Civil War. As photographic technology of the day could not reproduce color, it was decided the back of the bills would be printed in a color other than black. Because the color green was seen as a symbol of stability, it was selected. These bills were known as "greenbacks" for their color and started a tradition of the United States' printing the back of its money in green. In contrast to the currency notes of many other countries, Federal Reserve notes of varying denominations are the same colors: predominantly black ink with green highlights on the front, and predominantly green ink on the back. Federal Reserve notes were printed in the same colors for most of the 20th century, although older bills called "silver certificates" had blue highlights on the front, and "United States notes" had red highlights on the front.

In 1929, sizing of the bills was standardized (involving a 25% reduction in their current sizes, compared to the older, larger notes nicknamed "horse blankets"). Modern U.S. currency, regardless of denomination, is 2.61 inches (66.3 mm) wide, 6.14 inches (156 mm) long, and 0.0043 inches (0.109 mm) thick. A single bill weighs about one gram and costs approximately 4.2 cents for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to produce.

Microprinting and security threads were introduced in the 1991 currency series.

Another series started in 1996 with the $100 note, adding the following changes:

    * A larger portrait, moved off-center to create more space to incorporate a watermark.
    * The watermark to the right of the portrait depicting the same historical figure as the portrait. The watermark can be seen only when held up to the light (and had long been a standard feature of all other major currencies).                                                   earth-wealth.blogspot.in

       * A security thread that will glow red when exposed to ultraviolet light in a dark environment. The thread is in a unique position on each denomination.
    * Color-shifting ink that changes from green to black when viewed from different angles. This feature appears in the numeral on the lower right-hand corner of the bill front.
    * Microprinting in the numeral in the note's lower left-hand corner and on Benjamin Franklin's coat.
    * Concentric fine-line printing in the background of the portrait and on the back of the note. This type of printing is difficult to copy well.
    * The value of the currency written in 14pt Arial font on the back for those with sight disabilities.
    * Other features for machine authentication and processing of the currency.

Annual releases of the 1996 series followed. The $50 note on June 12, 1997, introduced a large dark numeral with a light background on the back of the note to make it easier for people to identify the denomination. The $20 note in 1998 introduced a new machine-readable capability to assist scanning devices. The security thread glows green under ultraviolet light, and "USA TWENTY" and a flag are printed on the thread, while the numeral "20" is printed within the star field of the flag. The microprinting is in the lower left ornamentation of the portrait and in the lower left corner of the note front. As of 1998[update], the $20 note was the most frequently counterfeited note in the United States.

On May 13, 2003, the Treasury announced that it would introduce new colors into the $20 bill, the first U.S. currency since 1905 (not counting the 1934 gold certificates) to have colors other than green or black. The move was intended primarily to reduce counterfeiting, rather than to increase visual differentiation between denominations. The main colors of all denominations, including the new $20 and $50, remain green and black; the other colors are present only in subtle shades in secondary design elements. This contrasts with the euro and other currencies, in which the main banknote colors contrast strongly with one another.

The new $20 bills entered circulation on October 9, 2003, the new $50 bills on September 28, 2004. The new $10 notes were introduced in 2006. The new $5 bills on March 13, 2008. Each will have subtle elements of different colors, though will continue to be primarily green and black. The Treasury said it will update Federal Reserve notes every 7 to 10 years to keep up with counterfeiting technology. In addition, there have been rumors that future banknotes will use embedded RFID microchips as another anti-counterfeiting tool.

The 2008 $5 bill contains significant new security updates. The obverse side of the bill includes patterned yellow printing that will cue digital image-processing software to prevent digital copying, watermarks, digital security thread, and extensive microprinting. The reverse side includes an oversized purple number 5 to provide easy differentiation from other denominations.

On April 21, 2010, the US Government announced a heavily redesigned $100 bill that featured bolder colors, color shifting ink, microlenses, and other features. It was scheduled to start circulating February 10, 2011. It will cost 11.8 cents to produce each bill.                              earth-wealth.blogspot.in




"The soundness of a nation's currency is essential to the soundness of its economy. And to uphold our currency's soundness, it must be recognized and honored as legal tender and counterfeiting must be effectively thwarted," Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said at a ceremony unveiling the $20 bill's new design. Prior to the current design, the most recent redesign of the U.S. dollar bill was in 1996.

