November 12th, 2020

In the 1980s, an aquamarine crystal three feet long weighing nearly 100 pounds was discovered in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Unfortunately, the crystal was dropped and broken into three pieces. The mine owner sold two of the pieces to be cut up into gems for jewelry. The largest piece (Image 3) - named the Dom Pedro after the two emperors of Brazil (Dom Pedro I and his son, Dom Pedro II, who ruled during the 19th century) - was acquired by German gem artist Bernd Munsteiner. Munsteiner decided to carve a sculpture from the massive crystal rather than cutting it into gems, even though the latter would've generated more profit. Using an art he pioneered, he crafted a fantasy cut obelisk weighing more than 10,000 carats. The sculpture was described by Smithsonian Magazine as being "shot through with radiant starbursts of astonishing intricacy and precision." The Dom Pedro aquamarine, the largest known single piece of cut gem quality aquamarine in the world, was donated to the Smithsonian by Jane Mitchell and her husband Jeffrey Bland. It is housed in its own display case just 30 feet from the Hope Diamond.
(Image 1) Courtesy: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
(Image 2) Courtesy: Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian Institution
(Image 3) Courtesy: Tom Munsteiner