Dom Pedro Aquamarine Unveiled at Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History!

Photo Credit: Jim DiLoreto

Pictured Left to Right: Donor Jeff Bland, Curator Jeffrey Post, Sant Director Kirk Johnson,and Donor Jane M. Mitchell unveil the Dom Pedro Aquamarine. The largest cut-gem aquamarine in the world, the Dom Pedro is now on display in our Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals.


The story of this amazing Aquamarine Crystal is one of wonder and adventure that is straight from an Indiana Jones  adventure!
In the November 1995 issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine, Si and Ann Frazier recounted the escapades of a record-breaking beryl crystal in "Rough Trip to Brazil: Intrigue and adventure surround the mission to spirit a giant beryl crystal out of Brazil."

From the LJJA article:

Besides having immense size, the lovely natural blue beryl was transparent and exhibited beautifully formed crystal faces, making it an exceptionally fine piece," the Fraziers share. "As luck would have it, the garimperos (the local term for these itinerant miners) dropped the specimen, and it broke into three pieces." Even then, the largest of those three pieces was still a record-breaking two feet tall and nearly 60 pounds.

In the Fraziers' exciting insiders tale, you'll learn why that unfortunate drop turned out to be rather fortunate after all, thanks to some unique gemological properties of beryl crystals, as well as the rest of the soon-to-be Dom Pedro aquamarine crystal's secretive escape from behind a bed in Brazil with renegade gem dealers Axel and Chico.

But that's just half the story...

The Fraziers continue the crystal's tale in "Fit for An Emporer," through its carver's months of "step-by-step thinking and not sleeping" to the sculpture's unveiling at the gem show in Basel as a 10,395-carat (about five pounds), nearly 14-inch-tall beauty. The Dom Pedro holds the record as the world's largest cut and polished gem aquamarine, the Fraziers share, after meeting the gem carver, seeing the sculpture themselves, and proclaiming it "beautifully gemmy . . . transparent . . . [and] clean except for one area of natural tubes near the top, as a mineral collector would orient it."

But not Bernd Munsteiner, the Dom Pedro carver and arguably the world's most famous gem artist, who chose "to orient the crystal upside down," putting its included tubes at the bottom of the sculpture, "where they lead the eye into the carving" and "add light, brightness, and movement." Munsteiner believes that "another crystal as suitable for sculpture as the Dam Pedro rough has never been available at any time, anywhere in the world."

Click through the links above for the whole story...and thank you to LJJA for digging up the archives for this great adventure!

Mystery of the Hope Diamond - Sunday!

From the Smithsonian Channel's website:

A TEMPORARY SETTING FOR A TIMELESS GEM

AMERICA VOTES

The Hope Diamond has been through many changes in its life.

It has traveled through the depths of the earth and around the world. It has been downsized by more than half its original size, stolen under cover of night and blamed for any number of tragedies. It has been passed around, passed down, re-set and ultimately immortalized on a pedestal in Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Now the museum is celebrating the Hope's 50th anniversary at the Smithsonian, in style, with an elegant new temporary setting.

The American people voted online for their favorite design, and the winner is the dazzling necklace called "Embracing Hope."

Top designers from Harry Winston, the firm that donated the Hope to the American people, gave their time and talent to celebrate the diamond and create a temporary modern setting. They've taken into account the gem's rich history and American symbolism to design a new setting that emphasizes the diamond's brilliant blue color and impressive size. The setting includes more than 300 baguette diamonds, totaling over 60 carats.

The Hope Diamond will of course return to its original setting after a period of time on public display in its 50th anniversary "party dress." While some believe the stone should always remain in its original setting, many see this as an opportunity to celebrate a gem often referred to as America's crown jewel.

The temporary setting will be on the display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Don't miss this rare opportunity to view the Hope Diamond in a dazzling new light.

Check the website for viewer choices for a future setting for the Hope...haven't we already done this?

Spring 2011 - Smithsonian is "Set In Style"

From the museum website:

Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels

February 18–June 5, 2011

Since its opening on the Place Vendôme in Paris in 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels has played a leading role in style and design innovation. Its timeless pieces have been worn by style icons including the Duchess of Windsor, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor. This exhibition will explore the historical significance of the firm's contributions to jewelry design in the 20th century, including the establishment of Van Cleef & Arpels in New York with the advent of World War II. On view will be more than 250 works including jewels, timepieces, fashion accessories and objets d'art by Van Cleef & Arpels, many of which were created exclusively for the American market. The exhibition will examine the work through the lenses of innovation, transformation, nature as inspiration, exoticism, fashion and celebrity, and will include design drawings from the Van Cleef & Arpels archives.

http://www.cooperhewitt.org

Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels is made possible by Van Cleef & Arpels.

About the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

Cooper-Hewitt is the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. Founded in 1897, the museum has been a branch of the Smithsonian since 1967. The museum presents compelling perspectives on the impact of design on daily life through active educational programs, exhibitions and publications.

The museum is located at 2 East 91st Street at Fifth Avenue in New York City. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Hope Diamond...and the winner is!

Your votes have been tabulated and the winner is...drum roll please...Embracing Hope!

While the winning design is being crafted, the Hope Diamond will be displayed for the first time out of a setting. The diamond will be exhibited in the winning setting for a limited time at the National Museum of Natural History before being returned to it's historical setting.

The world's most famous diamond, the HOPE DIAMOND, will undergo a special re-design to honor the 50th Anniversary of its donation to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. Given to the Institution as a "gift to the American people" by legendary American jeweler Harry Winston, the Smithsonian Institution and Smithsonian Channel(TM) is celebrating the diamond's legacy by inviting the American public to vote on a new design for the stunning 45.52-carat blue diamond.

