The Spanish Inquisition Necklace

One doesn’t normally associate beautifulBeryls are normally clear crystals, but when
jewelry with the time of the Spanish Inquisition.infused with chromium or vanadium, they attain
But in the Smithsonian Institution’s collectionvarious gradations of green. The purest green are
of gems, there is an exquisite necklace ofthe rarest emeralds and many people actually
diamonds and emeralds.prefer an emerald that has a blue-green tint.
It is a spectacular double row of diamonds andBefore the 16th century, the only known emerald
emeralds ending in a chandelier of emeralds. Theredeposits were in Cleopatra’s Egyptian mines.
is unfortunately very little information about theBut after emeralds were discovered in Columbia,
provenance of this necklace. The large diamondsthose became the “gold standard” in
and Columbian emeralds were most likely cut inemeralds. Columbian emeralds have been
India in the 17th century. This would make themdiscovered by archaeologists among artifacts of
one of the earliest examples of cut gemstones insuch tribes as the Inca, Maya, Aztec, Toltec and
the Smithsonian’s Collection. There are reallythe lesser-known Chibcha Indians. Emeralds are
only legends surrounding this necklace. Theyamong the rarest of gemstones and can be more
indicate that it was worn at times by Spanish andexpensive per carat than even the finest
French royalty. In the early 20th century, it wasdiamonds! They are a hard mineral, with a
purchased by the Maharajah of Indore, whoseMoh’s hardness scale of 7 or 8 (compared to
son sold the necklace in 1947 to Harry Winston.a diamond’s 10). While most emeralds are
Winston subsequently sold the necklace to Mrs.found in Africa, Russia and Africa, there have
Cora Hubbard Williams of Pittsburgh. Shebeen discoveries of emerald deposits in North
bequeathed it to the Smithsonian in 1972.Carolina!
Emeralds are a form of crystal known as beryls.