The American Museum of Natural History”™s opened its highly anticipated”¯Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation”¯May 4, featuring lofty architecture, new exhibit galleries, next-generation classrooms and state-of-the-art scientific research and collections facilities. But that”™s not all the museum ”“ famed for its “dino-mite” dinosaurs and dioramas, beguiling butterflies, transporting planetarium and “nights at the museum” (inspired by the films) ”“ is known for. Along with fun exhibits on subjects like baseball, the museum has long had mouth-watering shows on amber, pearls, gold, diamonds and other luxe geological themes.
Now the museum turns its attention to all kinds of green stones in “Garden of Green: Exquisite Jewelry from the Collection of Van Cleef & Arpels” ”“ on view through next January in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery, part of the museum”™s”¯Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals ”“ with a celebration of green gemstones as featured in jewelry over the past 100 years. The exhibit includes 44 pieces ”“ 32 of which are on display for the first time in the United States ”“ from the collections of Van Cleef & Arpels, a French maison that has”¯designed jewelry and watches inspired by nature”™s lightness, proportions, creatures and colors since its founding in 1906.
”¯“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our visitors to see these truly spectacular jewelry pieces, and we are so grateful to Van Cleef & Arpels for collaborating with the museum to bring them to New York audiences,” said new museum President Sean M. Decatur. “We hope that, with their curiosity piqued, our visitors will explore further throughout the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals and enjoy learning about the physical properties of gems and minerals, their intriguing qualities and what they tell us about our planet and its history.”
”¯“While the most well-known green gems are emerald and peridot,”¯”˜Garden of Green”™”¯brings additional green stones, with their beautiful, diverse shades, into the spotlight,” added George Harlow, curator”¯emeritus”¯of the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals. “Green stones and minerals owe their unique colors and patterns to various causes ”“ malachite from the copper in its chemical composition, and peridot from the minor quantity and ionic charge of iron in the stone ”“ and each specimen in this exhibit is a beautiful example of the amazing products of natural Earth processes.”
”¯“The maison is thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to be associated with the American Museum of Natural History,” added Nicolas Bos, president and CEO, Van Cleef & Arpels.
“It has been stimulating to curate significant pieces of very high quality around this striking theme ”“ the color green ”“ which can speak to all visitors, curious and connoisseurs alike.”
If the Museum of Natural History is seeing green these days, another august institution across Central Park from the museum is seeing blue ”“ and not just Tiffany blue. Tiffany & Co. has just released “Blue Book 2023: Out of the Blue,” the latest expression of the brand’s high jewelry collection and the first designed by Nathalie Verdeille, the company”™s chief artistic officer of jewelry and high jewelry. The pieces celebrate iconic Tiffany designer Jean Schlumberger and his fascination with the sea”™s fantastical creatures, like the whimsical jellyfish seen here. For more about the Blue Book Collection, call a Tiffany Diamond Expert at”¯800-518-5555.
