1.
National Museum of Natural History
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The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D. C. Opened in 1910, the museum on the National Mall was one of the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to hold the national collections and research facilities. The main building has an area of 1,500,000 square feet with 325,000 square feet of exhibition and public space. The museums collections contain over 126 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, the United States National Museum was founded in 1846 as part of the Smithsonian Institution. The museum was housed in the Smithsonian Institution Building, which is better known today as the Smithsonian Castle. A formal exhibit hall opened in 1858, the growing collection led to the construction of a new building, the National Museum Building. Covering a then-enormous 2.25 acres, it was built in just 15 months at a cost of $310,000, congress authorized construction of a new building on June 28,1902. The regents began considering sites for the new building in March, the D. C. architectural firm of Hornblower & Marshall was chosen to design the structure. Testing of the soil for the foundations was set for July 1903, the Natural History Building opened its doors to the public on March 17,1910, in order to provide the Smithsonian Institution with more space for collections and research. The building was not fully completed until June 1911, the structure cost $3.5 million dollars. The Neoclassical style building was the first structure constructed on the side of the National Mall as part of the 1901 McMillan Commission plan. In addition to the Smithsonians natural history collection, it housed the American history, art. Between 1981 and 2003, the National Museum of Natural History had 11 permanent, there were six directors alone between 1990 and 2002. Turnover was high as the directors were disenchanted by low levels of funding. Robert W. Fri was named the director in 1996. One of the largest donations in Smithsonian history was made during Fris tenure, kenneth E. Behring donated $20 million in 1997 to modernize the museum. Fri resigned in 2001 after disagreeing with Smithsonian leadership over the reorganization of the scientific research programs. J. Dennis OConnor, Provost of the Smithsonian Institution was named acting director of the museum on July 25,2001, eight months later, OConner resigned to become the vice president of research and dean of the graduate school at the University of Maryland
2.
Diamond
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Diamond is a metastable allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at standard conditions. Diamond is renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities, most of which originate from the covalent bonding between its atoms. In particular, diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material and those properties determine the major industrial application of diamond in cutting and polishing tools and the scientific applications in diamond knives and diamond anvil cells. Because of its extremely rigid lattice, it can be contaminated by very few types of impurities, such as boron, small amounts of defects or impurities color diamond blue, yellow, brown, green, purple, pink, orange or red. Diamond also has relatively high optical dispersion, most natural diamonds are formed at high temperature and pressure at depths of 140 to 190 kilometers in the Earths mantle. Carbon-containing minerals provide the source, and the growth occurs over periods from 1 billion to 3.3 billion years. Diamonds are brought close to the Earths surface through deep volcanic eruptions by magma, Diamonds can also be produced synthetically in a HPHT method which approximately simulates the conditions in the Earths mantle. An alternative, and completely different growth technique is chemical vapor deposition, several non-diamond materials, which include cubic zirconia and silicon carbide and are often called diamond simulants, resemble diamond in appearance and many properties. Special gemological techniques have developed to distinguish natural diamonds, synthetic diamonds. The word is from the ancient Greek ἀδάμας – adámas unbreakable, the name diamond is derived from the ancient Greek αδάμας, proper, unalterable, unbreakable, untamed, from ἀ-, un- + δαμάω, I overpower, I tame. Diamonds have been known in India for at least 3,000 years, Diamonds have been treasured as gemstones since their use as religious icons in ancient India. Their usage in engraving tools also dates to early human history, later in 1797, the English chemist Smithson Tennant repeated and expanded that experiment. By demonstrating that burning diamond and graphite releases the same amount of gas, the most familiar uses of diamonds today are as gemstones used for adornment, a use which dates back into antiquity, and as industrial abrasives for cutting hard materials. The dispersion of light into spectral colors is the primary gemological characteristic of gem diamonds. In the 20th century, experts in gemology developed methods of grading diamonds, four characteristics, known informally as the four Cs, are now commonly used as the basic descriptors of diamonds, these are carat, cut, color, and clarity. A large, flawless diamond is known as a paragon and these conditions are met in two places on Earth, in the lithospheric mantle below relatively stable continental plates, and at the site of a meteorite strike. The conditions for diamond formation to happen in the mantle occur at considerable depth corresponding to the requirements of temperature and pressure
3.
