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| The Juliet Pink Diamond, set in a necklace with marquise, pear and round-cut white diamonds totaling 98.70 carats. Image courtesy of Brian Lazar. |
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is set to unveil “Diamonds: Rare Brilliance” that brings together rare colored gems never before seen in the United States.
The exhibition inside the museum’s Gem and Mineral Hall will open Friday and run through March 19, 2017. The colored diamonds and jewels in the exhibition are owned by L.J. West Diamonds, which specializes in the sourcing, manufacturing and distribution of colored diamonds.
At the exhibition’s centerpiece is the “Juliet Pink Diamond,” an extremely rare pink diamond of more than 30 carats, and a Fancy Deep Grayish Bluish Violet named the “Argyle Violet Diamond” after the Argyle mine in Western Australia, where it was discovered in 2015. Through examples, such as the fluorescent lighting of a “rainbow” diamond necklace and a very rare Victorian Orchid Diamond, the exhibition will attempt to bring to light the rare properties of colored gemstones, the science behind natural colored diamonds, and how the interplay of light and chemistry gives diamonds color.
The diamonds on display include the following:
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| Image courtesy of Brian Lazar. |
The Juliet Pink Diamond – This 30.03-carat Fancy Intense Pink oval diamond, with a VVS2 clarity grade, is cut from a 90-carat rough from South Africa. It is set in a necklace with marquise, pear and round-cut shape white diamonds, VVS E-F, totaling 98.70 carats.
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| Image courtesy of Brian Lazar |
The Argyle Violet – The 2.83-carat oval shaped gem is the largest violet diamond unearthed from the Argyle diamond mine, polished from a 9.17-carat rough diamond. It possesses the unique color grading of Fancy Deep Grayish Bluish Violet, and served as the headline stone of the 2016 Argyle Pink Diamonds Signature Tender, an annual sale of rare pink, red and blue diamonds, unearthed from the Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia.
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| Image courtesy of Brian Lazar |
The Rainbow Necklace – A jewel made of approximately 100 rare natural colored diamonds from the color spectrum. It features radiant-cut shape multi-color diamonds at a noteworthy 35.93-carat weight and is set in a custom 18k white gold arch necklace. It took more than five years to source and assemble the jewel.
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| Image courtesy of Aaron Celestian, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County |
The Victorian Orchid Vivid Purple Diamond – It is one of the rarest stones currently worldwide because of its unusual color, according to LJ West. It is a 1.64-carat Fancy Vivid Purple diamond with an SI2 clarity grade is fashioned in a cushion-cut shaped and is set in a platinum flower designed ring with a matching pair of kite- shape diamonds.
The exhibition coincides with the reopening of NHMLA’s Gem and Mineral Store.
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