South Africa is known for its beautiful landscape, wildlife, sunny weather and also for its diamond, gold and platinum reserves. However, it wasn’t until the late 1800s when the discovery of the first diamond in South Africa made diamonds more attainable to the middle class, changing the worldwide diamond industry forever.
During 1867, a young man named, Erasmus Jacobs discovered the first diamond near Hopetown on the south bank of the Orange River in South Africa, which had a massive impact on the diamond industry. The diamond weighed 21.25 carats and was named the Eureka Diamond. But what exactly happened after the first diamond was discovered and what impact did it have on the diamond industry
Before the very first diamond was discovered in South Africa by the 15-year-old Erasmus, the gemstone was considered to be a very rare find. The shortage of supply made a diamond very expensive and is an essence, only affordable to royalty and the rich and famous. But that soon changed, after a number of diamonds were found during the Kimberley Diamond Rush; the influx of diamonds to the world market brought the price down significantly. This also meant that the desired gemstone was finally available to the middle class, making miners even more eager to claim their piece of land in the mining field.
After the discovery of diamonds in South Africa, through alluvial mining, an influx of miners made their way to Kimberley to claim their stake in the diamond industry. In a matter of months mining activities occupied the area, but luckily for the miners, there wasn’t a shortage of supply. In just two years the mining town went from being an arid piece of land to a buzzing location of wealth. Soon, a town was established to accommodate a number of miners that came from around the world.
With their newfound wealth, two UK immigrants named Cecil John Rhodes and Barney Barnato decided to start a few large mining companies in the area. The entrepreneurs developed the diamond industry by building up the 31-foot mining area.