New Hope Diamond Setting Chosen

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Sep 24th 2009 at 11:01PM

The Hope Diamond has gone naked. The 45.5 carat blue stone has been released from its setting in order to be prepared to its temporary new outfit. Last month I mentioned that there were three potential settings being considered for the stone to mark the 50th anniversary of its donation to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History by jeweler Harry Winston. One was chosen, the Embracing Hope setting shown above. Embracing Hope received 45,000 out of a total 110,000 votes cast. The Hope will be on display by itself for the next few months while the setting is prepared by Harry Winston's team of jewelers. The legendary sparkler will then be shown in its glamorous new attire. The diamond will return to its own setting, a platinum setting surrounded by 16 pear-shaped and cushion-cut diamonds suspended from a diamond-set chain, in late 2010.

Tags: hope diamond, HopeDiamond, smithsonian