The Great Diamond Authority

"The Diamonds, unique in their flawlessness, sought to expand their perfection across the galaxy."

The Great Diamond Authority is the matriarchal body of Gem leaders who rule in absolute power over the Gem Homeworld and any of its remaining colonies still in existence.

Overview
The Great Diamond Authority has complete control over every Gem and the Gem race's endeavors. Each Diamond seems to be responsible for overseeing a specific part of Homeworld society. The Diamonds appear to split up Gems into groups; some Gems belong to Yellow Diamond, others to Blue Diamond and (presumably) more others to White Diamond. Gems wear a colored Diamond emblem on their outfit corresponding to the Diamond they serve.

In order to expand the Gem race the Diamonds take control of planets and nearby celestial bodies for colonization purposes. Each Diamond owns specific colonies and are in charge of making sure they are successful; for example, Pink Diamond owned Earth. The Diamonds seem to have their own hierachy as Pink Diamond is considered to be the lowest-ranked Diamond she has to be bounded by the order of Yellow and Blue Diamond as well as the fact that she cannot make the decision on her own about the Earth.

Displays of Loyalty
Most Gems are very loyal and legitimately believe that the Diamonds are the most elite beings to ever exist. Some members are passionate and enthusiastic about working for a Diamond; Peridot once exclaimed "I'll never forsake the Gem I was made for!" and Holly Blue Agate openly spoke of Blue and Yellow Diamond's greatnesses.

The loyalty Gems have for their Diamonds is such that some will do anything to avenge them. In addition to being widely regarded as a tragedy, Pink Diamond's "death" incited a few Gems, notably Jasper and "Eyeball" to seek vengeance on her behalf.

Appropriate/Expected Behaviors
Gems must show absolute respect and loyalty to any Diamond they interact with regardless of whether or not they serve them. Appropriate behaviors include addressing a Diamond as "My Diamond", saluting them by forming a diamond shape with their hands, and optionally giving them many gracious titles, often to the point of bootlicking and excessive flattery, before speaking with them.

Symbols
The symbol of the Great Diamond Authority appears on many Gem structures and has changed over time. On structures mostly built before the Rebellion it consists of four connecting diamond shapes: white (top), yellow (left), blue (right) and pink (bottom). On modern structures and the partially-healed Centipeetle's drawings seen in "Monster Reunion" the Pink Diamond symbol has been removed leaving only the white, yellow and blue symbol shapes (now depicted in the form of overlapping triangles; it was also depicted as only three connecting diamond shapes in Centipeetle's drawings). In addition to appearing on structures the redesigned symbol appears on the interiors of every modern Gem ship.

Eons Ago
The exact history of the Diamonds themselves is unknown. However, what is known is that the Diamonds were to be eternally considered the most perfect and absolutely flawless Gems by their peers, and it can be assumed this is how they rose to power, using the influence they gathered to collectively cull a massive following of any "lesser" Gems. When the Great Diamond Authority was officially formed the Diamonds came up with many rules and constructed Gem society to be exactly what it is today. The Diamonds created a hierarchy stating some Gems are better and receive more privileges than others; this created pockets of both inferiority and superiority complexes due to inequalities and the more numerous Gems ranking lower, while the much fewer Gems ranked higher. In order keep the system intact fusions between two or more different types of Gems was, and is still not allowed. This prevented two or more lower-class Gems from fusing and altogether becoming a different Gem, most commonly one considered higher up in the system. In addition, the Diamonds divided Gems into groups that appeared to partially be based on color; some belonged to White, some belonged to Yellow, etc. All Gems were (usually) required to wear uniforms with a Diamond insignia on each of them to signify the Diamond they belong to.

The Diamonds also appear to be in charge of different aspects of Homeworld and as such divided Gems accordingly into different groups for the purpose of carrying out any related duties; Yellow Diamond is said to be in charge of Homeworld's military and Blue Diamond is stated to have control over Homeworld's diplomacy. Based on the murals in the Moon Base, White Diamond existed first, then Yellow, then Blue and finally Pink.