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Diamonds Earth Wealth

Diamonds Earth Wealth

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It was over 4,000 years ago that the first diamonds were mined in India, in alluvial deposits of the stone along the rivers Krishna, Penner and Godavari.
Diamonds were known in ancient Greece and the Roman empire. Consider the ancient Greeks and Romans who believed diamonds were tears of the Gods and splinters from falling stars.
The Hindus attributed so much power to them that they even placed them in the eyes of the statues of deities.
Not only was it believed that diamonds could bring luck and success, but also that they could counter the effects of astrological events. There were many that wore diamonds as charms believing in their ability to heighten sexual prowess and attract others. Plato even wrote about diamonds as living beings, embodying celestial spirits.
Their rarity, durability and beauty made them popular among midieval royalty.
Today, diamonds continue to hold a deep fascination as the world’s ultimate symbol of wealth.
Modern diamond mining as we know it today began in South Africa in the late 19th century.
The top seven diamond-producing countries, accounting for 80 percent of the world’s rough diamond supply, are Botswana, Russia, South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Australia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Greek word " Adamas " means unconquerable and indestructible. This is the origin of the word Diamond. It is one of the most indestructible natural formations known to man. From this word and from the depths of the earth is derived The Diamond.
The Diamond is the oldest item one can ever own. Diamonds are Pure Carbon. It is one of the earth’s most common elements. It is a simple material, found in graphite pencils and fireplace soot. Diamonds were formed, and crystallized eons ago under incredible heat and pressure deep in the earth. During the earths growing phase millions of years ago, great volcanic forces pushed the "blue earth" containing diamonds to the surface where they were scattered along rivers and into the oceans. In 1870, in South Africa a diamond was found in the earth far from a river source, and the practice of dry-digging for diamonds was born. These were the beginnings of modern mining.

Many early cultures and many countries used diamonds for their own reasons, each with their own meanings. Ancient man used the raw diamond to create tools and carvings. For example, when tribes in Africa and the Middle East expanded their trade with one another, these rare stones became a mode of exchange, the world's first hard currency. The symbols and representations of the Diamond are expansive and individual. For some it meant the key to magic, healing, protection and even poisoning. To others its wealth, prosperity, status, and everlasting love. It was even said that in ancient Greece and Rome Cupids' arrows were tipped with diamonds which had an effect equal to nothing. They have been the strength, power and symbols of Kings and Queens, the ruin of kingdoms, and the teardrops of forgotten Gods.

