Loan for the "PRECIOUS STONES" exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History of Paris

From Septembre 16, 2020 to August 22, 2021: "PRECIOUS STONES" EXHIBIT

at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris

For the special temporary exhibit "PRECIOUS STONES" at the National Museum of Natural History of Paris, our museum loaned 12 gem crystals. These minerals were spread out through the exhibition, displaying rocks, minerals, gems and jewelery.

About the exhibit:

"Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, aquamarines, turquoise etc... Extracted from the depths of the Earth, coveted and sought after for thousands of years, gems (precious stones worked on by human hands) have always been considered as instruments of power and objects of seduction. Furthermore, since the 18th century, they have become the subject of various scientific studies.

The PRECIOUS STONES exhibition brougth together over 500 minerals, gems and objets d'art from the Natural History Museum’s collections and more than 200 gems and jewelry creations from the House of Van Cleef & Arpels. This unprecedented link between minerals, gems and jewelry, structures the tour, immersing visitors in the history of the Earth, the processes of mineral formation and the latest scientific advances in geoscience. It also allows visitors to marvel at the most beautiful creations fashioned by humans and created from natural diversity.

The exhibition was created and presented by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (the National Museum of Natural History) in partnership with Van Cleef & Arpels.

PHOTO GALLERY OF OUR GEM CRYSTALS IN THE "PRECIOUS STONES" EXHIBIT

The peridot display case in the "Precious Stones" exhibit at the MNHN. At the bottom, a French basalt containing peridodite xenoliths with large crystals of oliving (collection of MINES Paris, ENSMP 80147). Notice that crystals 4 (from Pakistan) and 5 (from Saint John's Island, Egypte, enlarge photo below) are also from our collection.© Musée de Minéralogie MINES Paris / E. Gaillou.

Star of the peridot display case, our olivine crystal from Saint John's Island, Red Sea, Egypt (ENSMP 6352). © Musée de Minéralogie MINES Paris / E. Gaillou.

The ruby display case, with our crystal of ruby from Mogok, Myanmar in position 6 (ENSMP 5743), and a ruby on marble in position 2 (ENSMP 46708) from Luc Yen, Vietnam (en photo ci-dessous). © Musée de Minéralogie MINES Paris / E. Gaillou.

Ruby on white marble from Luc Yen, Vietman (ENSMP 46078) presented in the ruby display case in the "PRECIOUS STONES" exhibit at the MNHN. © Musée de Minéralogie MINES Paris / E. Gaillou.

The fancy sapphire display case in the "PRECIOUS STONES" exhibit at the MNHN. In position 1 (bottom right), a bi-color sapphire from Madagascar, from our collection (ENSMP 83013, enlarged photo below). © Musée de Minéralogie MINES Paris / E. Gaillou.

Bi color sapphire from Madagascar, from our collection (ENSMP 83013). © Musée de Minéralogie MINES Paris / E. Gaillou.

Emerald display case in the "Precious Stones" exhibit at the MNHN. In position 1 (bottom left) a large crystal of emerald on schist matrix, coming from Russia, from our collection (ENSMP 6286). © Musée de Minéralogie MINES Paris / E. Gaillou.

Zoom on the emerald on schist matrix coming from Takoyava, Malyshevo, Sverdlvovsk, Russia (ENSMP 6286). © Musée de Minéralogie MINES Paris / E. Gaillou.

The opal display case with two of our samples at the bottom of the case. 1: precious opal from Australia (26344). 2: rhyolite with opal nodules of different colors, coming from Mexico (ENSMP 16209). © Musée de Minéralogie MINES Paris / E. Gaillou.

Zoom on the large (38 cm in length) slide of precious opal from Australia from our collection (ENSMP 26344). © Musée de Minéralogie MINES Paris / E. Gaillou.