According to Garnet the Diamonds wished to spread their "perfection" throughout the universe and expand the Gem race into a greater, almighty empire. To do this the Diamonds colonized other worlds, using their resources to create new Gems and outposts. Worlds colonized ranged from planets to moons and asteroids. It was firmly established that when Gems were created on a certain Diamond's planet they belonged by default to that Diamond. For example, Gems made on a Yellow Diamond colony belonged to her.

Eventually, a new Diamond was created: Pink Diamond. The other Diamonds had Pink observe them performing their jobs until they deemed her ready to be in charge of a colony of her own. Pink had begged Yellow and Blue for a colony until finally, they had given her Earth. Around the time Earth's colonization began the Diamonds had colonized 43 planetary bodies and two star systems (according to the Moon Base).

Over 6,000 Years Ago
Pink and her Gems arrived on Earth and began colonizing the planet. Pink was initally bored when it came to the reality of managing a colony. Pearl remarked how she could shape shift into a quartz soldier, thus leading to Pink creating her Rose Quartz persona. When Pink became fascinated by the organic life living there, she eventually realized that the colonization process was harming the life that was already present on the planet. She begged to Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond to allow her to spare Earth from such a fate. As a result, Blue Diamond created a human zoo to make Pink Diamond satisfied, but this further enraged Pink Diamond. After countless attemps by Pink to convince Blue and Yellow to let her preserve life on Earth, Pink used her alter ego, Rose Quartz, to scare the other gems off Earth along side Pearl.

In an attempt to help out Pink and desperate to get the colonization over with, Blue sent her court with her to the Cloud Arena to investigate the Crystal Gems' rebellion. Among these Gems was a Sapphire who came to Blue and told her she foresaw the rebels attacking the Arena, but that they would be cornered and captured after "poofing" two of the Rubies protecting her along with their charge and ending the rebellion. As told, Rose and Pearl attacked Blue Diamond's court and everything played out according to Sapphire's prophecy until one of Sapphire's Ruby guards saved her from Pearl causing them to accidentally fuse into Garnet.

Disgusted and distracted by the fusion, Blue Diamond told Ruby she would be "shattered" for fusing with a member of her court and allowing the rebels to escape. Despite Ruby's protests, a distraught Sapphire fled with her into the Earth's wilderness where they again came across Rose and Pearl, this time joining the Rebellion they had fought against as Garnet. This is also when Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond revised her earlier desire to scare gems off of Earth to fight for not just for life on Earth, but for the other Gems' freedom.

Over 5,750 Years Ago
At Earth's Moon Base Pink told the other Diamonds once more they could not colonize Earth and this time it was because of the newly-formed group of Homeworld rebels calling themselves the "Crystal Gems". Even Blue Diamond became irritated by Pink's excuses and explained Rose Quartz could not truly hurt her and she could not be allowed to halt the progress of a single colony due to rebellious Gems. Blue explained all Pink had to do was smile and wave while her Gems completed the Earth's colonization and the superior forces of Homeworld made sure the Crystal Gems were to be no more.

Over 5,500 Years Ago
Under her Rose Quartz disguise, Pink Diamond recruited enough Gems to her cause to officially wage a war against Homeworld. Countless Gems were "shattered" in the ensuing battles and any plans of colonizing Earth began to crumble. Pink Diamond (as Rose Quartz) was more or less able to keep the Crystal Gems in contention with Homeworld's forces due to her healing abilities.

Over 5,000 Years Ago
Pink Diamond no longer wanted to be a part of the Great Diamond Authority and came to believe the other Diamonds did not care for her, but only did so for their ambitions of establishing a "perfect" empire. Pink used her natural abilities to turn ordinary dirt into false pink Gem Shards and consumed them. She then had Pearl shape-shift into Rose and "shatter" her with a sword in public causing everyone (including the other Diamonds) to believe Rose Quartz shattered Pink Diamond. When Pink poofed the shards she consumed fell to the ground to make the attack more believable. Now that Pink was presumed dead she could reform and live the rest of her life as Rose Quartz. Unfortunately, this would turn out to be a massive and devastating error in judgement on Pink's part.

