"George Switzer (mineralogist) George Shirley Switzer (June 11, 1915 – March 23, 2008) was an American mineralogist who is credited with starting the Smithsonian Institution's famed National Gem and Mineral Collection by acquiring the Hope Diamond for the museum in 1958. Switzer made the arrangements when renowned New York City jeweler Harry Winston decided to donate the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian. Switzer was also known for his analysis of moon rocks which were brought back by NASA missions to the Moon. Today, the National Gem and Mineral Collection at the National Museum of Natural History currently contains more than"
"acquiesced, sending it through U.S. Mail in a box wrapped in brown paper as simple registered mail insured for $1 million at a cost of $145.29, of which $2.44 was for postage and the balance insurance. Upon its arrival it became Specimen #217868. Winston had never believed in any of the tales about the curse; he donated the diamond with the hope that it would help the United States ""establish a gem collection."" Winston died many years later, in 1978, of a heart attack. Winston's gift, according to Smithsonian curator Dr. Jeffrey Post, indeed helped spur additional gifts to the"
"idea for the national collection at the Smithsonian was a collaboration between Harry Winston and George (Switzer)."" Switzer reportedly began to wonder if there was some truth to the supposed Hope Diamond curse during a trip with the Diamond to the Louvre for the ""Ten Centuries of French Jewelry"" exhibition in April 1962. The Smithsonian had determined that secrecy was the best defense against the potential theft of the Hope Diamond. Switzer traveled to Paris with the Hope Diamond inside a velvet pouch, which had been specially sewn by his wife, Sue. The Hope Diamond was placed inside the pouch"
"associated with the case of the murdered Lindbergh baby, when its then owner, silver heiress Evalyn Walsh McLean, pawned it to raise money that she ended up paying to a con-man unconnected with the actual kidnapping. Most modern historians view the tales of a curse on the Hope to be spurious; the first mention of such tales is documented to 1908. Pierre Cartier, the Parisian jeweler, is widely credited with publicizing the stories of a curse on the diamond in hopes of increasing its saleability. Since 1958, it has been in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where it is"
"send the Hope Diamond from New York City to its new home at the Smithsonian cost $145.29. Winston's wife, Edna Winston, later more formally presented the blue diamond to Switzer and Leonard Carmichael, the secretary of the Smithsonian at the time, on November 10, 1958. The Hope Diamond was placed on display, surrounded by a pendant of 16 white diamonds on a necklace containing over 45 other white diamonds. The acquisition of the Hope Diamond by the Smithsonian, ""...started the national collection."", according to Sorena Sorensen, the current chairwoman of the Smithsonian's mineral sciences department. Sorensen also stated that, ""The"
"orphan. In 1997, Christies auctioned the diamond once again, but listed as an irradiated gem with a substantially lower estimate. It sold to Lawrence Graff of Graff Diamonds, who sold it to famed author Danielle Steel. Its current whereabouts remain uncertain. Assuming Winston did not have the irradiation treatment done, it could have taken place any time between 1955 (when Winston sold it) and 1971, the year it was offered at auction. The recutting of the gem from to was most likely intended to remove the 'umbrella' coloration pattern it had around its culet. This was a common side effect"
"Spanish Inquisition Necklace The Spanish Inquisition Necklace is a diamond and emerald-studded necklace. As of 2008, it is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., United States. It was given its name by Harry Winston, the American jeweller who acquired it from the Maharaja of Indore, and has no known connection with the historical Spanish Inquisition. The emeralds threaded onto the necklace were originally mined in Colombia. The diamonds were mined in India. While the necklace's gemstones are believed to have been cut in India in the 17th century, the early history of the necklace itself is unknown."
