Robert Mouawad in front of the exhibition at the French Natural History Museum in Paris The House of Mouawad is playing a major role in one of the most important diamond exhibits ever assembled. The French Natural History Museum, in association with House of Mouawad has organized the largest exhibition ever devoted to diamonds. In more than 1,200 square meters of space, thousands of diamonds are on display, illustrating the precious stone's natural history and beauty spanning over a whole millennium. The Museum's Mineralogy Gallery, a masterpiece of French Neoclassical architecture located next to the Botanical Gardens, is host to the "Diamonds" exhibition and contains the largest public vault in France. The first 300 meters is devoted to the natural history of diamonds, miracles of physics, chemistry and nature. For the very first time, thousands of uncut rough diamonds, some over 600 carats, are displayed in all their natural splendor, producing a festival of fascinating shapes and beautiful colors. The "Diamonds" exhibition unveils the secrets of these precious crystals which are formed over 200 kilometers deep within the earth. "Diamonds" also illustrates the formation of diamonds within stars.The extraordinary Orgueil meteorite, part of the Museum's original collection, is studded with diamonds older than our solar system - part of a final reminder of a star that long ago exploded into supernova. Rare historical documents and magnificent diamonds illustrate past fortunes of Indian maharajahs, the discovery of diamonds in Brazil in 1726 and in Africa in 1866. This part of the exhibition also displays a series of photographs taken in and around the diamond mines of South Africa from 1870 to 1880. Along with halls dedicated to the cutting of diamonds, there is a picture gallery featuring works of art loaned from Versailles and the museums of Florence, Copenhagen and Washington for the occasion. These official court paintings and informal portraits from all over the world provide an insight into the history of jewelry through the centuries as well as an understanding of the notion of power invariably associated with diamonds. The grand finale of the exhibition is the Diamond Treasury, a 220-meter vault protected by bulletproof glass and featuring the most beautiful diamond-set jewels and exquisite gems in the world. The crown jewels of Europe include both the Louvres Sancy and Sancy belonging to the Prince of Prussia, while the French crown jewels, lent for the occasion by American collectors, are featured alongside a brooch once belonging to the Empress Eugénie. Niches within the vault feature displays by the world's most prestigious jewelers. House of Mouawad, the largest family jeweler in the world and supplier to international royalty, are displaying a selection of magnificent diamonds from their private collection, including the Excelsior, the Mouawad Mondera, the Royal Purple Heart Diamond and the President Vargas. The Tiffany cases feature the famous canary-yellow Tiffany diamond with the theme "a homage to nature," while Cartier displays the Tavernier Diamond, the Pasha of Egypt and the Star of South Africa. Over 400 masterpieces of precious diamond jewelry have been brought together at the Paris Natural History Museum for four months, including priceless historical documents, more than 100 jewels and 25 famous and historical diamonds, to form the most important exhibition of diamonds witnessed to date.