Ultraviolet
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Ultraviolet is an electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength from 10 nm to 400 nm, shorter than that of visible light but longer than X-rays. UV radiation constitutes about 10% of the light output of the Sun. It is also produced by electric arcs and specialized lights, such as lamps, tanning lamps. Consequently, the effects of UV are greater than simple heating effects. Suntan, freckling and sunburn are familiar effects of over-exposure, along with risk of skin cancer. Living things on dry land would be damaged by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun if most of it were not filtered out by the Earths atmosphere. More-energetic, shorter-wavelength extreme UV below 121 nm ionizes air so strongly that it is absorbed before it reaches the ground, Ultraviolet is also responsible for the formation of bone-strengthening vitamin D in most land vertebrates, including humans. The UV spectrum thus has both beneficial and harmful to human health. Ultraviolet rays are invisible to most humans, the lens in a human eye ordinarily filters out UVB frequencies or higher, and humans lack color receptor adaptations for ultraviolet rays. Under some conditions, children and young adults can see ultraviolet down to wavelengths of about 310 nm, near-UV radiation is visible to some insects, mammals, and birds. Small birds have a fourth color receptor for ultraviolet rays, this gives birds true UV vision, reindeer use near-UV radiation to see polar bears, who are poorly visible in regular light because they blend in with the snow. UV also allows mammals to see urine trails, which is helpful for animals to find food in the wild. The males and females of some species look identical to the human eye. Ultraviolet means beyond violet, violet being the color of the highest frequencies of visible light, Ultraviolet has a higher frequency than violet light. He called them oxidizing rays to emphasize chemical reactivity and to them from heat rays. The terms chemical and heat rays were eventually dropped in favour of ultraviolet and infrared radiation, in 1878 the effect of short-wavelength light on sterilizing bacteria was discovered. By 1903 it was known the most effective wavelengths were around 250 nm, in 1960, the effect of ultraviolet radiation on DNA was established. The discovery of the ultraviolet radiation below 200 nm, named vacuum ultraviolet because it is absorbed by air, was made in 1893 by the German physicist Victor Schumann
4.
Fluorescence
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Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence, in most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation. Fluorescent materials cease to glow immediately when the radiation source stops, unlike phosphorescence, Fluorescence also occurs frequently in nature in some minerals and in various biological states in many branches of the animal kingdom. An early observation of fluorescence was described in 1560 by Bernardino de Sahagún and it was derived from the wood of two tree species, Pterocarpus indicus and Eysenhardtia polystachya. The chemical compound responsible for this fluorescence is matlaline, which is the product of one of the flavonoids found in this wood. The name was derived from the fluorite, some examples of which contain traces of divalent europium. In a key experiment he used a prism to isolate ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, the specific frequencies of exciting and emitted light are dependent on the particular system. S0 is called the state of the fluorophore, and S1 is its first excited singlet state. A molecule in S1 can relax by various competing pathways and it can undergo non-radiative relaxation in which the excitation energy is dissipated as heat to the solvent. Excited organic molecules can also relax via conversion to a triplet state, relaxation from S1 can also occur through interaction with a second molecule through fluorescence quenching. Molecular oxygen is an extremely efficient quencher of fluorescence just because of its unusual triplet ground state, in most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation, this phenomenon is known as the Stokes shift. The emitted radiation may also be of the wavelength as the absorbed radiation. Molecules that are excited through light absorption or via a different process can transfer energy to a second sensitized molecule, the fluorescence quantum yield gives the efficiency of the fluorescence process. It is defined as the ratio of the number of photons emitted to the number of photons absorbed, Φ = Number of photons emitted Number of photons absorbed The maximum fluorescence quantum yield is 1.0, each photon absorbed results in a photon emitted. Compounds with quantum yields of 0.10 are still considered quite fluorescent, thus, if the rate of any pathway changes, both the excited state lifetime and the fluorescence quantum yield will be affected. Fluorescence quantum yields are measured by comparison to a standard, the quinine salt quinine sulfate in a sulfuric acid solution is a common fluorescence standard. The fluorescence lifetime refers to the time the molecule stays in its excited state before emitting a photon. This is an instance of exponential decay, various radiative and non-radiative processes can de-populate the excited state
5.
