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The Logan Sapphire is a
sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...
from
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. One of the largest blue
facet Facets () are flat faces on geometric shapes. The organization of naturally occurring facets was key to early developments in crystallography, since they reflect the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure. Gemstones commonly have facets cut ...
ed sapphires in the world, it was owned by Sir Victor Sassoon and then purchased by M. Robert Guggenheim as a gift for his wife, Rebecca Pollard Guggenheim, who donated the sapphire 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". Founded ...
in 1960. The sapphire's name is derived from Rebecca's new surname after she later married John A. Logan. It has been on display in the National Gem Collection of 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 ...
in Washington, D.C., since 1971. It is a mixed cushion-cut sapphire, approximately the size of a large chicken egg, and set in a silver and gold
brooch A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with vitreous enamel, ...
surrounded by 20 round
brilliant Brilliant may refer to: Music * ''Brilliant'' (album), a 2012 album by Ultravox *Brilliant (band), a British pop/rock group active in the 1980s * "Brilliant" (song), a song by D'espairsRay *Brilliant Classics, Dutch classical music record label * ...
-cut
diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
s.


Description

The Logan Sapphire weighs and is approximately the size of a large chicken egg, measuring . It is a mixed cushion-cut
sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...
(having a rounded rectangular shape) and is blue with slight shades of violet. The cut is designed to highlight its color rather than to improve its brilliance. In 1997, the
Gemological Institute of America The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and ...
determined that the Logan Sapphire's color was natural and that it had not previously undergone
heat treatment Heat treating (or heat treatment) is a group of industrial, thermal and metalworking processes used to alter the physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common application is metallurgical. Heat treatments are also ...
, a technique that is sometimes used to enhance the color or mechanical properties of gemstones. It fluoresces reddish-orange when exposed to
ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...
radiation. This phenomemon, as well as the slight violet tones, indicates trace amounts of the element
chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...
in the sapphire's structure. The Logan Sapphire is one of the largest blue
facet Facets () are flat faces on geometric shapes. The organization of naturally occurring facets was key to early developments in crystallography, since they reflect the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure. Gemstones commonly have facets cut ...
ed sapphires in the world.
Rutile Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer Polymorphism (materials science), polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite. Rutile has one of the highest ...
inclusions, commonly found inside
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
n sapphires, are visible inside the gemstone. It is set in a silver and gold
brooch A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with vitreous enamel, ...
and surrounded by 20 round
brilliant Brilliant may refer to: Music * ''Brilliant'' (album), a 2012 album by Ultravox *Brilliant (band), a British pop/rock group active in the 1980s * "Brilliant" (song), a song by D'espairsRay *Brilliant Classics, Dutch classical music record label * ...
cut
diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
s. In total, the diamonds weigh approximately . The diamonds were likely taken from an antique bracelet or necklace. A 1958 article in ''
Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
'' by Rebecca Pollard Guggenheim, its owner at the time, suggests that it was set in the brooch sometime after she had acquired it several years earlier, but further details of its setting are unknown.


History

The sapphire was mined from Sri Lanka. It is a "Ceylon sapphire", a term derived from the former name of Sri Lanka, and likely originates from
Ratnapura Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located ...
, known as the "City of Gems". A New York jeweler who possessed the sapphire claimed that its first owner was a Sri Lankan native who was beheaded for withholding his discovery from his leader, but this story is likely fabricated. One of the sapphire's early owners was Sir Victor Sassoon, 3rd Baronet of Bombay, a member of the wealthy
Sassoon family The Sassoon family, known as "Rothschilds of the East" due to the immense wealth they accumulated in finance and trade, are a family of Baghdadi Jewish descent. Originally based in Baghdad, Iraq, they later moved to Bombay, India, and then emig ...
. According 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". Founded ...
, the Sassoons may have acquired the sapphire from an Indian
maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
. It was exhibited at the
1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...
. Sassoon planned to auction the sapphire in 1941 to raise money for the British war effort during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, but the auction did not take place. In the early 1950s, the American diplomat M. Robert Guggenheim purchased the sapphire from Sassoon. He gave it to his wife, Rebecca Pollard Guggenheim, as a Christmas and anniversary present in 1952. In ''Ladies' Home Journal'', she recalled her reaction upon seeing it: "I was simply overcome. ..It's simply not a stone you could wear casually. All I could think was, I'll never be able to wear it. And of course, I loved it." She often wore it on a clip at formal events, but the sapphire was so heavy that she had to wear it with a shoulder strap. In December 1960, a year after Robert's death, Rebecca deeded four-sevenths of it to the Smithsonian Institution, and the remaining portion the following year. This transaction was only in deed; the sapphire was not physically divided, and it was not publicly exhibited until almost a decade later. She wanted it to be reserved to be worn only by the
First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...
"at such state and other occasions as may be appropriate", though it has never been used for this purpose. Rebecca Guggenheim changed her surname to Logan in 1962 after marrying John A. Logan, a management consultant, and the sapphire became known as the "Logan Sapphire". It was the first of several gifts from wealthy donors that came after the Smithsonian's acquisition of the
Hope Diamond The Hope Diamond is a diamond originally extracted in the 17th century from the Kollur Mine in Guntur, India. It is blue in color due to trace amounts of boron. Its exceptional size has revealed new information about the formation of diamonds. ...
in 1958; another was the
Napoleon Diamond Necklace The Napoleon Diamond Necklace is a diamond necklace commissioned by Napoleon I of France c. 1811–1812 from the Paris-based jeweler Marie-Étienne Nitot. It is currently on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Was ...
. The Logan Sapphire was physically transferred to the Smithsonian in April 1971. According to Paul Desautels, the museum's curator at the time, Logan finally parted ways with the sapphire because it reminded her of her late husband's extramarital affairs. Since 1971, the Logan Sapphire has been on display in the National Gem Collection of 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 ...
in Washington, D.C. (catalog number NMNH G3703-00). It is the largest and heaviest mounted gem in the collection.


See also

*
List of sapphires by size This is a list of sapphires by size. Sapphire Sapphires are a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminum oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper, or magnesium. It is ...
*
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 alexandrite ...


References

{{Named sapphires Gems of Sri Lanka Individual brooches Individual sapphires Jewellery in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution