Who wouldn’t love a fancy red diamond?
The National History Museum unveiled the Winston Red Diamond during a special event Tuesday morning.
The new display containing the Winston Red is located in the same entry gallery as the legendary Hope Diamond. What a dramatic welcome to the world’s largest display of gems and minerals!
“But wait a minute. I thought diamonds were crystal clear. So what makes some colored?”
It depends. The famous Hope Diamond’s rich blue coloring comes from an additional element in its chemical makeup called boron. But the Winston Red doesn’t contain any other elements.
So, how do you get additional color without adding anything?
According to the Smithsonian Magazine, the answer is plastic deformation during gem formation. This alters the diamond structure, reflecting back the red light we see. Because of this difficult process, red and pink diamonds are the rarest type on earth.
The Winston Fancy Red Diamond is displayed in the center of a rainbow arc of other, smaller colored diamonds of the fancy color grading title.
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History draws you in visually to tell you the stories of how these diamonds get their unusual colors.
Located on the 2nd floor in the entry gallery of the Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals. For more information about hours and visiting, check out the museum website.
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