'To present' or 'to present with'?

I have a question on the usage of present as a verb. Should it be always be followed by a with? Which of the following usage is legal/sounding good?

1. I presented my mother diamonds.
2. I presented my mother with diamonds.

My take is that #2 is perfect, but #1 is not invalid.

Solution 1:

There are two citations in the Oxford English Dictionary in which the item presented is not preceded by a preposition. They are:

The best Trees present us their Blossoms, before they give us their Fruit.

and

To present Miss Meredith in his name, a very elegant little watch.

However, these are from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Such use in contemporary English looks odd. It is likely to distract readers from what you have to say and is, I suspect, rarely found.