Each year, millions of visitors come here to see one of the most iconic specimens exhibited in any museum, the Hope Diamond. Renowned jeweler Harry Winston donated this historic diamond to the Smithsonian in 1958. Today, it is prominently displayed at the center of the Winston Gallery, in its elegant diamond necklace that rotates slowly inside a glass vault. The amazing and sometimes mysterious past of this stone has also contributed to its fame. The Hope is one of the largest blue diamonds in the world. It weighs 45.52 carats and is about the size of a walnut. While many diamonds are found in shades of brown or yellow, blue is one of the rarest colors. The Hope Diamond is surrounded by six masterpieces of nature that speak of the Earth’s treasures you can discover in the other galleries of the Geology, Gems and Minerals Hall.

Learn More about the Hope Diamond
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Virtual Tour of the Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/vt3/NM...