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Crown of the Andes

The design and construction of the Crown began in 1593, and almost 24 goldsmiths were involved in the project. The intention of the initiators of this laudable project, was to turnout a crown that exceeded in beauty, grandeur and value the crown of any reigning monarch on this mundane earth, in order to become a befitting gift to the heavenly Virgin. The villagers donated large quantities of gold which were melted down to form a solid block of gold, from which the frame of the crown was designed. The villagers also donated a large number of rough emeralds, which were cut and finished as table-cut gemstones, the simple cutting style in vogue at that time. Emeralds taken by the Spanish conquistadors from the last king of the Incas, Atahualpa, in 1532, who was captured and executed by the Spanish, was also incorporated in the Crown. The Inca ruler was said to have been riding in a litter or palanquin, paved with 190 pounds of gold and studded with clusters of emeralds, at the time of his capture. The largest emerald incorporated in the crown, the 45-carat Atahualpa emerald is reputed to be one of the emeralds seized from the king at the time of his capture. The crown was set with 453 emeralds having a total weight of 1,500 carats, out of which 17 were pear-shaped emeralds hanging from the crown. The bottom-half of the crown was a circlet rising to eight points. that was pierced and embossed with elaborately entwined acanthus scrolls, and mounted with clusters of table-cut emeralds. The two intersecting arches were also pierced and mounted with emeralds, and was surmounted by the orb carrying a small cross on top of it. The entire framework of the crown was made up of sovereign gold. Work on the crown was completed after six years in 1599, and the finished crown had a weight of 4.8 pounds, standing at a height of 13 inches. An elaborate thanksgiving ceremony was then organized in the cathedral by the Bishop of Popayan, in 1599, which was attended by the entire populace of the hilltop city in the Andes mountain range. The ceremony culminated in the coronation of the more than life-size statute of the Virgin Mary in the cathedral, with the "Crown of Andes" placed on its head by the Catholic Bishop of Popayan.

La Cruz

La Cruz from the collection of Joe and Ann Ondraka is a classic Muzo specimen. The white calcite and crystallized pyrite identify it immediately. The beautiful dark green color and bluish tint of the crystals are also typical of the El Indio corte (part of the Puerto Arturo area which produces the best quality emeralds in Muzo).

Hooker Emerald Brooch

The Hooker Emerald Brooch is set with a 75.47-carat, square emerald-cut gemstone with a large table, good color, clarity and transparency. The color of the stone appears to be a deep grass-green color, characteristic of emeralds originating from the Muzo mines of Colombia. The emerald is presently set as the centerpiece of a brooch, in which it is surrounded by a platinum framework mounded with a total of 109 smaller round brilliant-cut diamonds of different sizes arranged in a symmetrical pattern as seen in the photograph. The emerald is of Colombian origin, but the exact mine of origin of the emerald is not known. However, given the deep grass-green color of the emerald, and the period the emerald is said to have been owned by Sultan Abdul Hamid II of Turkey - 1876 to 1909 - who is reputed to have mounted it in his belt buckle, the most probable source of the emerald is the historic Muzo mines situated at the northwestern end of the NW-SE emerald belt, in the Andes mountain ranges, also known as the "Cordillera Oriental." The Coscuez emerald mines also situated in the same region may be excluded, as emeralds produced in this region have a characteristic yellowish-green color. The whereabouts of the historic Chivor mines around this time was unknown, and was re-discovered only in 1896, and operations began again only in 1911. The "Hooker Emerald Brooch" gets its name from the one time owner of the famous piece of jewelry Janet Annenberg Hooker, the renowned philanthropist and principal benefactor of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, who donated the 75-carat, half-million-dollar emerald brooch set with diamonds, to the Smithsonian Institution, in 1977. The donation of $5 million to the National Museum of Natural History, by the late Mrs. Janet Annenberg Hooker, the publishing heiress, enabled the construction of their modern gem and mineral gallery, which was named the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals in her honor, and opened on September 20th, 1997, just three months before her passing away on December 13, 1997, at the ripe old age of 93 years. Mrs. Hooker had also gifted several other spectacular pieces of gems and jewelry to the NMNH, which included a dazzling set of rare yellow diamonds, cut in a starburst pattern, known as the Hooker Starburst Diamonds.

