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Thompson Diamonds
Specimen | Catalog Number | Locality | Weight |
---|---|---|---|
Thompson Diamonds | NMNH G9997 | Unknown | 36.73 ct |
Thompson Diamonds | NMNH G9998 | Unknown | 20.46 ct |
The Thompson Diamonds, a pendant and earrings, are set in platinum and were designed by Harry Winston, Inc. In 1956, Winston purchased a rough brown diamond weighing 264 carats from the Diamond Trading Co. of Antwerp. In the spring of 1957, the rough was cut in to three stones weighing 36.73ct, 20.46ct and 19.12ct. The pendant features the 36.73ct pear-shaped fancy brown diamond and is surrounded by 33 pear-shaped colorless diamonds that total 9.03 carats. The two smaller stones, 39.58 carats total, were set in the matching earrings accented with 72 pear-shaped colorless diamonds that total 10.75 carats. The fancy colored diamonds are a beautiful yellowish-brown color, sometimes referred to as “cognac” color. The National Gem Collection is noted for its colored diamonds and includes some of the world’s finest important colored diamonds on display. Diamonds, as seen here, are not necessarily colorless; in fact, very few are completely without color. In most diamonds, a few atoms of nitrogen substituted for some of the carbon as the crystals form tint the stones yellow or brown. Mrs. Thompson purchased the pendant and earrings from Harry Winston, Inc. in 1957 during the time that they were being produced. The Thompson Diamonds were a bequest in 1990 and are on display in the Gem Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.