BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of Natural History -- Exhibit: Geology, Gems, and Minerals

DC -- Natl Museum of Natural History -- Exhibit: Geology, Gems, and Minerals:

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[1] SINHGE_160129_01.JPG	[2] SINHGE_160129_07.JPG	[3] SINHGE_160129_12.JPG
[4] SINHGE_160129_22.JPG	[5] SINHGE_160129_26.JPG	[6] SINHGE_160129_40.JPG
[7] SINHGE_160129_43.JPG	[8] SINHGE_160129_50.JPG	[9] SINHGE_160129_54.JPG
[10] SINHGE_160129_60.JPG	[11] SINHGE_160129_67.JPG	[12] SINHGE_160129_71.JPG
[13] SINHGE_160129_77.JPG	[14] SINHGE_160129_82.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SINHGE_160129_07.JPG: This spectacular brooch is set with 2,318 gemstones weighing nearly 77 carats. The inclusions of the four large flat diamonds appear similar to the microstructure on a butterfly's wings. The piece is also set with rubies, tsavorite garnets, and fancy-colored sapphires and diamonds.
2. SINHGE_160129_12.JPG: Oppenheimer Diamond This diamond is extraordinary -- not only for its size (253.7 carats), but also because it has survived uncut. Its double pyramid, or octahedral, shape is typical of many diamond crystals.
3. SINHGE_160129_26.JPG: Victoria-Transvaal Diamond Necklace 67.89 carats Look for flashes of color in the 116 facets of this pear-shaped, champagne-colored diamond. Cut from a 240-carat crystal, it is suspended from a chain of 108 diamonds that total about 45 carats. The necklace was designed by Baumgold Brothers, Inc.
4. SINHGE_160129_40.JPG: Maximilian Emerald Ring 21.04 carats This emerald was once set in a ring worn by Mexico's ill-fated emperor, Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph. An Austrian archduke crowned emperor of Mexico in 1864, he was executed just three years later. This ring was designed by Cartier, Inc.
5. SINHGE_160129_50.JPG: Emeralds and Aquamarines Valued especially for their color, emeralds and aquamarines are two gem forms of the mineral beryl (beryllium aluminum silicate). Pure beryl is colorless and rare. Impurity atoms incorporated as the crystals grow tint them a range of colors. Emeralds get their rich green color from traces of chromium, vanadium... or both. Emerald is the May birthstone. Aquamarines come in shades of blue and blue-green, depending on the amount and chemical state of iron impurities locked inside. Aquamarine is the March birthstone.
6. SINHGE_160129_54.JPG: Gachala Emerald This uncut crystal weighs 858 carats -- huge for an emerald. It is named after the mining district where it was found in 1967. Rarely are crystals of such size and extraordinary color preserved. Usually they are cut into gems.
7. SINHGE_160129_60.JPG: Mackay Emerald and Diamond Necklace 168 carats This huge emerald is set in an art deco diamond and platinum pendant designed by Cartier. In 1931, Clarence Mackay gave this necklace as a wedding gift to his wife, Anna Case -- a prima dona at the New York Metropolitan Opera from 1909 to 1920.
8. SINHGE_160129_67.JPG: Treasures from Janet Annenberg Hooker A Dazzling Ensemble: A special kind of cut called starburst gives these fancy yellow diamonds their brilliant sparkle. Designed by Cartier, Inc., the fabulous suite -- necklace, earclips, and ring -- was purchased by Janet Annenberg Hooker in 1989-90. An Emerald Fit for a Sultan: Abdul-Hamid II, one of the last sultans of the Ottoman Empire, once owned the Hooker Emerald. It is said that he wore it on his belt buckle. New York's Tiffany & Co. purchased the gem at auction in 1911 and initially set it in a tiara. Later, Tiffany's reset the emerald in this brooch.
9. SINHGE_160129_71.JPG: Hooker Yellow Diamonds Together, the 50 matched diamonds in this necklace weigh about 245 carats. The earclips feature two yellow diamonds of about 25.3 carats each. The ring showcases the largest diamond of the ensemble: It weighs 61.12 carats.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Description of Subject Matter: Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
September 20, 1997 – Permanent
This hall features 2,500 minerals and gems, including the Hope Diamond, Hooker Emerald Brooch, and Star of Asia sapphire. It also explores the birth and evolution of the solar system and the earth's changing surface and is divided into the following sections:
The Harry Winston Gallery houses the Hope Diamond, in a specially designed case.
The National Gem Collection features:
* the Dom Pedro aquamarine, the world's largest faceted aquamarine, cut into an obelisk standing 13.75 inches tall and weighing 10,363 carats (4.6 pounds)
* the Cindy Chao Black Label Masterpiece Royal Butterfly Brooch (2009), composed of 2,328 gems, including sapphires, diamonds, rubies, and tsavorite (green) garnets, for a total weight of 77 carats; many of the gems fluoresce under ultraviolet light (to be added March 6, 2013)
* the Marie Antoinette diamond earrings
* a 263-carat diamond necklace and a diadem (tiara) given by Napoleon to Empress Marie-Louise
* the Janet Annenberg Hooker fancy yellow diamonds
* 2 topaz crystals from Brazil, weighing 111 and 70 pounds respectively, and a 23,000-carat cut-and-polished topaz
* a 423-carat sapphire set in diamonds
* the DeYoung red and pink diamonds
* the 127-carat Portuguese diamond, the largest cut diamond in the collection
* the Rosser Reeves ruby
* the Carmen Lucia Ruby, weighing 23.1-carats, is one of the largest faceted Burmese rubies known to exist. The stone is set in platinum and flanked by 2 triangular colorless diamonds measuring 1.1 and 1.27 carats.

The Minerals and Gems Gallery features some 2,000 specimens grouped by shape, color, growth, and other characteristics.
The Mine Gallery features a re-creation of 4 mines showing crystal pockets and ore veins in created dioramas.
The Plate Tectonics Gallery illustrates how earthquakes, mountain chains, and volcanoes result from the constantly shifting plates of the Earth's surface and features the "Plate Tectonics Theater" and interactive computer stations.
The Moon, Meteorites, and Solar System Gallery explores the birth and evolution of our solar system through films, computer interactives, and specimens and features moon rocks, a touchable Mars rock, meteorites, and stardust.
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