Over 4,500 Years Ago
Homeworld Gems were instructed to evacuate Earth. Out of rage that Pink Diamond was shattered and her colony failed, the Diamonds combined their powers and launched the Corrupting Light at Earth. Both Homeworld and Crystal Gems exposed to the light survived, but at the terrible cost of enduring a fate possibly worse than being "shattered": they became "corrupted". The Diamonds and Homeworld left Earth and only a few Gems survived the attack, especially in terms of maintaining their original forms. Now that Pink Diamond was no longer around, the Diamonds divided her loyalist Gems amongst themselves; some went to Yellow, some went to Blue, etc.

It became clear to Homeworld that Earth was no longer fit to be a colony. Presumably under Yellow Diamond, loyal Gems began collecting fallen shards of the Crystal Gems and experimented with them by forcing them to fuse. After enough experimentations the Cluster was created and embedded into the crust deep below the Earth's surface to one day destroy it and be used as a planet-destroying weapon.

Due to putting a lot of their preexisting resources into colonizing Earth and not receiving a great enough profit as well as having their technology destroyed, the stock of Homeworld's supplies plummeted and the strengths of Gems produced after began to dwindle. This period of time that continues on in the present is known as Era 2. When Era 2 began, most of Blue and Pink Diamond's Quartz warriors made on Earth took over Pink Diamond's zoo in her memory. Also, Era-2 Gems like newer Peridots had to be equipped with advanced technological enhancements, which they became extremely reliant on.

Pink Diamond continued to live on as Rose Quartz with the other Crystal Gems. They continued to protect the Earth and desperately tried to heal the Corrupted Gems. She eventually fell in love with a human named Greg Universe and gave up her physical form to have a son named Steven.

As the years went on the Diamonds continued colonizing worlds and Pink's "death" affected each of them. While it is unknown how White Diamond was affected, Blue went into a deep depression and would constantly mourn over Pink and Yellow tried pushing Pink out of her memory to keep herself a composed leader. Yellow tried having many discussions with Blue about how they should move on from Pink, but Blue never listened.

Season 1
Yellow Diamond wished to know how the Cluster was progressing inside of the Earth. She assigned one of her Peridots to check the Cluster's status. When Peridot discovered there were Gems still on Earth, Yellow Diamond assigned a veteran Jasper to protect her when she visited the planet and presumably also a wayward Lapis Lazuli to serve as an informant.

Season 2
Steven and the Crystal Gems were able to thwart their plans but Peridot managed to receive the information for Yellow Diamond acknowledging that the Cluster was emerging shortly as scheduled to destroy the Earth. Since the Crystal Gems destroyed her ship, Peridot found herself stranded and tried to contact Yellow Diamond through the Communication Hub but there was never a response. Eventually, she found a Diamond Communicator at the Moon Base and contacted Yellow Diamond that way, allowing herself to talk to her directly.

Peridot reported the Cluster would emerge shortly which Yellow Diamond found pleasing. However, due to being swayed by the Crystal Gems, Peridot requested they terminate the Cluster because it would mean sacrificing all of the Earth's resources for a single weapon. Peridot reported she devised a plan to use the Earth's resources without disrupting the organic life but Yellow Diamond did not care to hear her out. Because of this, Peridot insulted Yellow Diamond and became an ally to the Crystal Gems. After the call ended Yellow Diamond attempted to terminate Peridot by remotely detonating the communicator.

Season 4
Blue Diamond visited Earth, specifically the location where Pink Diamond was allegedly shattered believing it would be the last time she would get to visit the planet before the Cluster destroyed it. Steven tracked down her location with his father Greg when he started having dreams where he saw through her eyes and cried her tears. When they arrived Greg revealed himself to Blue Diamond's Pearl, who took him to Blue Diamond. While crying, Blue Diamond explained her confusion that a fragile race such as humans could thrive on Earth but on the exact same world a Diamond could've been "shattered". Greg offered Blue his condolences and explained he also lost someone and understood how she felt (the two never realized they were mourning over the same being). Touched by Greg's sympathy, Blue Diamond kidnapped him to take him to Pink Diamond's Zoo believing she was sparing him from the Cluster, obviously unaware of its inconceivable nullification a considerable duration of time prior to her visit.

At the Zoo, Blue Diamond entered Pink's room and began crying again. Yellow came in and was visibly annoyed, telling Blue she should still shatter all of Pink's (real) Rose Quartz gems because she was supposedly shattered by one of them, but Blue wished to preserve all of Pink's gems and her legacy as a whole. Yellow Diamond, her Pearl and Blue Pearl sing in an attempt to make Blue feel better. They tell Blue that for the good of the Gem empire she has to move on and become a strong leader instead of moping around all of time. When the Crystal Gems came to infiltrate the Zoo in order to save Greg, they told the Gems working there they were dropping off Steven for the Zoo as a special delivery for Blue Diamond. The administrator of the Zoo, Holly Blue Agate brought Sapphire to Blue Diamond and told her she foresaw her wanting more humans for the Zoo. Blue Diamond believed Sapphire (surprisingly not recognizing her or the Ruby who was with her from long ago), saying that the window to preserve the Earth's inhabitants is closing due to the Cluster. Yellow realized that was what Blue wanted, and when she discovered the Cluster hadn't emerged yet (and most likely never would), she told Blue there was still time to collect humans.

When Peridot first discovered Gems still on Earth, Steven listed off some of his human friends which Peridot reported to Yellow Diamond. Using this list Yellow and Blue sent two elite Gems, Aquamarine and Topaz to Earth to retrieve them. In order to save his friends, Steven reluctantly turned himself in as Rose Quartz, the Gem believed to have shattered Pink Diamond.

Season 5
Topaz and Aquamarine takes Steven to Homeworld where he is put on trial in front of Yellow and Blue for the murder of Pink. Yellow wishes to just get the trial over with so Steven could be shattered, but Blue wants to hear him out. Steven tries to explain what happened, even though he has no idea, which only makes Blue upset when he gets facts wrong. Steven's lawyer explains witnesses said Pink had stepped out of her palanquin when Rose attacked her from the front, but that does not make any sense because Rose Quartz wouldn't be able to get past all of Pink's guards. She states that only someone of supreme authority could meet with Pink personally, and blames Pink's murder on one of the Diamonds. Furious, Yellow poofs both of the Zircons. Blue yells at Yellow, asking her to restrain herself. While they are distracted, Steven escapes on Blue Diamond's palanquin, and Yellow warns her that he is on their world now. Once Steven is safe, Yellow sends Shattering Robonoids to find and execute him.

Blue and Yellow Diamond then make a trip to Earth to awaken the Cluster, which Yellow does by slamming her ship into the ground. This pops the bubble and allows the Cluster to form a hand which wrestles with Yellow Diamond's ship. Meanwhile, Blue notices the Crystal Gems, and steps out of her ship to battle them. Suddenly, Lapis Lazuli returns to Earth to assist the Crystal Gems. The Cluster is able to wrestle Yellow's ship onto Blue's which crushes both ships and Blue Diamond. Both Diamonds then emerge from the wreckage and battle the Crystal Gems together. The Diamonds are able to get the upper hand, poofing Peridot and Lapis Lazuli, and knocking Steven unconscious. Steven awakens in a ghost-like state and telepathically tells the Diamonds that he has Pink Diamond's gemstone. This causes the Diamonds to cease fighting. Steven then awakens to find the Crystal Gems and the Diamonds watching him, with Blue Diamond exclaiming: "It's you... Pink!"

