13 October 1867
First recorded colonial-period diamond discovery
The Eureka diamond and subsequent finds around the Vaal inaugurated the mineral revolution and transformed the regional economy, even though diamonds had been encountered in the region before the first colonial record.
View in timelineOn 13 October 1867, the Eureka diamond was displayed after being found near the Orange River. Further finds around the Vaal and later Kimberley drew prospectors, capital and imperial attention, inaugurating the mineral revolution. The date marks the first recorded colonial-period discovery, not the first diamond known to people in the region.
Significance
The discovery redirected capital, migration, labour and imperial competition toward the diamond fields and laid the groundwork for Kimberley's industrial mining economy.
Why it matters
The discovery redirected capital, migration, labour and imperial competition toward the diamond fields and laid the groundwork for Kimberley's industrial mining economy.
Disputed interpretations
The date refers to the first recorded colonial-period discovery, not necessarily the first diamond ever found in the region.
Perspective notes
Colonial records credit the discovery to settler networks, but African people had long known and used the region and were involved in the diamond economy as workers, traders and claim-holders. The language of first discovery therefore needs to remain qualified.