Don't Forget Paris
Gary Roskin, G.G., FGA -- JCK Online, 6/1/2001 2:00:00 AM
Through July 14 (Bastille Day), the largest public vault in Paris—located at that city's Museum of Natural History—is hosting famous diamonds from around the globe. So far, the exhibit has been an overwhelming success, with more than 4,000 visitors a day. The museum has expanded its hours to be open until midnight to accommodate the crowds.
More than 100 pieces of jewelry—including 25 named historical diamonds—are on display. "Stars" include the Sancy, a 55-ct. double rose-cut pear shape, which has been reunited with its sister stone, the 34-ct. Little Sancy; former French and Portuguese crown jewels such as the Golden Fleece; the Idol's Eye, a 70.21-ct. light-blue antique triangle; and the Taylor-Burton 68-ct. pear-shaped diamond.
Other diamonds in the exhibit are the 20.53-ct. pale pink Hortensia, the Mazarin diamonds, King Farouk's Pasha diamond, a collection of pink diamonds from Mouawad Jewelers, and the Tiffany diamond set in its Schlumberger "Bird on a Rock" mounting.
For more information, contact the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 36, rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 75005 Paris, or visit the museum's Web site at www.mnhn.fr/expo/diamants/index/english/ukindex.htm.
