After displaying a love for diamonds for many years, mineralogist George Switzer dies at the age of 92 after battling pneumonia. Switzer is known in the world of diamonds by starting the vast collection of gems and diamonds at the Smithsonian. Switzer became well known after acquiring the legendary Hope Diamond and donating it to the Smithsonian.
Switzer was also known for analyzing rocks that came from the moon. His love for rocks extended further than those from outer space. He enjoyed learning about and studying diamonds and gems his whole life. He became well known when he started the national collection at the Smithsonian in 1958. The Hope Diamond was the talk of the town and the New York City jewelry merchant worked with Harry Winston in getting the Smithsonian collection started with this 45 carat diamond.
The stories that surrounded the Hope Diamond before Dr. Switzer acquired it are more than interesting to say the least. There are times when the diamond was missing and no one knew its location. There are stories that it passed through the hands of three kings. Queen Marie Antoinette also wore it at one time. In 1792, it was stolen during a looting of crown jewels. Eventually King George IV of England ended up with the diamond. King George didn’t have it for very long because in 1839 it ended up in the collection Henry Philip Hope, heir to the British banking fortune. This diamond was said to be cursed. Many things happened to those that held onto it. One example is Marie Antoinette, who lost her head after having the diamond.
George Switzer helped the Hope Diamond to become one of the biggest attractions at the Smithsonian. Today you can find at least 15,000 gems, 350 mineral specimens, and 300,000 rock and ore specimens. The Hope diamond is only part of a necklace that is surrounded in a pendant with more than 16 diamonds. The necklace contains more than 45 diamonds in all. After the Hope Diamond was placed in the museum, the collection soon began to grow. The collaboration of Mr. Winston and Dr. Switzer to display the diamond was an excellent one. Mr. Winston was able to acquire it after his father struck it rich in a Western gold rush. Switzer approached him and shared his dream of starting a national gem collection.
The curse of the diamond may have been carried on through the family of Dr. Switzer. As he carried the diamond to Paris for a showing, the plane that he traveling on almost lost a wing in a troublesome landing in Pittsburgh. Luckily for Switzer, the “Hope” was safety pinned to the inside of his pants pocket. About nine hours later, the car that Dr. Switzer was riding in was involved in a car accident as he traveling to the opening of the exhibition.
The collection is visited by millions of people ever year. A recent study done by a team of researchers probed the mysterious phosphorous of the Hope Diamond. Jeffery Post, curator of the National Gem Collection, and a mineralogist, discovered a way to fingerprint individual blue diamonds. What makes the Hope Diamond so unique is that it has a mysterious red phosphorous glow that most blue diamonds do not have. This is one aspect that makes the diamond so mysterious and adds to it mystifying beauty. A study released in January of 2008 explains the allure behind this diamond and its red glow. Although many people do not get to see the red glow that results from ultraviolet light exposure while viewing it at the Smithsonian, it does appear to shine at times for at least one minute or longer. What the researchers found in their study is that all blue diamonds show phosphorous that has red and blue lights. The Hope diamond is one of those cases that the red light out shines the blue light. Specific characteristics of the phosphorous, such as the relative intensities of the blue and red components, help researchers study the blue diamonds. It also provides a fingerprint of each diamond and allows researchers, scientists and gemologists to individually identify each one.
Using the Hope Diamond to study the value of diamonds and how each of the blue diamonds are formed in the Earth is exciting for the scientists. It helps them get vital information and insights on diamonds. Before this study, scientists were using synthetic diamonds to study. This is because the blue diamonds are so rare. The Hope Diamond is the rarest of them all. Thanks to Dr. Switzer’s works, anyone can see the beauty of the rock that has passed between so many hands. The Smithsonian has only let the diamond out of their sight a few times since it has been displayed there.
Dr. Switzer died on March 23, 2008, and the Smithsonian will forever be grateful for his collaboration and ingenious idea to start the national gem collection.
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