Diamonds

26 Portuguese diamond

There’s something so exciting about these incredibly large and perfect stones. Sometimes they have well-documented histories and we know where they came from and who owned them and when. But other....
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25 Spanish Inquisition Necklace

One doesn’t normally associate beautiful jewelry with the time of the Spanish Inquisition. But in the Smithsonian Institution’s collection of gems, there is an exquisite necklace of diamonds and e....
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24 Marie Antoinette Earrings

There’s no more fascinating subject in history than the doomed French Queen Marie Antoinette. Much maligned by history (she never said “Let them eat cake,” in response to the people’s need for bre....
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23 Marie Louis Diadem

There were a few benefits to marrying the Emperor Napoleon, if you loved jewelry, that is! The Marie-Louise diadem, now part of the Smithsonian Collection, was a wedding gift from Napoleon I to hi....
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22 Blue Heart Diamond

There is a spectacular diamond in the Smithsonian Collection called the Blue Heart Diamond. Fans of the movie Titanic might think the “Heart of the Ocean Diamond” was based on this stone, and it m....
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21 Napoleon Diamond Necklace

One of the most spectacular all-diamond pieces of jewelry in the Smithsonian Insitution is the Napoleon necklace. Thought to have originally been owned by Catherine the Great of Russia, it was p....
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20 Hope Diamond

Is there anyone who hasn’t at least heard of the famous Hope Diamond? Many people are surprised when they first learn that this famous stone isn’t a clear diamond, but instead is a brilliant blue ....
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19 Smithsonian Collection

Some of the world’s most spectacular diamonds and other gems are located in the National Gem Collection in the Museum of Natural History in Smithsonian Collection in Washington, D.C. In the colle....
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18 Royalty diamonds

When did diamonds first become recognized as precious stones and used for jewelry? The earliest reference to them has been found in a Sanskrit document dated around 300 BCE. They were associated....
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17 Care of diamonds

Diamonds are durable and strong, but should be cared for as though they were fine breakable china or more fragile gems. They can chip or scratch if you’re not careful, and they can get quite dirty....
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16 Certified diamond

Diamond certification is essential when you're buying a diamond and is different from a jeweler’s appraisal, although the certification is part of any appraisal. Many diamonds look the same, but no....
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15 Clarity

Diamond clarity is one the 4Cs of diamond qualities. It refers to any flaws, or inclusions in the diamond, and how visible or detectable they are. Inclusions can be foreign substances, or minute c....
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14 Color

When it comes to the 4Cs of diamonds, color, or lack of it, is an especially important characteristic. Diamonds are given letter grades to denote the level of color, starting with the letter D for....
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13 Shapes

The cut of a diamond refers to the way the stone is shaped and polished, how the facets are arranged and how deep or shallow it’s cut. There are various cuts of diamonds that refer to that, many o....
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12 Carats

Many people equate the term carat with the size of a diamond, and as carat size increases, so will the carat weight. But the operative word there is weight. Carat refers to the weight of a diamond....
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11 Fire

The term fire is commonly used to describe a diamond, but what does it refer to? The ancient Greeks thought that fire in a diamond symbolized the eternal flame of love. Fire in a diamond is the di....
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10 Fluorescence

We’re all familiar with the 4Cs of diamonds – cut, color, clarity and carat weight. But diamonds also possess a quality called fluorescence that’s part of the evaluation and assessment of a diamon....
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9 Couples diamond

The smart groom-to-be does his research before buying his fiancée a diamond ring! There are more styles and cuts to choose from than ever before. It’s not enough to be educated about the four Cs o....
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8 Diamond cutting styles

Our love of diamonds and admiration of their fire and brilliance has given rise to many different cuts of diamonds. While we still see some of the earliest styles of diamond cuts – such as the r....
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7 Gem cutting – how it has changed over the years (50% of the original rough diamond is lost during the cutting of a round brilliant gem)

How does a lump of mineral or crystal become a dazzling diamond, ruby or sapphire? It’s an amazing process called gem cutting or lapidary and makes all the difference in the final value of the sto....
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6 Colors of gems

Gems come in every color of the spectrum. While sapphires, rubies and emeralds are what come to mind first when one thinks of a colored gem, there are so many other beautiful colored gemstones to ....
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5 Why are most minerals not popular as gems?

There are millions of minerals that exist on the earth, but few of them are prized as gems and used for adornment. Many of them aren’t in colors that are usually highly prized for jewelry. Or they....
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4 Common and uncommon gemstones

Gemstones quite literally can take our breath away when we see them. Who hasn’t seen a beautiful diamond or sapphire ring and exclaimed over it? Is it only their beauty that makes them so valuab....
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3 Gemstones are mineral crystals

What specifically are gems and gemstones? We know some of the most common ones – emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds. But what exactly are they, how are they made and why we do we prize the....
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1 Palaeolithic age

As a species, we love to adorn ourselves with jewelry, makeup, hair accessories. We do it now to enhance our looks, to attract a mate and because it just makes us feel good about ourselves. Some....
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