Today one of the most common uses of the Diamond from a sociological aspect is in the Wedding, Engagement ring. Even in the 2nd Century Rome the ring was used in the ceremony before the Emperor and his blessing. The custom was then continued and mostly Christianized by the 4th century by St. Augustine. Byzantine wedding rings are thick gold bands with round or oval bezels depicting the couple face to face, or receiving Christ's blessing of their eternal union. Today the Diamond Ring, commits a man and a woman to each other with the expression of strength, purity, brilliance and the indestructible bond of love.
Below is a brief look at the history & evolution of the Diamond :
3.3 Billion years ago
Almost 200 km below the earth’s surface carbon began to evolve under extreme pressure and heat, the beginnings of the formation of the most valued commodity on earth, the Diamond.
The following timeline & history of diamonds details important historical events and dates:
Dates in History Timeline & History of Diamonds
800 BC Diamonds discovered in India
327 BC Alexander the Great brings the first diamonds to Europe from India.
296 BC Sanskrit manuscript called the 'Arthasastra', or 'the Lesson of Profit' mentions a diamond
1074 One of the first examples of diamond jewelry history when a Hungarian queen's crown, is created.
1150's The Briolette of India, is a legendary diamond of 90.38 carats, which was believed to have been brought to England by Eleanor of Aquitaine
1375 The Point Cut was developed which follows the natural shape of a raw diamond, reducing waste in the diamond cutting process.
1382 A circlet crown was purchased for Queen Anne of Bohemia, being set with a large sapphire, a balas, and four large pearls with a diamond in the centre
Dates in History Timeline & History of Diamonds - 1400's & 1500's
1407 The earliest European records of the history and art of cutting diamonds originate in Paris where there was a flourishing guild, the "Lapidaries, Jewel Cutters and Engravers of Cameos and Hard Stones." Reference is made to a diamond-cutter named Herman, in 1407. The diamond cutters of Paris were quite numerous in that year, and lived in a special district known as "la Courarie, where reside the workers in diamonds and other stones."
1423 It is documented that the Chief Justice of England , Sir William Hankford, gave his great-granddaughter a baptismal gift of a gilt cup and a diamond ring
1434 Johannes Guttenberg (1398 – 1468) learnt gem cutting and polishing from Andreas Drytzehen of Strasbourg.
1458 Lodewyk (Louis) van Berquem of Brugge, Belgium created the first cut diamonds when  he discovered that diamonds could be cut by their own dust. Louis van Berquem invented a diamond polishing wheel called a scaif and introduced the concept of using absolute symmetry in the placement of facets on the diamond.
1467 Louis van Berquem designed the light yellow 137 carat Florentine Diamond  for the Valois Family commissioned by Duke of Burgundy
1477 Mary of Burgundy became the first known recipient of a diamond engagement ring given to her by the Archduke Maximilian of Austria. The history and tradition of the engagement ring begins
1520 The Rose cut was created to resemble an opening rose-bud. The two most famous diamond cutters of this time were Giacomo Tagliacarne and Giovanni delle Corniole who perfected the art of facetted gem cutting
1526 The first Mogul emperor, Babur (1483-1530) acquired the Pink Agra Diamond
1570 The pale yellow Sancy Diamond was purchased in Constantinople by the French Ambassador to Turkey, Nicholas Harlai, the Seigneur de Sancy
Dates in History Timeline & History of Diamonds - 1600's & 1700's
1631 Jean Baptist Tavernier made a series of six voyages to India where he saw some of the world’s most fabulous diamonds and gems. Tavernier purchased the Koh-i-Noor and the Hope diamonds for his patron King Louis XIV of France. He wrote the book "The Six Voyages of John Baptiste Tavernier" which was published in Paris, 1676)
1643 The Grand Condé, a light pink pear-shaped stone, was given to Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé by King Louis XIII of France
1650's Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602 – 1661) serving the French King Louis XIV, collected diamonds from Catherine the Great and is credited with the first 'Brilliant cut' diamonds, which were called Mazarins Double-Cut Brilliants
1664 The Wittelsbach diamond formed a gift from King Philip IV of Spain to his 15-year-old daughter, the Infanta Margareta Teresa to celebrate her betrothal to the Emperor Leopold I of Austria in 1664. It was a a rare dark blue color.
1669 The Spoonmaker's Diamond (aka the Kasikci diamond) was found on a rubbish heap at Egrikapi in Istanbul
1681 Vincent Peruzzi, a Venetian diamond polisher, introduced the "Triple-Cut Brilliant" or "Peruzzi Cut" diamonds by doubling the number of crown facets from 17 to 33. These are also referred to as 'Old Mine cuts' or Cushion cuts
1691 The Hortensia diamond, a pale orangey-pink diamond, was added to the Crown Jewels of France by King Louis XIV
1701 The colorless Regent diamond discovered by a slave in the Parteal Mines on the Kistna River
1726 The Dresden Green diamond, named after the capital of Saxony, was sold to King Frederic August I by Marcus Moses who acquired the stone in India. It has a fancy green color, weighs almost 41 carats, has 58 facets and has a pear shaped cut
1760's The Orlov (aka Orloff) Diamond was mounted in the Russian Imperial Sceptre, during the reign of Catherine the Great (1762-1796). It has a bluish-green tint
1762 The Shah Diamond,an 88.70-carat, was found in Golconda, India. It was included in the Great Imperial Crown for Catherine the Great which was made by a jeweller called Jeremia Posier
1792 The French Blue Diamond, later to become the Hope Diamond, was stolen from the French Crown Jewels during the French Revolution
Dates in History Timeline & History of Diamonds - 1800's & 1900's
1837 The Tiffany Diamond Company was founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany
1839 A large blue diamond, called the "Hope Diamond," appears in the gem catalogue of Henry Philip Hope
1850's The Black Orlov (aka Orloff) Diamond was acquired by the Russian Princess Nadia Vyegin-Orlov (aka Orloff)
1851 The Koh-i-Noor diamond was re-cut to 105 carats for Queen Victoria (Empress of India) by a stone-cutter from Amsterdam. This famous diamond is part of the British Crown jewels
1853 The Star of the South was found in the Bagagem Diamond Mines in Brazil
1854 Royal Asscher Diamond Company was founded
1866 The Eureka Diamond was cut from the first diamond found in South Africa
1869 The Star of South Africa, a 47.69-carat old style pear-shaped diamond, was found in South Africa
1877 The Tiffany Yellow was found in South Africa
1880 The colorless Porter Rhodes Diamond came from the claim of Mr. Porter-Rhodes in the Kimberly Mine
1889 The Iranian Yellows - African diamonds acquired by Nasseridin Shah
1895 The Jubilee Diamond, a colorless, cushion-shaped diamond, was found in the Jagersfontein Mine
1902 The Cullinan (aka the Star of Africa) was found by Frederick Wells, the superintendent of the Premier Mine in South Africa, and named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, who opened the mine and was visiting that dayAbraham and Joseph Asscher cut the enormous 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond at the request of King Edward VII in 1902 when the Asscher cut was patented.
1900's The Archduke Joseph, a colorless cushion shaped diamond, was found and named after a Hungarian prince Archduke Joseph August (1872-1962)
1900's The Spirit of de Grisogono at 312.24 carats was also found in the early 1900's and is the world's largest cut black diamond
1909 The Blue Heart diamond weighs 30.82 metric carats and was cut by Atanik Ekyanan of Neuilly, Paris
1916 The Tereschenko Diamond was secretly taken out of Russia on the eve of the Russian Revolution
1924 Uncle Sam is the nickname for the largest diamond discovered in the United States which was discovered by W. O. Bassum at Crater of Diamonds state park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas.
1933 La Favorite Diamond was mined in South Africa and exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair
1934 The Jonker Diamond was found by 62-year-old Johannes Jacobus Jonker in South Africa
1941 1941 The Walska Diamond, a 95-carat yellow briolette cut stone, was bought by Ganna Walska (1887-1984) who was a Polish opera singer
1950 The Allnatt Fancy Vivid Yellow 101.29 carat Diamond was found at the Premier Diamond Mine in South Africa. It was named after its original owner, Alfred Ernest Allnatt
1957 The Nepal ("The Ageless Diamond" ) was purchased by Harry Winston from an Indian dealer
1958 Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond was used as a centrepiece of the tiara designed for the wedding of Empress Farah to the the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
1967 The Earth Star Diamond was cut from a rough gem weighing 248.9 carats which was found in the Jagersfontein Mine
1968 The Asscher cut Krupp Diamond, originally named after Vera Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, was sold at Sothebys to Elizabeth Taylor.
1969 The famous couple purchased the Taylor-Burton pear-shaped diamond
1969 The Zale Light of Peace Diamond (blue-white) was purchased by the Zale Corporation of Dallas weighing a total of 434.6 carats. It is believed to have come from Sierra Leone, Africa
1969 The Sultan of Morocco  is a 35.27 carat cushion cut grayish-blue diamond. Cartier lent this diamond to the New York State Museum for their World of Gems Exposition
1973 The black Amsterdam Diamond was first exhibited at D. Drukker & Zn., Amsterdam
1977 The Kahn Canary Diamond was Discovered in the Crater of Diamonds State Park, near Murfreesboro, Arkansas
1997 The Pumpkin Diamond is a Fancy Vivid Orange was found by a farmer on South Africa
1997 The Golden Jubilee Diamond was presented to the King of Thailand for his Golden Jubilee and was designed by Gabi Tolkowsky
1999 The American Star Diamond was purchased by the EightStar company of California
2002 The Beluga Diamond (a 41-carat stone from the Golconda area of India): The Ashoka cut diamond was developed by the William Goldberg firm
Dates in History Timeline & History of Diamonds.           earth-wealth.blogspot.com

