The Aurora Collection of 296 naturally colored diamonds has been lent to the Vault at the Natural History Museum in London by its owners, collectors Alan Bronstein and Harry Rodman.

The Aurora Collection comprises 267.45 cts. of rare stones, from emerald green to blood red.

The opening event attracted celebrities including Dame Helen Miren.

Dame Helen Miren

“Gems like these were not meant to be imprisoned in a dark underground safe for the momentary pleasure of a few eyes,’ said Alan Bronstein, co-owner of the Aurora Collection. ‘The true value of a collection is sharing it with as many people who are interested to experience nature’s diversity of expression.”

About 3.6 million visitors come to the Natural History Museum each year.

“Each colored diamond tells its own story, giving us insight not only into its formation, but also to the deep earth processes that took place when the gem was formed,” said Alan Hart, curator of minerals at the Natural History Museum. “For example, yellow diamonds are due to the presence of nitrogen in the structure and green diamonds owe their color to natural radiation damage. It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to display this unique collection of exceptionally rare gems at the Museum.”

The Aurora Collection was displayed for the first time in Europe in 2005, as part of the Natural History Museum’s Diamonds exhibition. The display highlights a little-known property shared by colored and white diamonds—some of them glow and change color when exposed to ultra-violet light.

JCK