Smithsonian Inspired Jewelry to Appear on QVC

Sterling silver ring set with a 15-ct. London blue topaz heart, surrounded by blue diamonds and held into place by two fleur de lis prongs containing white diamonds (total diamond weight 0.40 ct.). Designed by Judith Ripka and inspired by the Smithsonian’s Blue Heart diamond.

Jewelry based on the gems and minerals in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s National Gem Collection is scheduled to premiere on QVC Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. This is the first time the Smithsonian has offered licensed products through a multimedia retailer.

Ring made with Smithsonite, a mineral named after the Institution’s founder James Smithson.

Gemologist Christine Webb (a 13-year veteran of the gems and minerals department in the museum) is scheduled to appear during the broadcast to present a range of jewelry designed exclusively for QVC. The museum’s collection of 10,000 gems and 350,000 minerals serves as the inspiration for the Smithsonian jewelry line. The pieces—including rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings and pendants; created from selected gemstones, sterling silver and 14k gold—will be priced from $65 to $950.

Sterling sliver, turquoise and white topaz lever back earrings, inspired by the Smithsonian’s Empress Marie Louise diadem.

The jewelry line features a ring made with Smithsonite, a mineral named after the Institution’s founder James Smithson (1754-1829); a sterling, turquoise and white topaz ring and earrings inspired by jewelry given to Empress Marie-Louise from Napoleon; and a turquoise pendant with a stone mined from Bisbee, Ariz. Also being offered is a limited-edition heart-shaped sterling blue topaz ring by jewelry designer Judith Ripka as a tribute to the 100th anniversary of the cutting of the Blue Heart diamond.

Sterling silver with pear-shaped citrines graduated in color and size, inspired by a tsavorite necklace in the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection (total gem weight, 11.15 ct.)

“Every piece was inspired by something in the collection,” said Carol LeBlanc, director, consumer products, Smithsonian Enterprises. “Whether it was the design, style, gemstone or color. The goal is to use the treasures in the Institution as design inspiration for a modern jewelry line.”

Inspired by a ring housed in the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection, this ring highlights the many beautiful colors of minerals. It is a choice of heliodor (yellow beryl) and yellow sapphires set in 14k yellow gold or morganite (pink beryl) and pink sapphires set in 14k rose gold. (total gem weight, 2.40 ct.).

The two-hour program, “Smithsonian Institution: National Gem Gallery,” will include behind-the-scenes footage of the museum’s gem and mineral halls, interviews with Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection, and rarely seen shots from inside the vault, which houses many of the rare gems not on display.

Packaging for the Smithsonian line of QVC jewelry.

The next Smithsonian program on QVC is scheduled for early December and will focus on some of the more iconic pieces of jewelry found in the collection, such as Marie Antoinette’s earrings, the Napoleon necklace and the Hope diamond. This two-hour show is scheduled to be broadcast live from the Smithsonian Castle.

An Afternoon with the Hope and Wittelsbach-Graff Diamonds

Gary Roskin's "Evening with the Blues" presentation at AGTA GemFair

Gary Roskin, one of the world’s leading gemologists as well as a longtime educator and writer, was one of 10 gem experts who examined and photographed the Hope and Wittelsbach-Graff diamonds—the most famous blue diamonds in the world—to determine whether their origins were the same.

The event took place Jan. 21, 2010, inside the “Blue Room” (the outer-room of the gems and minerals vault) of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Roskin documented the event and has been writing about it on his website, the Roskin Gem News Report, in series titled, “An Evening with the Blues.” More recently, he brought this story to life during a presentation at AGTA GemFair Tucson. Below are seven video excerpts from that presentation.

Cindy Chao’s Masterpiece Royal Butterfly Added to Smithsonian Gem Collection

Masterpiece Royal Butterfly, front view.

Cindy Chao has made a bit of history by becoming the first Taiwanese jewelry designer to have a work included into the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of Natural History.

Chao’s Masterpiece Royal Butterfly will be added to the museum’s celebrated gem collection on March 5 in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals. The 2009 creation, part of Chao’s Black Label collection, was gifted to the museum by the artist.

The Royal Butterfly is composed of 2,328 gems, totaling 77 carats. The brooch is set with fancy-colored and color-changing sapphires (16.64cts.), rubies (8.74cts.), diamonds (19.67cts.), rough diamonds (16.63cts.), emerald-cut diamonds (1.64cts.), yellow diamonds (4.75cts.), fancy-colored diamonds (4.75cts.), and tsavorite garnets. The centerpieces of the butterfly’s wings contain four large faceted diamond slices stacked atop a pave layer of faceted diamonds, creating a pattern resembling the microstructure and scale of a living butterfly’s wings.

Masterpiece Royal Butterfly, back view.

When viewed under ultraviolet light, the brooch evokes what the Smithsonian describes as a “surreal quality,” with many of the gemstones appearing fluorescent and animate through an array of bright colors and reflected light. While some gems may appear colorless in daylight, under ultraviolet light they can burn a bright blue or green. Others burn a fiery orange or red.

Since the piece will be viewed by daylight, images of the Royal Butterfly under ultraviolet light will be featured on the museum’s website.

“The awe-inspiring array of colorful and glistening gems are indicative of Cindy Chao’s masterful designs,” said Jeff Post, curator of the museum’s Gems and Minerals collection. “She has artfully combined design, gem and setting to create a unique, exquisite jeweled butterfly.”

Chao’s artistry, her attention to detail and her architectural understanding is gained from her father who is a sculptor and her grandfather who was a noted Taiwanese architect.

She founded her company, Cindy Chao The Art Jewel, in 2004. In 2007, she became the first Taiwanese jewelry artist to take part in a Christie’s New York fine jewelry auction. Chao’s Black Label Masterpieces consist of one-of-kind jewelry artworks, limited to 36 pieces per year. Each Masterpiece is handcrafted over a period of at least two years, working from an original sketch and a wax mold and with rare, fine gemstones, which ultimately forges the three-dimensional works of art. Chao is considered by many to be one of the world’s most outstanding contemporary jewelry artisans, whose collections are pursued globally by influential and expert art connoisseurs.

“I believe that a piece of jewelry can reflect the history of an era, and being inducted into a leading institution like the Smithsonian is a dream for any artist, Chao said. “It is humbling to know that millions of visitors will be able to experience the Black Label Masterpiece Royal Butterfly brooch and be exposed to my art of high jewelry craftsmanship and creativity.”

Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page, on Twitter @JewelryNewsNet and on the Forbes Web site.