Harry Winston
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Harry Winston was an American jeweler. He donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958 after owning it for a decade and he also traded the Portuguese Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1963. Winstons father Jacob started a jewelry business after his mother. While growing up, he worked in his fathers shop, when he was twelve years old, he recognized a two-carat emerald in a pawn shop, bought it for 25 cents, and sold it two days later for $800. Winston started his business in 1920 and opened his first store in New York City in 1932, winstons jewelry empire began in 1926, with his acquisition of Arabella Huntingtons jewelry collection, for $1.2 million. The wife of railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington, Arabella amassed one of the worlds most prestigious collections of jewelry, when Winston bought the collection after her death, the designs of the jewelry in the collection were quite old fashioned. Winston redesigned the jewelry into more styles and showcased his unique skill at jewelry crafting. According to the Huntington museum, He frequently boasted that Arabellas famous necklace of pearls now adorned the necks of at least two dozen women around the world. When he died, Winston left the company to his two sons, Ronald and Bruce, who entered into a decade-long battle over the control of the company. In 2000, Ronald along with new partner, Fenway Partners. Winston was among the most noted jewelers in the world, well-known to the general public, in the 1953 musical film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the song Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend includes the spoken interjection Talk to me, Harry Winston, tell me all about it. The Lauren Weisberger comic novel, Chasing Harry Winston, was published in May 2008, reference, The Arcots, first 33.70 and 23.65 carats, recut by Winston to 31.01 and 18.85 carats, respectively. Both were either colorless or near-colorless, and antique pear-shaped brilliants, the Anastasia, three emerald cuts weighing 42.95,30.90 and 22.88 carats, all D color and Flawless clarity. Cut from a rough crystal weighing 307.30 carats Winston had purchased in 1972, largest gem named after Anastasia Nikolaevna, the Ashoka, originally a 42.47 carats, colorless, modified elongated cushion brilliant. Purchased by Winston from a Chinese dealer in 1947, subsequently sold, stone was recut slightly in 1977 from its original weight of 42.47 carats before it was sold again as a ring. The Blue Heart, a 30.82 carats, blue, after the cut was made, Cartier sold it to the Unzue family of Argentina in 1910. It reappeared in Paris in 1953 where it was purchased by an important European titled family, Winston mounted it in a ring and sold it to Marjorie Merriweather Post, who later donated it to the Smithsonian Institution. The Briolette of India, a 90.38 carats, colorless, the Cornflower Blue,31.93 carats pear brilliant,12.39 carats round brilliant, blue, cut from 158 carats South African rough which Winston purchased in 1958
6.
Brazil
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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama
7.
Kimberley, Northern Cape
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Kimberley is the largest and capital city of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal, the city has considerable historical significance due to its diamond mining past and the siege during the Second Boer War. Notable personalities such as Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes here, Kimberley was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world after Philadelphia to integrate electric street lights into its infrastructure on Sept.2,1882. The first Stock Exchange in Africa was also built in Kimberley, in 1866, Erasmus Jacobs found a small brilliant pebble on the banks of the Orange River, on the farm De Kalk leased from local Griquas, near Hopetown, which was his fathers farm. He showed the pebble to his father who sold it, the pebble was purchased from Jacobs by Schalk van Niekerk, who later sold it. It proved to be a 21. 25-carat diamond, and became known as the Eureka, three years later, in 1869, an 83. 5-carat diamond, which became known as the Star of South Africa, was found nearby. This diamond was sold by van Niekerk for £11,200, Henry Richard Giddy recounted how Esau Damoense, the cook for prospector Fleetwood Rawstones Red Cap Party, found diamonds in 1871 on Colesberg Kopje after he was sent there to dig as punishment. Rawstorne took the news to the diggings of the De Beer brothers — his arrival there sparking off the famous New Rush which. Within a month 800 claims were cut into the hillock which were worked frenetically by two to three thousand men, as the land was lowered so the hillock became a mine – in time, the world-renowned Kimberley Mine. The Cape Colony, Transvaal, Orange Free State and the Griqua leader Nikolaas Waterboer all laid claim to the diamond fields, the Free State Boers in particular wanted the area as it lay inside the natural borders created by Orange and Vaal Rivers. Following the mediation that was overseen by the governor of Natal, the Keate Award went in favour of Waterboer, consequently, the territory known as Griqualand West was proclaimed on 27 October 1871. Colonial Commissioners arrived in New Rush on 17 November 1871 to exercise authority over the territory on behalf of the Cape Governor. Digger objections and minor riots led to Governor Barklys visit to New Rush in September the following year, Richard Southey would arrive as Lieutenant-Governor of the intended Crown Colony in January 1873. Months passed however without any sign of the proclamation or of the new constitution and provision for representative government. The delay was in London where Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Kimberley, insisted that before electoral divisions could be defined, the places had to receive decent and intelligible names. His Lordship declined to be in any way connected with such a vulgarism as New Rush and as for the Dutch name, the matter was passed to Southey who gave it to his Colonial Secretary J. B. Currey. Roberts writes that when it came to renaming New Rush, proved himself a worthy diplomat and he made quite sure that Lord Kimberley would be able both to spell and pronounce the name of the main electoral division by, as he says, calling it after His Lordship. New Rush became Kimberley, by Proclamation dated 5 July 1873, digger sentiment was expressed in an editorial in the Diamond Field newspaper when it stated we went to sleep in New Rush and waked up in Kimberley, and so our dream was gone
8.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
9.
