All photos by Brenna Reistad
Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
Hope Diamond
Hope Diamond
Dimensions: Length 25.60 mm, Width 21.78 mm, Depth 12.00 mm
Cut: Cushion antique brilliant with a faceted girdle and extra facets on the pavilion
Clarity: VS1. Whitish graining is present
Color: Fancy dark grayish-blue
In the pendant surrounding the Hope Diamond are 16 white diamonds, both pear-shapes and cushion cuts. A bail is soldered to the pendant where Mrs. McLean would often attach other diamonds including the McLean Diamond and the Star of the East. The necklace chain contains 45 white diamonds.
Hazen Diamond Necklace
Hazen Diamond Necklace
India
131.43ct
NMNH G8045
Gift of Mrs. Lita A. Hazen in 1979. This object was designed by Harry Winston, Inc.
The Hazen Diamond Necklace was designed by Harry Winston, Inc.
This statement necklace is made of platinum and contains 325 diamonds that have a total weight of approximately 131.43 carats. The necklace has two sections: the upper section is a single row of emerald cut diamonds, and the lower section consists of 3-rows - a row of baguette cut diamonds and a row of round brilliant cut diamonds from which a "fringe" of pear-shaped diamonds are suspended.
The necklace is versatile and can be worn as a classic single-row diamond necklace or an elaborate 4-row dramatic necklace. A major factor leading to diamond's popularity as a gem was the development of cutting styles that best display the diamond's brilliance and fire.
The Hazen Diamond Necklace is a wonderful example of this as it incorporates several different cutting styles, including the pear, baguette, round brilliant, and emerald cuts. This Winston designed necklace is a magnificent display of fine craftsmanship and extremely well-matched diamonds of the highest quality. Mrs. Lita Annenberg Hazen donated the necklace to the Smithsonian in 1979, and it is on display in the Gem Gallery at the National Museum of Natural History.
Hooker Yellow Diamonds
Hooker Yellow Diamond Necklace: NMNH G10051
Hooker Yellow Diamond Earrings: NMNH G10052
Hooker Yellow Diamond Ring: NMNH 10053
This object was designed by Cartier, Inc. and made by Cartier, Inc.
This magnificent suite of 18k yellow gold jewelry was designed by Cartier, Inc. in the late 1980s. The necklace has 50 starburst-cut fancy yellow diamonds weighing between one and twenty carats each, for a total weight of 244.10 carats.
The matching ear clips each feature a 25 carat fancy yellow diamond surrounded by 16 baguette and 4 pear-shaped colorless diamonds (40 colorless diamonds in all, totaling 26.80 carats for the pair). The ring showcases a 61.12 carat fancy yellow diamond flanked by triangular cut colorless diamonds (total weight for the two colorless diamonds is 4.75ct).
As seen in these incredibly rare gems, diamonds are not always colorless. A few atoms of nitrogen substituting for some of the carbon as the crystals form cause the diamonds to exhibit a yellow color. In general the more yellow a diamond, the less it is worth, until the hue is sufficiently intense enough for the gem to be graded a fancy color and then the value increases.
This dazzling suite of fancy colored diamond jewelry is exceptional not only for the size and clarity of the diamonds, but also for the color and cutting of these well-matched gems. Mrs. Janet Annenberg Hooker generously gifted this suite of jewelry to the Smithsonian in 1994.
She was one of the principal benefactors of the National Museum of Natural History and a major contributor for the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals, where the Hooker Yellow Diamonds are on display with the Hooker Emerald.
Post Emerald Necklace
Post Emerald Necklace
NMNH G5023
This Art Deco Indian-style necklace was made in 1928-1929 by Cartier, Inc. and features 24 baroque-cut emerald drops, each surmounted by a smaller emerald bead, mounted in platinum with pave-set diamond links and an elaborate clasp. The rich green emeralds are from Colombia, the source of the finest emeralds. Incorporating Indian influences and gemstones into jewelry was one of Cartier’s great innovations during the Art Deco era.
The Art Deco Period (1920-1935) produced dazzling jewelry that was dramatically different from the jewelry of the previous periods, shifting from soft colors and flowing lines of the Art Nouveau era to bold bright colors and straight lines. New geometric cuts for gems complimented the symmetry and streamlined look of Art Deco jewelry, and emeralds, sapphires and rubies became very popular. This magnificent necklace belonged to Marjorie Merriweather Post, who wore it dressed as “Juliette” for the Palm Beach Everglades Ball in 1929. She also purchased an Indian-style emerald brooch that was originally made by Cartier, London in 1923 before it was transformed for Mrs. Post in New York in 1928.
She was known to have worn the two pieces together, the brooch attached as a pendant on the necklace, which was longer than it is today. Cartier designed a new clasp in 1929 and then shortened the 3-rows of emeralds sometime between 1929-1935. In 1941, Cartier shortened the necklace a second time to its present length. Marjorie Merriweather Post was heiress to the Post cereal fortune and a collector of French and Russian art.
The Post Emerald Necklace is one of several major donations she made to the National Gem Collection; others include the Napoleon Diamond Necklace, Marie-Louise Diadem, Blue Heart Diamond, Maximilian Emerald Ring, and Marie Antoinette Earrings (through her daughter Eleanor Barzin). The necklace, donated in 1964, is on exhibit in the Gem Hall at the National Museum of Natural History.
Mackay Emerald Necklace
Mackay Emerald Necklace Columbia
167.97ct
NMNH G9775
The stunning Mackay Emerald was mined in Muzo, Colombia. The finest emeralds are found in the region around Muzo and Chivor, Colombia. These green gems were used by indigenous peoples for at least 1,000 years before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century. Although spurred primarily by their passion for gold and silver, the Spanish quickly recognized the potential of the exquisite green crystals and took control of the mines.
Emeralds became popular among European royalty and were shipped from the New World by the boatload. The great richness of the Colombian mines led to a glut of emeralds in Europe, triggering a brisk trade of the gemstones to the Middle East and India. The Mogul rulers in India were especially fond of emeralds and encouraged a vast gem cutting and jewelry industry. Many finished pieces were traded back to Europe.
The Mackay Emerald is the largest cut emerald in the National Gem Collection and is set in a pendant of diamonds and platinum designed by Cartier, Inc. The Art Deco style necklace was a wedding gift in 1931 from Clarence Mackay to his wife, Anna Case, a prima donna of the New York Metropolitan Opera from 1909 to 1920.
The emerald weighs 167.97 carats and is set in platinum with 35 emeralds and 2,191 colorless round brilliant and step cut diamonds. Mrs. Anna Case Mackay bequeathed the necklace to the Smithsonian in 1984, and it is on display in the Gem Hall at the National Museum of Natural History.
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