THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE BRAZILIAN DIAMOND MONOPOLY AS THE CORNERSTONE OF THE PORTUGUESE ROYAL JEWELLERY UNDER D. MARIA I: 1730-1790

Abstract

The discovery of diamonds in Brazil during the early 18th century revolutionized their market in Europe and, consequently, transformed the art of jewellery. At first concerned with the abundance of these diamonds, seen as rivals of the Asian ones, European dealers sought to boycott the reputation of the Brazilian stones, whose circuit they didn’t control. In 1760, after several attempts, a game-changing resolution was implemented and solved this problem, securing the monopoly of Brazilian diamonds by the Portuguese crown for the next half century. The creation of the “Secret Reserve” gathered 241,405 carats, valued at more than 2,200 contos, now in the Portuguese crown’s possession. Once the problem was mastered, the Portuguese sovereigns of the last third of the 18th century weren’t afraid of the epithet of “Lords of diamonds” which, naturally, was reflected in the production of jewellery.