Ziegfeld Follies
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The Ziegfeld Follies was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air. Inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris, the Ziegfeld Follies were conceived and mounted by Florenz Ziegfeld, reportedly at the suggestion of his then-wife, the shows producers were turn-of-the-twentieth-century producing titans Klaw & Erlanger. The Follies were a series of revues, something between later Broadway shows and the more elaborate high class Vaudeville variety show. The first Follies was produced in 1907 at the roof theatre Jardin de Paris, during the Follies era, many of the top entertainers, including W. C. They usually wore elaborate costumes by designers such as Erté, Lady Duff Gordon, the Tableau vivants were designed by Ben Ali Haggin from 1917 to 1925. Joseph Urban was the designer for the Follies shows starting in 1915. After Ziegfelds death his widow, Billie Burke, authorized use of his name for Ziegfeld Follies in 1934 and 1936 to Jake Shubert, who then produced the Follies. The name was used by other promoters in New York City, Philadelphia. Featuring numbers by Ray Bolger, Dennis Morgan, Virginia Bruce, and Harriet Hoctor, the MGM blockbusters show-stopper was the Irving Berlin-composed, A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody, which, by itself, cost more to produce than one of Ziegfelds entire stage shows. In 1941 MGM released Ziegfeld Girl, starring Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, James Stewart, celebrated numbers from Ziegfeld Revues were recreated, including the famed Wedding Cake set which had been used for Metros earlier film, The Great Ziegfeld. According to modern sources, Turners character was modeled after Ziegfeld Girl Lillian Lorraine, Brice appeared in the Follies for more than ten years. The 1964 musical, Funny Girl, starring Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice, the 1968 Columbia film of the musical also starred Barbra Streisand as Brice and Walter Pidgeon as Florenz Ziegfeld. Esthers Follies The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies Alfred Cheney Johnston The Passing Show Joseph Urban Ziegfeld Theatre Ziegfeld on Musicals101. com Ziegfeld Follies at Internet Broadway Database
10.
Pearl
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A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as a conulariid. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate. in minute crystalline form, the ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The finest quality natural pearls have been valued as gemstones. Because of this, pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, the most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are extremely rare. These wild pearls are referred to as natural pearls, cultured or farmed pearls from pearl oysters and freshwater mussels make up the majority of those currently sold. Imitation pearls are widely sold in inexpensive jewelry, but the quality of their iridescence is usually very poor and is easily distinguished from that of genuine pearls. Pearls have been harvested and cultivated primarily for use in jewelry and they have also been crushed and used in cosmetics, medicines and paint formulations. Whether wild or cultured, gem-quality pearls are almost always nacreous and iridescent, however, almost all species of shelled mollusks are capable of producing pearls of lesser shine or less spherical shape. The English word pearl comes from the French perle, originally from the Latin perna meaning leg, nacreous pearls, the best-known and most commercially significant, are primarily produced by two groups of molluskan bivalves or clams. A nacreous pearl is made from layers of nacre, by the same living process as is used in the secretion of the mother of pearl which lines the shell, natural pearls, formed without human intervention, are very rare. Cultured pearls are formed in pearl farms, using human intervention as well as natural processes, saltwater pearls can grow in several species of marine pearl oysters in the family Pteriidae. Freshwater pearls grow within certain species of mussels in the order Unionida. The unique luster of pearls depends upon the reflection, refraction, the thinner and more numerous the layers in the pearl, the finer the luster. The iridescence that pearls display is caused by the overlapping of successive layers, in addition, pearls can be dyed yellow, green, blue, brown, pink, purple, or black. The very best pearls have a metallic mirror-like luster, because pearls are made primarily of calcium carbonate, they can be dissolved in vinegar. Calcium carbonate is susceptible to even a weak acid solution because the crystals of calcium carbonate react with the acid in the vinegar to form calcium acetate. Freshwater and saltwater pearls may sometimes look quite similar, but they come from different sources, Freshwater pearls form in various species of freshwater mussels, family Unionidae, which live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. These freshwater pearl mussels occur not only in hotter climates, most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China
11.
