Holiday Ayo - Hearing the word Martapura will certainly remind us of a city that produces the largest diamonds in Indonesia. That's only natural. Because, since long ago the capital of Banjar Regency, South Kalimantan, has produced beautiful and high-quality diamonds. No wonder the city is nicknamed the “City of Diamonds”.

The sheen of the Intan Martapura can be seen in the city center. There is a traditional market that has long been selling gemstones besides other commodities, namely Martapura Market or known as “Batuah Market”.

In the 1970s a diamond market stall was built in the middle of Martapura Market to accommodate gemstone sellers and artisans. Then, in the mid-1990s, the Cahaya Bumi Selamat (CBS) shopping complex was built to complement the previous gem stalls at Martapura Market.

Diamonds are indeed the prima donna of Martapura, generally in South Kalimantan. According to Agus Yana in "Diamond Mining Practices and Factors Affecting the Conversion of Paddy Field Land into Diamond Mining Land (Case Study in Sungai Tiung Village, Banjarbaru City)", his thesis at Padjadjaran University, Bandung in 2010, the diamond mining business in South Kalimantan has been known since the 16th century. It is estimated that since 1604 in South Kalimantan there has been a trade in diamonds.

During the time of the Banjar Kingdom, diamond mining was the right of the king. The king could give part of the royal land as an appanage to the royal family. From the diamond mine, the owner of the apanase not only obtains taxes but also the monopoly right to purchase diamonds.

"Every 4-carat diamond found must be sold to the king or the owner of the apanase," said Agus Yana.

Martapura witnessed the triumph of the Banjar Kingdom. Sunarningsih from the Banjarmasin Archaeological Center in “Martapura Kota Intan; Martapura Darussalam” in the journal Naditira Widya Vol. 1 Number 2 2007, stated that when Martapura became the capital, the Banjar Kingdom reached its peak of glory.

Traces of the glitter of Intan Martapura can be seen from the toponym (origin of the name of the place) Pasayangan, which is now a village in Martapura District. The name "pasayangan" gives an illustration that it used to be a place for gold and jewel jewelery makers (items cherished by the kingdom).

"In the Pasayangan area itself, until now there are still many people who work as jewelry craftsmen and diamond polishers," said Sunarningsih.

Apart from that, in Pasayangan there are still stone houses owned by wealthy merchants who have a gemstone business. The house was built in 1911 and is currently a tourist attraction.

The control of diamond mining by the king was abolished by the Dutch. Instead, apart from exploitation by the private sector, people's mining has also grown and has continued to survive until now. They mine by panning.

If you're lucky, the results can be amazing. In 1965, Matsam cs mamicik (find a diamond) weighing 166.7 carats (33 grams) known as the Trisakti Diamond; the first largest diamond found in Borneo.