"returned to its historic setting, and the current necklace was implanted with another diamond worth ""at least a million dollars"". The necklace with the new diamond will be sold to benefit the Smithsonian. The diamond has been surrounded by a mythology of a reputed ""curse"" to the effect that it brings misfortune and tragedy to persons who own it or wear it, but there are strong indications that such stories were fabricated to enhance the stone's mystery and appeal, since increased publicity usually raised the gem's value and newsworthiness. According to specious accounts in the late nineteenth and early twentieth"
"The Winston Blue The Winston Blue is the name given to what was the largest flawless vivid blue diamond bought by Harry Winston, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of The Swatch Group from January 2013) on May 15, 2014, from an anonymous person for $23.8 million at Christie's Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale. The approximately $1.8003 million per carat price paid for the 13.22-carat diamond is a world record for a blue diamond. Harry Winston, Inc. had also bought a 101.73-carat colorless diamond named Winston Legacy at Christie's Geneva jewelry auction in 2013. The American luxury jeweler had then paid $26.7"
"a number of controversies, including price fixing, antitrust behaviour and an allegation of not releasing industrial diamonds for the US war effort during World War II. He died in Johannesburg in 1957. He was born into a Jewish family, but as an adult, he converted to Anglicanism and was buried at St George's Church, Parktown. He was succeeded in the business by his son Harry Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer's brother, Sir Bernard Oppenheimer, was also heavily involved in the diamond industry. In 1964, the Oppenheimer Diamond was named in his honour by its owner, Harry Winston, who donated the stone (not a"
"Hall (c. 1912 – April 21, 2005) in 1979. She was the sister of Walter Annenberg, publisher, businessman, and philanthropist. Hall Sapphire and Diamond Necklace The Hall Sapphire and Diamond Necklace has 36 matched sapphires from Sri Lanka which total 195 carats. These sapphires are surrounded by 435 brilliant-cut diamonds that total 83.75 carats. The sapphires are cushion-cut, some of the diamonds are pear-shaped and the others are round cut. The setting is platinum. It was designed by Harry Winston, Inc.. It is currently on display at the National Museum of Natural History, part of the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington,"
"Pink Legacy The Pink Legacy is a pink diamond that was purchased by Harry Winston, Inc. in 2018. It was renamed Winston Pink Legacy by CEO Nayla Hayek. The diamond was sold at a Christie's auction for 50.375 million Swiss francs ($50m; £38.5m), and at $2.6 million per carat it set a world record at the time of its sale for a pink diamond. Pink Legacy was mined in South Africa around 1918 and was once owned by the Oppenheimer family, who ran De Beers. It has a cut-cornered rectangular cut, and has likely not been altered since it was"
"D.C.. It was donated in 1969 by the American jeweler Harry Winston, and is labeled under number 122078 in the catalog. Gachalá Emerald The Gachalá Emerald, one of the most valuable and famous emeralds in the world, was found in the year 1967, in the mine called Vega de San Juan, located in Gachala, a town in Colombia, located from Bogota. Gachalá Chibcha means ""place of Gacha."" Presently the emerald is in the United States, where it was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by the New York City jeweler, Harry Winston. The emerald was named in honor of Gachalá, the"
"in New York City. Later owners included two Russian princesses called Leonila Galitsine-Bariatinsky and Nadia Vygin-Orlov (after whom the diamond is named). Both women allegedly jumped to their deaths in the 1940s. The diamond was later bought by Charles F. Winson and cut into three pieces in an attempt to break the curse; the 67.5-carat Black Orlov was set into a brooch of 108 diamonds, suspended from a necklace of 124 diamonds. The diamond was purchased by diamond dealer Dennis Petimezas in 2004; Petimezas said he was ""pretty confident that the curse is broken"". The Black Orlov has been displayed"
"Harry Winston, Inc. Harry Winston, Inc. is an American luxury jeweler and producer of Swiss timepieces. Named after its founder, the jeweler Harry Winston, the company has its headquarters in New York City. Harry Winston is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Swatch Group, which acquired it from the Toronto based Harry Winston Diamond Corporation in January 2013. Harry Winston opened its first store in 1932. Harry Winston was the first jeweler to loan diamonds to an actress for the Academy Awards, in 1943; after dressing Best Actress nominee Jennifer Jones in his signature diamonds, Winston became popular with Hollywood"
