The Duke of Devonshire Emerald is one of the world's largest and most famous uncut
emeralds, weighing .
Originating in the mine at
Muzo
Muzo () is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is widely known as the world capital of emeralds for the mines containing the world's highest quality gems of this type. Muzo ...
,
Colombia, it was either gifted
[ or sold by Emperor Pedro I of Brazil to ]William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire
William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, (21 May 1790 K. D. Reynolds, ‘Cavendish, William George Spencer, sixth duke of Devonshire (1790–1858)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; ...
in 1831. It was displayed at the Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took p ...
in London in 1851, and more recently at the Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
in 2007.[
]
See also
* Colombian emeralds
Emeralds are green precious gemstones that are mined in various geological settings. They are minerals in the beryl group of silicates. For more than 4,000 years, emeralds have been among the most valuable of all jewels. Colombia, located in n ...
* Muzo
Muzo () is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is widely known as the world capital of emeralds for the mines containing the world's highest quality gems of this type. Muzo ...
* List of individual gemstones
A number of gemstones have gained fame, either because of their size and beauty or because of the people who owned or wore them.
A list of famous gemstones follows.
Alexandrites
* Smithsonian museums' Alexandrite, the largest cut alexandrit ...
* List of emeralds by size
References
{{Colombian emeralds
Individual emeralds
Colombian emeralds