Yellow Diamond
Yellow Diamond is one of the Diamond matriarchs. She is the former superior of Peridot as well as the current superior to other Gems made for her. She commenced the Cluster as a project to acquire a "geo-weapon" after the Earth was deemed unfit to be a colony due to the rise of the Crystal Gems.

According to Peridot in "Hit the Diamond", Yellow Diamond is responsible for Homeworld's military.

Almost all of her subordinates (except her Pearl, "Doc" and "Navy") have a small yellow diamond insignia on their chests in two symmetrically connecting diagonal black lines.

Subordinates

 * Yellow Pearl
 * Topaz
 * Jasper (former subordinate of Pink Diamond)
 * Prosecuting Zircon
 * Emerald
 * Nephrite-XJ Cut-763
 * Rubies
 * "Doc"
 * "Eyeball"
 * "Army"
 * "Navy"
 * "Leggy"
 * Hessonite (Save the Light)
 * "Squaridot" (Save the Light)

Past Subordinates

 * Peridot

Colonies

 * The jungle moon's planet (formerly)
 * Multiple asteroid mines
 * 2 star systems and 18 unknown planetary bodies in total (by the time of the Earth's colonization; possibly gained more colonies since then)

Blue Diamond
One of the Diamond matriarchs. She was the superior of Ruby and Sapphire, and many other Gems made for her. Her subordinates used to have a large blue diamond on their bodies, but now they have a similar design to Yellow Diamond's subordinates, with a small light Blue Diamond insignia on their chests in two symmetrically connecting diagonal dark lines.

According to Rebecca Sugar, blue-colored Gems are oriented towards diplomatic roles.

Subordinates

 * Blue Pearl
 * Holly Blue Agate
 * Aquamarine
 * Emerald
 * Unknown court members
 * Other Rubies
 * Other Amethysts
 * Two Topazes
 * Several former subordinates of Pink Diamond
 * Amethysts
 * Jaspers
 * Carnelian
 * Defending Zircon (alignment unknown)

Past Subordinates

 * Sapphire
 * Ruby
 * Lapis Lazuli

Colonies

 * 9 unknown planetary bodies (by the time of the Earth's colonization; possibly gained more colonies since then)

White Diamond
One of the Diamond leaders. Details about her are unknown except her white symbol that appears alongside those representing Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond on both ancient and modern Gem structures. Her name and only acknowledgment so far was stated in the book Steven Universe: Art & Origins.

Colonies

 * 28 planetary bodies (by the time of the Earth's colonization; possibly gained more colonies since then)

Pink Diamond
Pink Diamond was a former member of the Great Diamond Authority. When she was a recently created Gem, she begged the other Diamonds for a colony until she was finally given one, the Earth. Once the colonization of Earth began, Pink became fascinated by the organic life that lived on the planet that she later decided that she did not want to go through with completing the colony. Pink came up with multiple excuses to the other Diamonds as to why they could not continue colonizing Earth but they would not listen. Eventually, Pink created an alter-ego named Rose Quartz by shape-shifting into a Quartz soldier. As Rose, Pink and her Pearl rallied up enough Gems who felt how they felt and started the Rebellion. Upon meeting Garnet, she decided to turn the Earth into a haven for other outcast Gems.

For most of the Rebellion, Pink led a double life, leading her fellow rebels as Rose, then shapeshifting back to continue serving as a Diamond. Pink used the Crystal Gems as another excuse to why they couldn't colonize Earth, but the other Diamonds would still not listen. She eventually decided she wanted to leave her life as a Diamond behind and live as Rose Quartz forever on Earth with the Crystal Gems and humans. Pink Diamond crushed some dirt and turned it into pink shards which she ate. She had Pearl shape-shift into Rose Quartz and then poof her in public, leaving the shards behind. Everyone who witnessed the event believed Rose Quartz shattered Pink Diamond, and only Pink and her Pearl knew the truth. Pink then reformed as Rose Quartz and led the Crystal Gems to a... rather Pyrrhic victory. The other Diamonds took her "demise" harder than anticipated, unleashing a blinding light that corrupted most Gems unfortunate enough to remain on Earth.

