Millennium Star to Go On Display in London

In what is expected to be the world’s biggest diamonds exhibition, De Beers’ 203.04 carat Millennium Star, together with a several other famous diamonds, will go on display at London’s Natural History Museum next month.

The exhibit, titled ‘Diamonds’, will run from July 8 to February 26, 2006 and is sponsored by Steinmetz, with additional support from the Diamond Trading Company.

The exhibition will focus on the variety of natural colors in diamonds.

The De Beers Millennium Star will be joined by seven other unusual diamonds, including the Steinmetz Pink, the world’s largest fancy vivid pink, a flawless 59.60 carat diamond.

The other six are the yellow Incomparable, which was cut from an 890-carat rough diamond to create a 407.48 carats stone - the third largest cut diamond in existence; the Ocean Dream, the world’s largest natural fancy deep blue-green diamond weighing 5.51 carats; the 5.11 carats Moussaief Red; the fancy vivid blueHeart of Eternity - at 30.82 carats this is the largest heart-shaped blue diamond in the world; the Allnatt, a 101.29 carats vivid yellow cushion-shaped diamond; and finally, the 616: a 616 carat rough diamond. 

This is the first time the De Beers Millennium Star will be in display in the U.K. since it was the target of a foiled robbery attempt in 2000 when it was on display at the Millennium Dome.

“We feel privileged to be able to include this incredibly rare and iconic stone in our exhibition,” said Dr Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum.

On loan from New York diamond collectors Alan Bronstein and Harry Rodman, and displayed for the first time ever in Europe, will also be the Aurora Collection – a set of 296 naturally colored diamonds, totaling 267.45 carats. This collection includes examples from the 12 color varieties from emerald green to blood red.

Mogul treasures, such as the Shah Jahan table-cut diamond, revealing the old style of diamond cutting, will be joined by the George III Garter Star and Queen Victoria’s Lesser George, on loan from the Royal Collection. 

Also of great historical significance is the Eureka diamond, a 10.73 carat brilliant, cut from the first authenticated diamond found in South Africa, in 1866. It will be displayed alongside the Star of South Africa, a 47.69-carat old style pear-shaped diamond, found in 1869, which is credited with starting the diamond rush in South Africa in the late nineteenth century. 

For the celebrity minded museum visitor, Scott Henshall’s revealing Spiderman dress, worn by Samantha Mumba to the premiere of Spiderman II will be on hand, as will R&B star Usher’s watch, which features his face in colored diamonds.