Angelina Jolie Donates Unique Necklace To Smithsonian

Angelina Jolie wearing the “Jolie Citrine Necklace” that she donated to the Smithsonian. Photo by RP Studio

Angelina Jolie gave the Smithsonian Institution an early Christmas present.

The actress and humanitarian has gifted a citrine necklace to the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection. The piece is from the Style of Jolie jewelry collection, a collaboration between Jolie and American high jewelry designer, Robert Procop.

The 18k yellow gold necklace features 64 graduated bezel-set cushion-shaped citrine gems highlighted by a 177.11-carat pear-shaped citrine drop. The new piece, named the “Jolie Citrine Necklace,” will be displayed in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals beginning today and remain on view indefinitely. It’s the same hall that contains the Hope Diamond, the Star of Asia sapphire and other famous gems.

The 18k yellow gold necklace features 64 graduated bezel-set cushion-shaped citrine gems highlighted by a 177.11-carat pear-shaped citrine drop. Photo by RP Studio

“We are thrilled to receive this important piece for the Smithsonian,” said Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem Collection. “It is the first piece of citrine jewelry in the collection. The fact that it was personally designed by Angelina Jolie Pitt and Robert Procop makes it all the more significant.”

Jolie (who now prefers to include her husband’s surname, “Pitt,” with her name) added, “Robert and I are honored to have this great institution feature one of our jeweled creations. As the Smithsonian has educated so many of us, this jewel is a symbol of our efforts to help educate underprivileged children in conflict areas of the world.”

The Style of Jolie collection was developed by Jolie Pitt to promote education and establish schools in conflict-affected countries. Proceeds from the sales of jewelry in the collection are donated to the Education Partnership for Children in Conflict, which builds schools for children around the world. The first few schools were built in Afghanistan.

The National Gem Collection in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals is one of the most visited exhibitions at the Smithsonian. The mineral and gem collection consists of approximately 350,000 mineral specimens and 10,000 gems, making it one of the largest of its kind in the world. It is part of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page, on Twitter @JewelryNewsNet and on the Forbes website

Gary Roskin Interviews Maurice Galli

Image courtesy of Harry Winston

The career of a renowned jewelry designer and his relationship with the world famous Hope Diamond is the subject of a story on The Roskin Gem News Report.

Maurice Galli, 81, a professor of jewelry design, author and longtime senior designer for Harry Winston, Inc., has an illustrious career but there was one glaring hole in his résumé. Even though he has been employed at Harry Winston for more than 50 years and was mentored the company’s founder, Harry Winston, he never had the chance to design a piece of jewelry for the Hope Diamond, the famous blue diamond that was donated to the Smithsonian by Mr. Winston. Needless to say this has changed.

The story is told by Gary Roskin, who is no slouch himself in the world of precious gems. He is one of the world’s leading gemologists as well as a longtime educator and writer. Nearly a year ago, he was given access to the back room of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals while 10 gem experts documented and examined the Hope and Wittelsbach-Graff blue diamonds, the two most famous blue diamonds in the world, to try to determine whether they were ever related. He has been writing about the event and its findings in a series of stories on his website. The Galli story is part of this ongoing series.