"Graff Pink The Graff Pink, a rare 24.78 carat pink diamond, once owned by American celebrity jeweller Harry Winston, has been described as ""one of the greatest diamonds ever discovered"". The diamond, mounted in a ring, was sold by Sotheby's auctioneers in Geneva, Switzerland on 16 November 2010. Before its sale, the stone was expected to enter the list of the top ten most expensive diamonds in the world; on selling for US $46 million (£29 million) it became the most expensive single jewel ever sold at auction at that time. The gem is classified by the Gemological Institute of"
"a velvet pouch sewn by his wife. The Hope Diamond was placed into the pouch, which was pinned inside Switzer's pants pocket for the flight. When the Smithsonian's gallery was renovated in 1997, the necklace was moved onto a rotating pedestal inside a cylinder made of thick bulletproof glass in its own display room, adjacent to the main exhibit of the National Gem Collection, in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals. The Hope Diamond is the most popular jewel on display and the collection's centerpiece. In 1988, specialists with the Gemological Institute of America graded it"
"another ""danger piece"" was ""Doomed"" (1975), in which Burden lay motionless in a gallery at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago under a slanted sheet of glass near a running wall clock. Burden planned to remain in that position until someone interfered in some way with the piece. Forty-five hours and ten minutes later, museum employee Dennis O'Shea placed a pitcher of water within Burden's reach at which point Burden rose, smashed the glass, and took a hammer to the clock, thus ending the piece. By the end of the 1970s, Burden turned instead to vast engineered sculptural installations. In"
"first cut in 1920. It is mounted in a platinum ring. Pink Legacy The Pink Legacy is a pink diamond that was purchased by Harry Winston, Inc. in 2018. It was renamed Winston Pink Legacy by CEO Nayla Hayek. The diamond was sold at a Christie's auction for 50.375 million Swiss francs ($50m; £38.5m), and at $2.6 million per carat it set a world record at the time of its sale for a pink diamond. Pink Legacy was mined in South Africa around 1918 and was once owned by the Oppenheimer family, who ran De Beers. It has a cut-cornered"
"Hall Sapphire and Diamond Necklace The Hall Sapphire and Diamond Necklace has 36 matched sapphires from Sri Lanka which total 195 carats. These sapphires are surrounded by 435 brilliant-cut diamonds that total 83.75 carats. The sapphires are cushion-cut, some of the diamonds are pear-shaped and the others are round cut. The setting is platinum. It was designed by Harry Winston, Inc.. It is currently on display at the National Museum of Natural History, part of the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C., alongside the Bismarck Sapphire Necklace and the Logan sapphire. It was donated to the Smithsonian by Mrs. Evelyn Annenberg"
"million for the colorless diamond ($254,400 per carat), which is a world record for the highest price paid per carat for a colorless diamond. For the auction the diamond was dubbed 'The Blue'. The name Winston Blue was given to it by Nayla Hayek, who is the CEO of Harry Winston Inc., after it was bought at the auction. After buying the diamond, Hayek said: In January 2013 we purchased Harry Winston and since then my ambition has been to acquire the most desirable and unique gems. When Christie's announced they were offering the largest flawless fancy-vivid blue the GIA"
"23, 2008. The cause of his death was pneumonia. He was a resident of Port Republic, Maryland at the time, and had formerly lived in Bethesda, Maryland. Switzer was survived by his wife, Sue Joan Bowden Switzer, to whom he had been married for 68 years, as well as his two sons, eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. George Switzer (mineralogist) George Shirley Switzer (June 11, 1915 – March 23, 2008) was an American mineralogist who is credited with starting the Smithsonian Institution's famed National Gem and Mineral Collection by acquiring the Hope Diamond for the museum in 1958. Switzer made"
"Portrait Galleries, and the Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) was opened. New wings were added to the National Museum of Natural History, the Hope Diamond was donated by Harry Winston, and the Fénykövi elephant was unveiled in the rotunda of the Natural History Museum. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory was revitalized and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1957, when Sputnik was launched, the observatory was the only US lab capable of tracking the Soviet satellite. After the death of a visitor at the National Zoological Park, Carmichael sought additional funding for major improvements to"
"Gachalá Emerald The Gachalá Emerald, one of the most valuable and famous emeralds in the world, was found in the year 1967, in the mine called Vega de San Juan, located in Gachala, a town in Colombia, located from Bogota. Gachalá Chibcha means ""place of Gacha."" Presently the emerald is in the United States, where it was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by the New York City jeweler, Harry Winston. The emerald was named in honor of Gachalá, the municipality of Cundinamarca where it was found. The emerald is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,"
