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SourcingNov 29, 2016
A ‘Rare’ Glimpse of Brilliance Coming to LA
L.J. West Diamonds is partnering with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County on an exhibition of natural colored diamonds called “Diamonds: Rare Brilliance.”
The 1.64-carat Victorian Orchid Vivid Purple Diamond is one of the gems that will be on display for “Diamonds: Rare Brilliance,” an exhibition of natural colored diamonds that is slated to open next month at Los Angeles’ Natural History Museum.
Los Angeles--A brilliant display of natural colored diamonds will be on view at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles beginning next month.
Called “Diamonds: Rare Brilliance,” the exhibition is comprised of stones from the collection of New York-based L.J. West Diamonds, a company that’s been in the colored diamond business for nearly 40 years.
It is comprised of:
The Juliet Pink Diamond, an oval-shaped 30.03-carat fancy intense pink of VVS2 clarity that was cut from an estimated 90-carat rough from South Africa;
The Argyle Violet, the 2.83-carat oval shaped-diamond that is the biggest violet diamond to ever come out of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Australia;
The Rainbow Necklace, which features more than 100 rare diamonds of all colors and weighs nearly 36 carats; and
The Victorian Orchid Vivid Purple Diamond, a 1.64-carat fancy vivid purple diamond of SI2 clarity (bought in partnership with and cut and polished by Rio Diamond Corp.).
Diamonds: Rare Brilliance begins Dec. 16 and runs through March 19, 2017.
The 2.83-carat Argyle Violet is the biggest violet diamond ever found at the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia. It is color graded as a fancy deep grayish-blue and was cut from a 9.17-carat piece of rough.
The 30.03-carat Juliet Pink Diamond is a fancy intense, VVS2 stone that’s been cut into an oval shape. It is a set into a necklace with 98.70 carats of marquise, pear and round-cut white diamonds that are E to F in color and VVS clarity.
The color of the cushion-cut Victorian Orchid Vivid Purple Diamond is extremely rare, L.J. West Diamonds said. It is a fancy vivid purple diamond of SI2 clarity and will appear in the exhibition set in a flower designer platinum ring setting.
In an interview earlier this month about his company’s purchase of the Argyle Violet, L.J. West Diamonds President Larry West said of the exhibition, “Nobody’s ever seen stones like this, and I think it’s important for them to be out there in the public domain. It makes it more real for people; it’s not just a story.”
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more details on visiting, go to NHM.org.
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