The Dom Pedro aquamarine is the world's largest cut aquamarine gem. It was cut from a crystal originally weighing approximately and measuring more than in length. The stone was mined in Pedra Azul, in the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

around 1980, and named after the Brazilian emperors Pedro I and Pedro II. The blue-green gemstone was cut by Bernd Munsteiner into an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

form weighing 10,363 carats. The finished dimensions measure tall by wide. The jewel was donated to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

by Jane Mitchell and Jeffery Bland. It is housed in the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7. ...

's Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology.

References

{{reflist Jewellery in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution Individual gemstones

See also

References