The Hope Diamond will be put on display in its new setting at the National Museum of Natural History, and televised nationally as part of the world premiere of the Smithsonian Channel's "Mystery of the Hope Diamond" in March of 2010. The Hope Diamond will be returned to its permanent setting before the close of 2010.

The History: At 45.52 carats, the Hope is the largest deep blue diamond in the world. More than 50 years ago, jeweler to the stars, Harry Winston, purchased it from the estate of the deceased American socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean. After touring the gem around the country as part of his famous Court of Jewels, Harry Winston donated the Hope to the Smithsonian Institution, sending it to Washington, D.C. through the U.S. postal service.

In the Smithsonian Institution's world-class gem collection -- which includes diamonds worn by Marie Antoinette, an immense emerald owned by the Turkish Sultan Abdual Hamid II, and some of the world's largest rubies and sapphires -- the Hope is the most famous jewel.

The Hope has many unique properties that have puzzled experts since its discovery, and its extraordinary history gave birth to the alleged curse -- that all who owned or touched it met great tragedy.

Hope Diamond Anniversary Marks New Chapter...

Today marks a new chapter in the history of the famous diamond. The New York-based jeweler Harry Winston, the firm who donated the Hope to the museum, has drafted three new, modern settings for the stone. All three designs, exquisitely rendered by two of the firm’s top designers, illustrate the Hope enshrined in baguette diamonds.

The decision to reset the diamond came on the heels of the 50th anniversary of Harry Winston’s donation. “As we were thinking about the anniversary, we came up with a theme of giving the public a chance to see the diamond in a way they’ve never seen it before,” says Jeffrey Post, curator of gems at the National Museum of Natural History. “How often do you have a 50th? We needed to have a celebration.” The celebration, they decided, would be to display the Hope in a new way.

The museum announced today that just one of the three Harry Winston settings will be crafted. The Hope will be temporarily housed in the new setting and put on display this spring for a limited time, after which the setting will return to Harry Winston.

But which setting will be chosen? In an unusual move, museum officials say, the selection will be decided by the public, in a first-ever popular vote.

Between now and September 7, visitors will vote for one of the three designs through an online poll, hosted by the Smithsonian Channel, whose new documentary “Mystery of the Hope Diamond” is in production and due out next spring.

Alas, the new setting, unlike the diamond, isn’t forever. After a limited-time, the diamond will be returned to its original, historic setting. Even the team at Harry Winston can’t argue with that logic. “I think the setting is part of the heritage, it’s part of what the Hope diamond is today,” de Laage says.

Read more:http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/A-New-Chapter-in-the-Hope-Diamonds-History.html?c=y&page=2#ixzz0Oetev8SJ

The "Spanish Inquisition Necklace"

The Spanish Inquisition Necklace
Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals Collection at the
National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution

Earliest Cut Gemstones?

There are a multitude of legends surrounding this necklace...indicating that it was worn by the lovely ladies of Spanish and French royalty. In the early 20th century, it was purchased by the Maharajah of Indore, whose son eventually sold the necklace in to Harry Winston. Winston dubbed it the “Spanish Inquisition Necklace”, for reasons known only to him, and the name stuck.

Many of the gemstones in this stunning necklace date back to the 17th century, when Spanish conquistadors shipped large quantities of emeralds from South America to Europe and Asia. Unfortunately very little is known about the provenance of this spectacular double row of diamonds and emeralds ending in the chandelier like drape of unique ”football-shaped” diamonds and emeralds.

The large diamond and emerald gems were probably cut in India in the 1600s. Stringing the gems was an extremely delicate procedure that entailed drilling small holes in the large emeralds and the 16 largest diamonds. It is believed that the large diamonds and Columbian emeralds were most likely cut in India in the 17th century, making them one of the earliest examples of cut gemstones in the Smithsonian's Collection.


Characteristics of the Spanish Inquisition Necklace

The lower-half of the necklace which is double-stranded consists of two concentric semi-circles, made up of smaller diamonds interspersed with pairs of large barrel-shaped diamonds and emeralds, placed symmetrically on the strands. There are eight pairs of larger diamonds and four pairs larger emeralds on these strands. A chandelier-shaped pendant made up of five large emeralds is placed centrally on the double strand, with the largest emerald in the necklace centrally placed on the lower strand.

The upper-half of the necklace is single-stranded made up of smaller diamonds only. At the two points on the necklace where the upper-half and lower-half meet, two large emeralds have been placed. Altogether, there are 15 large emeralds, 16 large diamonds, and around 120 smaller diamonds in the necklace.
The largest emerald in the necklace is an old Indian-cut, 45-carat, barrel-shaped emerald placed centrally in the necklace. According to the Smithsonian, "The rich velveteen color and exceptional clarity place the large emerald among the world's very finest quality emeralds. The shape closely approximates the form of the original elongated hexagonal crystal, suggesting that the crystal faces were simply rounded off to yield the largest possible gem."

Ownership Timeline

Designed for a Maharajah - the first known owner of the necklace was Tukoji Rao III of Indore

1926 - Yashvantrao II, the son of Tukoji Rao III, ascended the throne of Indore after the abdication of his father, and inherited the crown jewels

1947 - Yashvantrao II sold diamond and emerald necklace to Harry Winston

1947 – Katherine Hepburn wears the necklace when she attended the 19th Annual Oscars at the Shrine Civic Auditorium

1955 - Harry Winston sold the "Spanish Inquisition Necklace" to Mrs. Cora Hubbard Williams of Pittsburgh

1972 - Cora Hubbard Williams bequeathed the necklace to the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution

Currently - the "Spanish Inquisition Necklace" is displayed in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals of the NMNH of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC