The Nature of Diamonds Exhibition at Royal Ontario Museum

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) will soon play host to The Nature of Diamonds, an exhibit “on the allure of diamonds.” The exhibition explores the ongoing fascination with diamonds, with an examination of it as a natural substance, of its geologic origins, of its cultural significance in art, literature and ornamentation and its uses in modern science and technology.

The Nature of Diamonds, organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the ROM; the Houston Museum of Natural Science and The Field Museum, Chicago, showcases approximately 500 items, from private collections and major museums.

Lenders to the exhibition include Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels and the ROM’s presenting sponsor, De Beers Canada.

The exhibit is comprised of seven sections, each focused on different qualities of the diamonds. These are: What is Diamond? The Source of Diamonds on Earth; Historical Galleries; Diamond Sources and Diamond Exploration and Mining; Gem Vault; Four Cs and Diamonds in Industry, Science and Technology.

Highlights of the exhibition include ROM’s own oil painting of Marie de Medici, Queen of France (1573-1642), who, in the painting, is adorned with diamonds upon diamonds of jewels and a 15-cm long shoulder brooch formerly owned by Sir Elton John. The brooch, composed of rough old-cut diamonds and platinum, was originally produced as a special order by Cartier, New York in 1928.

The exhibition at the ROM will run October 25 to March 22.