The Great Mughul

The Mughal Emerald which undoubtedly is of Colombian origin is a dark green emerald weighing 217.80 carats. The emerald has been deliberately cut by the Indian cutters and polishers of the period, as a table-cut, rectangular shaped gemstone, with two parallel flat rectangular faces, enabling the master gem carvers to take over and convert it into a masterpiece in gem carving with intricate floral designs on one side and beautiful Arabic calligraphy in the Naksh script on the other. The dimensions of the emerald are 52 x 40 x 12 mm, and the mid-point of each of the four sides of the rectangle has been drilled for attachments, so that the gemstone could be mounted and worn as a talisman, with the Arabic inscriptions facing outwards. The inscriptions in the Arabic Naksh script is a perfect example of ancient Arabic calligraphy laid out symmetrically in five rows, with the upper introductory row being a little wider than the remaining four rows of equal width. The edges of the rectangle are carved with cross pattern incisions and herringbone pattern decorations. The inscription represents an invocation of the Shia sect of Islam invoking the blessings of Almighty God, the most merciful and the most compassionate, on the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the twelve Imams that followed after him. The Mughal emerald is the largest of the inscribed emeralds known to exist in different collections. The Mughal emerald is a magnificent historic carved emerald, belonging to the period of the last of the four great Mughal Emperors of India, Aurangzeb who reigned between 1658 and 1707. The table-cut emerald, with two rectangular flat faces, with dimensions of 5.2 cm by 4.0 cm, and a thickness of 1.2 cm, is a symbol of the greatest cultural, literary and artistic achievements attained by India, during one of the golden periods in its history, the Mughal period, which also gave us the architectural marvels such as the internationally renowned mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, and other architectural master pieces such as the giant fortress cum palace complex, the Lal Kila or the Red Fort of Delhi, and the Great Mosque of Delhi also known as the Jami Masjid. The art of engraving on emeralds and other precious stones seem to have been perfected to a high degree during this period. This is not surprising as the Mughal craftsmen had also learnt the much more difficult task of engraving on diamonds, which in modern days is done either by using a fullerite pen or by laser technology. The Mughal craftsman had used a material harder than diamond to achieve this rare feat, but modern-day researches have not been able to uncover the precise material used for this purpose. Some examples of diamonds engraved with Arabic inscriptions are the Shah Diamond, the Akbar-shah/Jehangir Shah diamond, and the Taj Mahal Diamond.

The MacKay Emerald

The Mackay Emerald is a 167.97-carat, oval cabochon-cut, deep grass-green colored emerald, with its horizontal and vertical diameters approximately equal to 2 ins. (5.08 cm). The diaphaneity of the stone is translucent, with light being transmitted through the stone, but its interior not being visible, probably because the stone is heavily included. The presence of inclusions in emeralds is a common feature, and characteristic of all natural emeralds. The emerald which originated in the Muzo mines of Colombia is the largest faceted emerald in the National Gem Collection of the NMNH of the Smithsonian Institution. The emerald was set as the centerpiece of a square-shaped pendant with a platinum framework, whose edges were mounted with diamond baguettes. The upper end of the pendant has an emerald arch set with smaller rectangular-shaped emeralds, by which the pendant is suspended from the art deco diamond and platinum necklace. The pendant and necklace was designed by Cartier Inc. who sold the stunning piece of jewelry to Clarence H. Mackay in 1931. The Mackay Emerald Necklace gets its name from Mrs. Anna Case Mackay, the owner of the renowned necklace, who donated it to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in 1984. The valuable necklace was given to Mrs. Anna Case Mackay as a wedding gift by her husband Clarence H. Mackay - the American financier who inherited a $500 million estate from his father John W. Mackay, a silver miner turned telegraph mogul - when they got married in 1931.