Diamond cut
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A diamond cut is a style or design guide used when shaping a diamond for polishing such as the brilliant cut. Cut does not refer to shape, but the symmetry, proportioning, the cut of a diamond greatly affects a diamonds brilliance, this means if it is cut poorly, it will be less luminous. In order to best use a diamond gemstones material properties, a number of different diamond cuts have been developed, a diamond cut constitutes a more or less symmetrical arrangement of facets, which together modify the shape and appearance of a diamond crystal. Diamond cutters must consider several factors, such as the shape and size of the crystal, the practical history of diamond cuts can be traced back to the Middle Ages, while their theoretical basis was not developed until the turn of the 20th century. The most popular of diamond cuts is the round brilliant, whose facet arrangements. Also popular are the cuts, which come in a variety of shapes—many of which were derived from the round brilliant. A diamonds cut is evaluated by trained graders, with higher grades given to stones whose symmetry, the strictest standards are applied to the round brilliant, although its facet count is invariable, its proportions are not. Different countries base their cut grading on different ideals, one may speak of the American Standard or the Scandinavian Standard, to give but two examples. The history of diamond cuts can be traced to the late Middle Ages and this was called the point cut and dates from the mid 14th century, by 1375 there was a guild of diamond polishers at Nürnberg. By the mid 15th century, the point cut began to be improved upon, the importance of a culet was also realised, and some table-cut stones may possess one. The addition of four corner facets created the old single cut, neither of these early cuts would reveal what diamond is prized for today, its strong dispersion or fire. At the time, diamond was valued chiefly for its lustre and superlative hardness. For this reason, colored gemstones such as ruby and sapphire were far more popular in jewelry of the era. In or around 1476, Lodewyk van Berquem, a Flemish polisher of Bruges, introduced the technique of absolute symmetry in the disposition of facets using a device of his own invention, the scaif. He cut stones in the known as pendeloque or briolette. However, Indian rose cuts were far less symmetrical as their cutters had the primary interest of conserving carat weight, in either event, the rose cut continued to evolve, with its depth, number and arrangements of facets being tweaked. The first brilliant cuts were introduced in the middle of the 17th century, known as Mazarins, they had 17 facets on the crown. They are also called double-cut brilliants as they are seen as a step up from old single cuts, yet Peruzzi-cut diamonds, when seen nowadays, seem exceedingly dull compared to modern-cut brilliants
12.
Portuguese Crown Jewels
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The Portuguese Crown Jewels were the pieces of jewelry, regalia, and vestments worn by the Monarchs of Portugal during the time of the Portuguese Monarchy. Over the nine centuries of Portuguese history, the Portuguese Crown Jewels have lost, most of the current set of the Portuguese Crown Jewels are from the reigns of King João VI and King Luís I. By the reign of King Manuel I, Portugal had already a set of jewels. In early 1581 King António I fled to France after King Philip I was made the King of Portugal, António I took with him the Portuguese Crown Jewels, including many valuable diamonds. After several failed attempts to reclaim the Portuguese Crown, António I fell into poverty and his poverty led him to sell many of the remaining diamonds. From Maximilien, the diamond would finally go to join the French Crown Jewels, during the Portuguese Restoration War, João II of Braganza sold many of the Portuguese Crown Jewels to finance the war with Spain. Since then, Portuguese monarchs did not have a coronation but instead an acclamation, before the assumption of the Portuguese throne by the Philippine Dynasty, the Kings of Portugal used to be anointed and crowned in the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon. In 1755 the Great Lisbon earthquake destroyed Lisbon and the Paço da Ribeira, with the destruction of the palace, innumerable pieces of the Portuguese Crown Jewels of the time were destroyed, lost, or stolen. While his court was in Rio de Janeiro, João VI had a new set of Portuguese Crown Jewels made. Constructed by the royal jewelers at the workshop of António Gomes da Silva, the pieces from this era are the majority of the current set of jewels. When Maria Pia of Savoy became Queen Consort of Portugal, King Luís I ordered many pieces of jewelry to be made, alongside this, he had a new royal mantle produced. When the Portuguese Royal Family was exiled, many of the jewels were taken with Queen Amélie of Orléans, in 2002 a large part of the Portuguese Crown Jewels were stolen from the Museon in The Hague, where they were on loan for an exhibition on European Crown Jewels. Following an investigation by the museum and Dutch authorities, the Dutch government paid a sum of six million euros to the Portuguese government for reparation, the Portuguese Crown Jewels are currently kept in a secured vault at the Ajuda National Palace, in Lisbon. While the palace is a popular and important museum, the jewels are not open to the public. The crown jewels are now seen at special events concerning them or the palace specifically. Though the Portuguese Crown Jewels have had a history, wars, theft. The current set of crown jewels includes numerous pieces of jewelry, gold, gems, robes, and other regalia, but most notably, The Crown of João VI is an imperial format crown. A unique feature of the crown is that it is composed only of gold and red velvet