"the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. and was on display from April 18, 2007 until September 23, 2007. At the time, Jeffrey E. Post, the museum`s gem curator, said that this was the largest diamond on display in the U.S. The famous Hope Diamond is only 45.5 carats, which is about one-third the mass of the Tiffany Yellow Diamond. The diamond is known to have been worn by only two women during its lifetime. It was worn by Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse at the 1957 Tiffany Ball held in Newport, Rhode Island, mounted for the occasion in"
"a permanent display. Thousands of his designs remain in the Harry Winston archives and ""provides a creative spark to ignite new interpretations of Harry Winston jewels for the next generations"". Shinde married Anu in 1940. They had six sons and 10 grandchildren. He had a large circle of close friends, loved Indian classical music and spicy food. He died on 8 April 2003 of pneumonia which he contracted in a Manhattan hospital. A Shinde painting of a necklace illustrates his mastery of the art of jewelry designing. Nirav Modi is said to have emulated him by having prominent stars wear"
"an agreement to sell its luxury brand diamond jewelry and timepiece division, Harry Winston Inc., to The Swatch Group Ltd. The transaction included the brand and all the activities related to jewelry and watches, including the 535 employees worldwide and the production company in Geneva (Switzerland). The company bought the flawless blue diamond The Winston Blue on 15May 2014. Harry Winston, Inc. Harry Winston, Inc. is an American luxury jeweler and producer of Swiss timepieces. Named after its founder, the jeweler Harry Winston, the company has its headquarters in New York City. Harry Winston is a wholly owned subsidiary of"
"caused by the comets. Since the auction some private collectors of cognac have announced plans to sell their collection. Bay Van Der Bunt of the Old Liquor Company has stated his intention to sell his cognac collection for 5 million British Pounds, he told the media that his most prized cognac is an 1842 Croizet. Cognac Croizet's famous 1858 cognac, Cuvée Leonie was recently the main base used to make the world's most expensive cocktail, The Winston which is now recognized by the Guinness World Records as such.This cocktail was sold for 12,500 Australian Dollars in Melbourne, Australia at Club"
"of Natural History, in accordance with DeYoung's wishes. The Smithsonian received the diamond in 1987; it was mailed to the Smithsonian uninsured in an ordinary box. The diamond, which is protected by bulletproof glass in the Hall of Gems, is the only red diamond on public display; all the others are privately owned. Another diamond given by DeYoung in 1962, a 2.90-carat pear-shaped pink diamond obtained from Williamson mine in Tanzania, is displayed alongside the red diamond. DeYoung Red Diamond The DeYoung Red Diamond is a 5.03-carat unmounted rare red diamond. It is the third-largest red diamond in the world,"
"Curse of Scotland The Curse of Scotland is a nickname used for the Nine of Diamonds playing card. The expression has been used at least since the early 18th century, and many putative explanations have been given for the origin of this nickname for the card. In a book printed in London in 1708, ""The British Apollo, or, Curious amusements for the ingenious"", a question is posed: Q. ""Why is the"" Nine of Diamonds ""called"" the curse of Scotland? A. Diamonds as the Ornamental Jewels of a Regnal Crown, imply no more in the above-nam'd Proverb than a mark of"
"at Sotheby's where it was bought by Ronald Winston of the House of Harry Winston for the price of $1.3 million. It is currently estimated to be valued at $3 million. Formerly referred to simply as the 5.54 Vivid Orange, Winston named the diamond ""The Pumpkin Diamond"" as he bought it the day before Halloween. After buying the Pumpkin, Winston proceeded to have the diamond set in a ring between two smaller white diamonds. Halle Berry wore the ring to the 2002 Oscars where she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in ""Monster's Ball"". While it"
"On March 9, 1962, Walton died in a car crash en route to a coin show. He had promised the show's promoters that he would exhibit the 1913 Liberty Head nickel there, so it was assumed to have been among the coins in his possession at the time of the fatal crash. US$250,000 worth of coins were recovered from the crash site, including the 1913 Liberty nickel, which was protected in a custom-made holder. When Walton's heirs put his coins up for public auction in 1963, the nickel was returned to them, because the auction house had mistakenly determined the"
"removed and re-set into a brooch. The brooch was featured with matching earrings in that year's Christmas catalogue. It remained with the company until 1955, when it was purchased by Janet Annenberg Hooker, a philanthropic heiress and the emerald's namesake, for an undisclosed price. In 1977, Hooker donated the brooch, then valued at US$500,000, to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.. The brooch was the first gift by Hooker to the museum, and was followed by the donation of the Hooker Starburst Diamonds, and by a cash donation of $5,000,000 towards the construction of a new gallery for the display"