The Guinness Emerald

The Guinness Emerald Crystal discovered in the Coscuez emerald mines is one of the largest gem-quality emerald crystals in the world, and is the largest emerald crystal in the collection of emeralds belonging to the Banco Nacionale de la Republica in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. The origin of the name Guinness is not known, but the elongated, 1759-carat, bright green crystal undoubtedly had all the credentials to enter the Guinness book of world records as the largest gem-quality emerald in the world at least for some years until it was surpassed by other larger natural emerald crystals. The 1759-carat "Guinness Emerald Crystal" was at one time the largest natural emerald crystal in the world, and is still preserved in its natural crystalline state, at the Banco Nacionale de la Republica in Bogotá. Emeralds crystallize in the hexagonal crystal system resulting in elongated or flattened hexagonal prisms with pinacoidal terminations. But, the "Guinness Emerald Crystal" is an exception, as it is dihexagonal or twelve-sided, also known as dodecahedral. The exact dimensions of the crystal are not known, but the crystal is undoubtedly elongated, with its length between 2 to 2½ times greater than its diameter. The color of the emerald is a bright green color with a slightly yellowish undertone, characteristic of emeralds from the Coscuez emerald mines. The diaphaneity of the emerald is translucent, and some cracks and fissures are visible at the lower end of the crystal. Emeralds from Coscuez are generally more included than those of Muzo and Chivor mines.

The Spanish Inquisition Necklace

The lower-half of the necklace which is double-stranded consists of two concentric semi-circles, made up of smaller diamonds interspersed with pairs of large barrel-shaped diamonds and emeralds, placed symmetrically on the strands. There are eight pairs of larger diamonds and four pairs larger emeralds on these strands. A chandelier-shaped pendant made up of five large emeralds is placed centrally on the double strand, with the largest emerald in the necklace centrally placed on the lower strand. The upper-half of the necklace is single-stranded made up of smaller diamonds only. At the two points on the necklace where the upper-half and lower-half meet, two large emeralds have been placed. Altogether, there are 15 large emeralds, 16 large diamonds, and around 120 smaller diamonds in the necklace. The largest emerald in the necklace is an old Indian-cut, 45-carat, barrel-shaped emerald placed centrally in the necklace. According to the Smithsonian, "The rich velveteen color and exceptional clarity place the large emerald among the world's very finest quality emeralds. The shape closely approximates the form of the original elongated hexagonal crystal, suggesting that the crystal faces were simply rounded off to yield the largest possible gem." According to the Smithsonian all 15 emeralds in the "Spanish Inquisition Necklace" are undoubtedly of Colombian origin, and going by the old Indian-cut of the emeralds and diamonds, prevalent during the Moghul period, the stones belong to the 16th or 17th centuries, the period when the Moghul Empire was at the height of its glory. Production in the Muzo and Chivor mines began in the mid-16th century, but the Chivor mines were closed down indefinitely by royal decree in 1675, due to the inhuman and cruel conditions prevailing in the mines. Thus the emeralds in the "Spanish Inquisition Necklace" could have originated in any one of these mines or both. Any emerald in the necklace that has a pure, strong, saturated, dark green color, could possibly have originated in the Muzo mines. Likewise any green emerald which has an overabundance of secondary blue hue, known as a bluish-green emerald, could possibly have originated in the Chivor mines. The origin of the name "Spanish Inquisition Necklace" seems to be shrouded in mystery just as much as the origin of the necklace itself. According to Jeffrey Post, the curator of the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution, it was Harry Winston who gave the necklace the interesting name the "Spanish Inquisition Necklace," before he sold it to Mrs. Cora Hubbard Williams of Pittsburgh. What prompted Harry Winston to select such an infamous name for a necklace is far from certain. Perhaps it might have been the legendary association of this necklace with the Spanish royalty at one point in its long history, or the resemblance of the necklace to jewelry produced during this period.

The Maxmillion Emerald

The Maximilian Emerald is a 21.04-carat, emerald-cut, deep grass-green stone, with good clarity and transparency, and like all natural emeralds contains some inclusions. The emerald was set on a ring for Emperor Maximilian Joseph, but after his death changed hands and eventually came into the possession of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the cereal heiress, who got the ring reset by Cartier incorporating diamonds and subsequently donated it to the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. The "Maximilian Emerald Ring" gets its name from its one time owner, Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, the archduke of Austria and the younger brother of Emperor Francis Joseph (1848-1916), who was installed as the Emperor of Mexico in 1864 by Napoleon III, whose forces captured Mexico City in 1863, with a view of occupying Mexico and colonizing it. Initially the invasion of Mexico was carried out by the French, British and Spain under the pretext of safeguarding their investments, from a government controlled by Liberals, who even suspended the payment of all foreign debts. But, later the British and the Spanish withdrew their forces after learning of Napoleon's plan to colonize the country. During this period the United States was in the midst of a devastating civil war (1861 -1865). But, soon after the end of the civil war in 1865, the U. S. demanded the withdrawal of the French troops from Mexico, as it violated the Monroe Doctrine, and amassed troops at the Mexican border. The French withdrew their forces, but Emperor Maximilian decided to stay on supported by a group of staunch Conservatives. Eventually, the Liberal forces headed by Benito Suarez captured Mexico City, and Emperor Maximilian surrendered to the forces of Benito Suarez on May 15, 1867. Subsequently, Emperor Maximilian and two of his top-ranking generals, were court martialled found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad, on June 19, 1867.

