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It Is Hard to Be a Gem in a Rhinestone World: a Diamond Museum Collection Between History and Science

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Abstract

The goal of this work is to investigate the diamond collection preserved at the Natural History Museum of the University of Firenze (MSN-FI) using a multidisciplinary approach. The mixed methods combine historical research with spectroscopic techniques to gain a deeper understanding of this collection of great historical, scientific and gemmological interest. This study concerns the analysis of 61 diamonds that are relatively small in both size and weight, mostly unworked and sometimes rich in inclusions. These specimens were acquired by MSN-FI from diverse collectors and institutions from 1824 until the most recent acquisitions in the 1990s. The FTIR spectroscopy was performed on 45 specimens. The results show the physical classification of diamonds in three groups (IaAB, IaA, and IaB) and reveal the presence of hydrogen as ethylene -CH = CH- or vinylidene > C = CH2 group.

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Notes

  1. The Medicean Collection of Worked Stones encompasses more than 700 precious and semi-precious stones, both carved and polished, that were collected by the members of the Medici family from the fifteenth century onwards. This collection of great historical and scientific value is described in Fantoni and Poggi (2012).

  2. Archivio Museo Galileo (AMG), ARMU Affari 022, Carteggio della Direzione, aprile 1809-novembre 1812, cc. 35– 37.

  3. AMG, ARMU Spese 008, Spese e contabilità gennaio-dicembre 1787, n. 48; ARMU Spese 009, Spese e contabilità, gennaio-dicembre 1788, n. 41; ARMU Spese 010, Spese e contabilità gennaio-dicembre 1789, n. 27; ARMU Affari 013, Carteggio della Direzione, febbraio 1798—dicembre 1799, doc. 48–49.

  4. Historical Archive, Natural History Museum of the University of Firenze (Section of Mineralogy and Lithology) (), Mineralogia. Aumenti dal luglio 1860 al 31 dicembre 1874, p. 45.

  5. HA-MSN-FI, Lista della collezione di diamanti grezzi, 22 febbraio 1869. Libemann described the diamonds specimens as follows: 1 diamant brut blanc, 1 bis diamant taille blanc, 2 diamant brut 2′ blanc, 2 bis diamant taillé 2′ blanc, 3 diamant brut seconde eau, 3 bis diamant taillé second eau, 4 diamant brut jaune, 4 bis diamant taillè jaune, 5 diamant brut brun clair, 5bis diamant taillè brun clair, 6 diamant brut, mauvais jaune, 7 diamant brut, vert, 8 diamant brut, vert foncé, 9 diamant brut, vert jaune, 10 diamant brut brune moins clair, 11 diamant brut 3′ brune, 12 diamant brut 2′ jumelles, 13 diamant brut, brun noir, 14 diamant brut, brun foncé, 15 diamant brut, brun plus foncé, 16 diamant brut, brun très foncé, 17 diamant brut, brun jaune, 18 diamant brut, jaune, 19 diamant brut, jaune brun, 20 diamant brut, jaune citron, 21 diamant brut, absinthe, 22 diamant brut jaune foncé, 23 diamant brut klivé blanc (pour tailler les roses), 24 diamant brut klivé second eau (pour roses), 25 diamant brut klivé verdatre, 26 diamant brut klivé vert, 27 bort, and 28 carboune.

  6. AMG, ARMU Affari 076, Carteggio della Direzione, febbraio 1864—gennaio 1870, aff. 21, c. 284 and c. 231; ARMU Affari 085, Carteggio della Direzione, novembre 1868—dicembre 1869, aff. 29, c. 297. On the use of the medals with the portrait of Galileo. On the medals representing the Galileo’s portrait see Tognoni (2007).

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully thank the Editor in Chief — Prof. Kevin Page — and the anonymous reviewer for their useful comments and suggestions. Thanks are also due to the Sistema Museale of the University of Firenze for having provided the access to the geo-mineralogical collections.

Funding

This work has benefited of the financial support of Fondo Finanziamento Ateneo Ricerca di Base anno 2022.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy

    Giovanni Pratesi & Annarita Franza

  2. School of Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences, University of Firenze, V. G.B. Morgagni 40– 44, 50134, Firenze, Italy

    Elena Lascialfari

  3. Natural History Museum, University of Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy

    Luciana Fantoni

  4. Gems and Jewels Laboratory – Efferre Srl, Via delle Terme 9, 50123, Firenze, Italy

    Francesca Malesani & Asami Hirata

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  1. Giovanni Pratesi
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  2. Annarita Franza
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Correspondence to Giovanni Pratesi.

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Pratesi, G., Franza, A., Lascialfari, E. et al. It Is Hard to Be a Gem in a Rhinestone World: a Diamond Museum Collection Between History and Science. Geoheritage 13, 103 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-021-00624-1

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