Dark Age of the Diamond
The diamond was not mentioned, in this summary narrative, until the description of the Taj Mahal. This greatest of precious stones—hardest of gems, and the only one that consists of a single element—was little known in the ancient world, and but slowly won appreciation in the West. At the height of the Renaissance, Cellini in 1568 set down the values of the precious stones, of flawless stones one carat in weight. A ruby of such specifications was worth 800 gold crowns; an emerald, 400; a diamond, but 100. (The more common sapphire was a far fourth, at ten gold crowns a carat.)
The Dark Ages in southern Europe were not especially bright with gems. Individual rulers made some display, on crown, on hilt of sword, and ecclesiastical splendor was slowly gathering, along with decorated frames and representations of the Virgin Mary. On the other hand, the medieval Church frowned upon unseemly extravagance of display, and some monarchs, even Charlemagne when he doffed his rich crown of state, were sober and plain in their attire.
Tribes to the North
In the more northerly lands, and among the tribes that in the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries pressed upon and twice overran Rome, there was meanwhile more than a crude attempt at jeweled adornment. The Ostrogoths made some magnificent brooches, mainly with animal designs. The Visigoths were fond of garnets, often set on a background of cloisonné. Their crowns and coronets were elaborately wrought; one of these, belonging to the Spanish-Gothic King Reccesvinthus (649-672) was given as a votive offering to the church of Santa Maria near Toledo.
The warlike and otherwise austere Franks took pride in their jeweled buckles. Their brooches were circular, or formed in the shape of birds. In Belgium, in the Fifth century, there was considerable carving of chips, a practice that migrated to Scandinavia. In Sweden there was also an abundance of circular pendants, beaten of thin gold, and decorated with animals.
The Celts and the Emerald Isle
Among the Celtic peoples were found armlets and fibulas, the latter not so short in the arch, nor so exquisite, as the Greek pins, nor yet so long and heavy as the Roman. The Celts had large, crescent-shaped head ornaments, attached near the ears and standing straight up on either side like the horned moon. They made heavy gold torques, necklaces of twisted metal usually tight as a collar. Some of the torques, especially those in Ireland, were much longer and hung down in massive twists across the chest. Ireland is called “the Emerald Isle” not from any pride in its deep green verdure, but from the ring sent by Pope Adrian to Henry II of England in 1170, a ring set with an emerald, for the King’s investiture with the dominion of Ireland.