Pink Diamond's "death" has affected Gems in many different ways. Some Gems, like the Diamonds and those who served her, like Jasper, continued mourning her and showing animosity towards Rose, not knowing they were the same person. Others, like the defending Zircon tried to make sense of what really happened to Pink. The Zircon even questioned how a Rose Quartz - a Gem type identified as a threat and put out of service - was able to slip past Pink Diamond's guards and members of her entourage in the first place.

Past Subordinates

 * Pearl
 * Bubbled Rose Quartzes
 * Unknown Quartzes
 * Amethysts
 * Amethyst
 * Jasper
 * Skinny
 * Carnelian
 * Sapphires
 * Agates

Past Colony

 * Earth

Many Era 2 Gems appear to be largely unaware of the Rebellion, as evidenced by Peridot's ignorance of the Crystal Gems in "Marble Madness". This suggests that events about everything leading up to Pink Diamond's "death" are not frequently discussed, which may be indicative of the devotion and respect Gems have for the Diamonds; this extends to the point where the rebellion was blatantly covered up.

Trivia

 * All of the Diamonds have diamond-shaped (rather than circular) pupils. They are the only Gems regularly seen with pupils (other than fusions).
 * The confirmed instrument of the diamonds is a synthetic sound combining harmonette and strings, processed by a synth, this can also be heard in "Same Old World" and "Monster Reunion" when the Corrupting Light flashes. It was revealed in the Steven Universe: Art & Origins book that each Diamond also has a unique chord.
 * The current symbol might be a reference to the Triforce symbol from The Legend of Zelda, as they both are three connecting triangles that form a symbol. It also bears a resemblance to the Mitsu uroko emblem of the Hōjō clan.
 * The former symbol resembles the NFPA 704 diamond symbol, with slightly different colors (one of the diamonds is red instead of pink) and with the colors' positions switched.
 * The former symbol's order of colors seems to represent the location of the gem in the body of its owner: both Blue and Yellow Diamond have their gem in their chests, so they are equal in position in the middle row, whereas White Diamond has her gem in her forehead and Pink Diamond has it in the lowest position in her navel, hence in the symbol White Diamond is on the top and Pink Diamond is on the bottom.
 * It also reflects the size of the Diamonds, as White Diamond is the largest, Pink Diamond is the smallest, and both Yellow and Blue Diamond are equal in size.
 * The Great Diamond Authority is yet another of Ronaldo's paranormal theories that have been proven to be true.
 * He began to develop his theory in the first season episode "Keep Beach City Weird", warning of the Great Diamond Authority. Peridot confirmed the matriarchs' collective name in the episode "It Could've Been Great".
 * It is revealed in "Monster Reunion" that the Diamonds were the ones responsible for the corruption of almost all remaining Gems on Earth.
 * Centipeetle drew the original Great Diamond Authority symbol without the lowermost diamond when she was asked who or what caused the damage to her and the other Corrupted Gems, implying Pink Diamond was not involved with this attack. This is confirmed in "Your Mother and Mine".
 * The circles placed behind the heads of the Diamonds in their murals resemble halos, a common motif in the sacred art of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Combined with the epithets the prosecuting Zircon uses for Yellow Diamond, it appears light is extremely relevant in their iconography.
 * So far, White Diamond is the only Diamond that has not been mentioned by the characters in the entire series, being only depicted in an indirect way.
 * Although Gems usually serve under a specific diamond, Blue and Yellow Diamond seem to have the same amount of authority over each other's subordinates. For example, Yellow Diamond tells Holly Blue to "Get to the point!" in "That Will Be All", she also poofs Blue Diamond's defending Zircon in "The Trial" and Emerald's uniform shows both Yellow and Blue Diamond insignias in "Lars of the Stars".

Gallery
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