The New Hall Of Gems & Minerals At The AMNH

gem_head
Jun 8, 2021
2 min read

It’s been a while since I last wrote as I haven’t quite been inspired by anything exciting to write about until last week!

I had the wonderful opportunity to preview the redesigned Allison and Roberto Mignone Hall of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History. The hall of minerals at the AMNH is one of my favorite places on earth for obvious reasons. I’ve been super bummed since they closed for renovations in 2017, and have been counting days for the grand re-opening.

The grand opening is everything I hoped for - it is truly spectacular! The exhibit opens to the public on June 12th and I highly recommend a visit to the museum. Also, along with the permanent exhibit, the museum is currently hosting a special temporary exhibit featuring some of the world’s most spectacular high jewelry pieces inspired by animal forms. The temporary exhibit ‘Beautiful Creatures’ is curated by the famed jewelry historian and author Marion Fasel and showcases 120 astonishing pieces of jewelry created during the mid-19th century to present day worn and collected by luminaries such as the Dutches of Windsor, Elizabeth Taylor, Twiggy, Maria Felix and more.

The newly renovated hall features 5,000 specimens from 95 countries including a pair of towering amethyst geodes that are among the world’s largest. And of course the old favorites like the "Star of India" sapphire and the “De Long Star" Ruby are returning to the new exhibit along with many new crystals and faceted mineral specimens.

Swipe: Image 1: Emerald Crystals, Image 2: Subway Garnet, Image 3: Pyrite Crystal, Image 4: Rubilite Crystal

The exhibit is themed ‘evolution of minerals’. It is so well presented, that my husband who does not care for rocks was so engaged and loved the experience. There’s so much more to minerals than just sparkle, and it is amazing to see how this new perspective allows for a different kind of storytelling about both minerals and the history of the planet.

I don’t want to give away too much, but definitely highly recommend everyone to visit, and in time to catch the temporary exhibit Beautiful Creatures to see some of the most incredible, one of a kind jewels by famed masons such as Van Cleef & Arpels, suzanne Belperron, JAR, Cartier, Bulgari, Tiffany&Co. and more.