А что, действительно, бриллианты не обтачивали в античном мире? Почему тогда они были настолько дороги?
"There is still extant a long but imperfect catalogue of eastern commodities, which about the time of Alexander Severus were subject to the payment of duties; cinnamon, myrrh, pepper, ginger, and the whole tribe of aromatics a great variety of precious stones, among which the diamond was the most remarkable for its price, and the emerald for its beauty; Parthian and Babylonian leather, cottons, silks, both raw and manufactured, ebony ivory, and eunuchs. [ The ancients were unacquainted with the art of cutting diamonds.]"
(Edward Gibbon, HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE)