Interesting article Diamond exhibit is a gem of a show
By Jacqueline Trescott
The Washington Post
June 19, 2003
WASHINGTON -- Seven of the world's rarest and most unusual diamonds will be brought together for a special show starting this month at the National Museum of Natural History.
The diamonds -- ranging from the 203-carat Millennium Star to the 5.11-carat Moussaieff Red -- will be in a glass-enclosed vault less than 10 feet from the 44.5-carat Hope Diamond, one of Washington's biggest tourist attractions. They will be on display June 27 through Sept. 15.
"Each of the seven diamonds is the finest of its kind in the world," said Jeffrey Post, curator of the museum's National Gems and Mineral Hall. The show was conceived by Post and officials at the Gemological Institute of America. It was organized with the financial support of the Steinmetz Group, the world's leading trader of uncut diamonds.
The joint display "is the one and only time" the seven diamonds will be together, Post said.
The exhibition is an unusual one for the Gems and Mineral Hall in that all the gems are not owned by the museum but are on loan from private individuals or companies. The diamonds are also relatively new discoveries; several have never been on public display.
"We do have a lot of diamonds" at the museum, "and many of them are historic for some reasons," Post said. "They might have been owned by kings and queens. But all these have been found since the 1980s and are starting to accumulate their history."
The diamonds are remarkable because of their size and colors. The pure carbon from which diamonds are formed is colorless, but some diamonds take on tints from impurities, such as nitrogen, that get trapped in them as they grow.
The intensely pink 59.60-carat stone called the Steinmetz Pink is the largest "fancy vivid" pink diamond ever discovered. Though larger pink diamonds have been documented, said John King, the Gemological Institute's laboratory projects director, this one "has strength of color and it is flawless. That is a rare set of occurrences."
The gem debuted at last month's Grand Prix in Monaco and was worn briefly by supermodel Helena Christensen.
Steinmetz President Nir Livnat said the colors will surprise many visitors. "What we have here is an opportunity to see not only the economic value of the diamond but the deep colors that make these pieces treasures," said Livnat, whose company cut three of the stones. "The Pink is the highest grade of saturation that is known. In the show are the largest red, the largest pink, the largest orange. People know that diamonds are the hardest natural substance, but now they will be intrigued by the different levels of color."
What also sets these diamonds apart, said King, is their absence of internal imperfections, or "birthmarks." "Most diamonds have some inclusions or birthmarks. The fewer the stone has, the higher the quality of diamond."
Though none of the officials involved would guess at the diamonds' value, the Smithsonian has added special security, said Post.