Diamond Formation:
Diamonds were formed under immense heat and pressure hundreds of miles below the sea level. Volcanic explosions forced them upwards after nearly 100 million years of formation. The diamonds were formed more than 70 million years ago when volcanic explosions brought this diamond bearing ore to the surface. After the cooling of the magma, it solidified into a blue mass, or kimberlite, where the precious rough diamonds are still found today. Rated 10 on the Mohs scale of hardness, diamonds are the hardest substances on earth, but their appeal goes far beyond durability.
Approximately 250 tons of ore must be mined and processed in order to produce a single, one-carat, polished, gem-quality diamond. This is what makes them so valuable and unique. The first diamond mining endeavors were undertaken nearly 4000 years ago in ancient India . Modern mining started in the 19 th century in South Africa . Botswana , Russia , South Africa , Angola , Namibia , Australia and Zaire are among the top diamond producing nations, accounting for nearly 80% of the world's rough diamond supply.
Diamond Crystal Structures
Diamonds are a natural product which usually present the form of crystals. The crystals are more or less regular and perfect in their development. These forms of crystals belong to the group of geometrical solids known to crystallographers as the Cubic or Isometric system. The unit cell of diamond has a two atom basis in which half of the atoms are at lattice points. Diamond crystal structures and symmetry play a role in determining many of its properties including cleavage, electronic band structure and optical properties.