The Patricia Emerald

Emeralds as well formed and as large as the Museum's Patricia Emerald are exceedingly rare. Indeed, due to its form, color, and size -- 632 carats -- this specimen is considered to be one of the world's greatest emeralds. Moreover, while most uncut emeralds have six sides, the Patricia Emerald is dihexagonal, or twelve-sided. The emerald was found in the Colombian Andes in 1920, in the Chivor Mine. It is named for the mine-owner's daughter. The small flaws, or inclusions, in the Patricia Emerald are normal. Because of them, emeralds, although quite hard, are not very durable. In the fifteenth century the native people of South America used the emerald's lack of durability to undermine the Spanish Conquistadors' boundless greed for the gem. The Spaniards were told that a real emerald would not shatter when hit with a hammer, but a false one would: they destroyed countless emeralds in this way before they realized that they were being duped. The Patricia Emerald is one of a very few large, gem-quality emeralds that have been preserved uncut. Though emeralds have been found in several locations, including Siberia and the United States, Colombia is the world's major source of the mineral today.

The Taj Mahal

On 22nd October 2009, Christie’s in New York sold the “Taj Mahal Emerald”. The name of the emerald is derived from its intricately carved surface of lotus, poppy flowers, and other foliage that mirrors the decoration of the Taj Mahal. At the Paris Exhibition of 1925, the stone was one of three large Mughal emeralds that featured prominently in Cartier’s Collier Bérénice, a spectacular shoulder ornament that also boasted pearls, diamonds, and black enamel. Christie’s catalog describes the emerald as “The hexagonal-cut emerald, weighing approximately 141.13 carats, carved with stylized chrysanthemum, lotus and Mughal poppy flowers, within asymmetrical foliage, to the plain reverse and bevelled border, circa 1630-1650”. This emerald was sold for $ 7,940,500!

The Chalk Emerald Ring

The Chalk Emerald is a 37.82-carat, square emerald-cut, deep bluish-green emerald of Colombian origin, with a good transparency. Like all natural emeralds the Chalk Emerald also contain some Jardin or inclusions, but in spite of it ranks among the very finest of Colombian emeralds. The top quality emerald was previously the centerpiece of an emerald and diamond necklace, that belonged to the most flamboyant Maharani of Baroda, Maharani Sita Devi, the "Wallis Simpson of India" who was compelled to sell part of her enormous collection of jewelry due to financial difficulties, while living in Monaco. Harry Winston purchased the necklace, and after re-cutting the emerald from its original 38.40 carats to 37.82 carats, set it in a platinum ring, surrounded by 60 pear-shaped colorless diamonds, with a total weight of 15 carats. The surrounding colorless diamonds further enhanced the beauty of the emerald, and made it a masterpiece in jewelry setting, that would forever remain a living monument to the designing skills of the the "King of Diamonds" Harry Winston. The Chalk Emerald Ring which is an important and famous exhibit in the National Gem Collection of the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution, gets its name from the one time owner of the emerald Mrs. Claire Chalk, wife of Oscar Roy Chalk, the renowned New York entrepreneur who was the owner of real estate, airlines, bus companies, newspapers and a rail line that transported bananas in Central America, and even a Central American banana plantation for a short period. Mr. O. Roy Chalk purchased the emerald ring from Harry Winston and gifted it to his wife, who wore the stunning emerald ring for a state dinner at the White House, in honor of Queen Elizabeth II. However, during the party Mrs. Claire Chalk observed that Her Excellency the Queen, was wearing a less attractive emerald ring, and decided to turn her ring around on her finger, so as not to upstage the queen. In the year 1972, Mrs. Claire Chalk in consultation with her husband, donated the fabulous emerald ring to the National Museum of Natural History, of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Topkapi Daggar