Formation of Diamond Structures - Common Forms
The most common forms of diamond structures are the regular octahedron and the rhombic dodecahedron ; the former bounded by eight equilateral triangles, and the latter by twelve rhomb's, or lozenge-shaped surfaces or structures. The faces of the crystals are often more or less curved, or convex structures, whilst those of other crystalline bodies, with few exceptions, are flat structures. Diamonds commonly take the form of a six-faced octahedron, which, by the rounding of its eight-and-forty faces becomes almost spherical or approaches a small ball in structure.

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Use

Diamonds Used as an Abrasive
Because diamonds are very hard they are often used as an abrasive. Most industrial diamonds are used for these purposes. Small particles of diamond are embedded in a saw blade, a drill bit or a grinding wheel for the purpose of cutting, drilling or grinding. They might also be ground into a powder and made into a diamond paste that is used for polishing or for very fine grinding.
There is a very large market for industrial diamonds. Demand for them exceeds the supply obtained through mining. Synthetic diamonds are being produced to meet this industrial demand. They can be produced at a low cost per carat and perform well in industrial use.

Other Uses of Diamonds
Most industrial diamonds are used as abrasives. However, small amounts of diamond are used in other applications.
Diamond windows  are made from thin diamond membranes and used to cover openings in lasers, x-ray machines and vacuum chambers. They are transparent, very durable and resistant to heat and abrasion.
Diamond speaker domes  enhance the performance of high quality speakers. Diamond is a very stiff material and when made into a thin dome it can vibrate rapidly without the deformation that would degrade sound quality.
Heat sinks  are materials that absorb or transmit excess heat. Diamond has the highest thermal conductivity of any material. It is used to conduct heat away from the heat sensitive-parts of high performance microelectronics.
Low friction microbearings  are needed in tiny mechanical devices. Just as some watches have jewel bearings in their movements diamonds are used where extreme abrasion resistance and durability are needed.
Wear-resistant parts  can be produced by coating surfaces with a thin coating of diamond. In this process, diamond is converted into a vapor that deposits on the surface of parts prone to wear.

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