The Topkapi Emerald Dagger is the renowned jewel-studded dagger of mid-18th century origin, preserved and displayed for public viewing at the treasury of the Topkapi Palace Museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. One side of the handle of the dagger is set with three large Colombian emeralds of good color and clarity whose size and prominence undoubtedly gave the dagger its popular name. The exquisitely crafted jewel-studded dagger was actually one of several other valuable gifts that was carried by an emissary of Sultan Mahmud I (1730-54) to Iran, to be gifted to the mighty Iranian conqueror Nadir Shah, but unfortunately was not delivered as Nadir Shah was assassinated, when the embassy just crossed the borders of the Ottoman Empire into Iranian territory. The gifts including the jewel-studded dagger were then returned to the treasury at Istanbul, and eventually became one of the most celebrated treasures in the treasury of the Topkapi Palace Museum. The popularity of the dagger, as well as the museum that holds it, were given a major boost worldwide, when it was made the subject of a popular Hollywood heist film in 1964, based on Eric Ambler's novel "The Light of Day." The three emeralds on the handle are large, deep green stones with good clarity and transparency. The emeralds are mounted on the handle on one side. The upper and lower emeralds have an identical pear-shaped cut, with almost identical sizes and set with their pointed ends facing each other. The middle emerald is a rectangular cushion-cut stone, whose width is slightly less than the width of the pear-shaped stones. The outline of this vertical arrangement of emeralds seem to coincide with the conventional biconcave shape of a dagger, which gives a firm grip on its handle. The emeralds are interspersed with smaller diamonds placed at the four corners of the rectangle in the middle and the four corners of the trapezia situated above and below the rectangle. At the end of the handle is an octagonal-shaped emerald, set as a cover, which when opened revealed a small watch. Around this cover and the sides of the handle are rows of smaller diamonds, the smallest on the dagger. The backside of the handle is done in enamel and mother-of-pearls.

The Unguentarium

The term unguentarium is derived from the Latin word "unguent" which means a soft greasy or thick substance used as ointment or for lubrication. An unguentarium is a small vessel or container that holds an unguent. Unguentaria of different sizes and shapes made of ceramic or glass had been in use since pre-Christian times, in the regions of the Greek and Roman empires, as shown by archaeological findings. They were used in funerary rituals and hence their frequent occurrence in archaeological excavations of ancient cemeteries. Archaeologists believe that these containers were used for holding perfumed oils, ointments, balsam. jasmine, kohl, honey, mastic, incense, scent powders and cosmetic preparations. The "Emerald Unguentarium" in the Imperial treasury in Vienna, was commissioned by the Hapsburg king, Emperor Ferdinand III in 1641, and was carved out of a single large emerald crystal of Colombian origin, probably over 3,000 carats in weight. The Emerald Unguentarium is shaped more like a bottle, and appears somewhat irregular in shape, as the cutter of the enormous emerald crystal was perhaps instructed by the king to reduce losses in cutting, to a minimum. The unguentarium had a lid and feet also made of emerald, probably worked from the material scooped out of the vessel. The exact weight of the original massive crystal is not known but after the crystal was hollowed out and transformed into an ointment vessel (unguentarium) it weighed 2,860 carats. The cutter who apparently seemed to have followed the shape of the natural crystal - which was in fact a twin crystal intergrown into one another in order to minimize losses. The surface of the vessel is engraved with four leaf patterns. The dome-shaped lid of the bottle has enameled gold decoration at its base where it fits on to the mouth of the vessel. The master carver who fashioned the vessel had also created facets of different shapes on the surface of the vessel as well as the lid, which were subsequently polished to bring out the intrinsic beauty of the emerald. The dimensions of the vessel are length-8.5 cm, breadth-7.2 cm, and height-10.9 cm. The color of the emerald as appearing on the photograph is a deep vivid green characteristic of emeralds originating in the Muzo mines of Colombia. The clarity and transparency of the emerald as seen from some of the upper facets on the vessel and the lid, seem to be quite exceptional. This is not surprising if the emerald had actually originated from the Muzo mines of Colombia. Judging from the color, clarity and transparency of the upper facets, one can assume that the entire crystal that constitutes the unguentarium, is indeed a superb gem-quality emerald, whose value by market prices now commanded by fine emeralds may reach over a 100 million dollars. In the year 1660, the emerald vessel was estimated to have a value of 300,000 Talers (currency of the Austrian empire).