At the heart of the stars, at the heart of
the earth, at the heart of power"

In Association With
HOUSE OF MOUAWAD

Natural History Museum Paris
10th March to 15th July 2001
Exhibition open every day from 9am to midnight*
*closes at 7pm on Tuesdays

Mus?um National d'Histoire Naturelle
36, rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
75005 Paris

Metro Stations: Jussieu / Censier / Gare d'Austerlitz

'Diamonds'
The French Natural History Museum in association with House of Mouawad is organizing the largest exhibition ever devoted to diamonds across 1,200m?. Thousands of diamonds will be 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 300m? 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, will be displayed in their natural beauty, producing a festival of natural shapes and beautiful colours. The 'Diamonds' exhibition unveils the secrets of these precious crystals which are formed over 200km deep within the earth.

'Diamonds' also illustrates the formation of diamonds within the stars. The extraordinary Orgueil meteorite, part of the Museum's original collection, is studded with diamonds older than our solar system which act as the final reminders of a star that has long exploded into supernova.

Rare historical documents and magnificent diamonds illustrate past fortunes of Indian maharajahs, the discovery of diamonds in Brazil in 1726, Africa in 1866 and all the great moments in the history of diamonds. 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 also 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 jewellery 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 220m? 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 Eug?nie.

Niches within the vault feature displays by the world's most prestigious jewellers. House of Mouawad, the largest family jeweller 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 four hundred masterpieces of precious diamond jewellery will be brought together at the Paris Natural History Museum for four months, including priceless historical documents, more than one hundred jewels and twenty-five famous and historical diamonds to form the most important exhibition of diamonds witnessed to date.

www.mnhn.fr/expo/diamants

HOUSE OF MOUAWAD & THE PARIS DIAMONDS EXHIBITION

The main sponsor of 'Diamonds' is the Mouawad Group, whose president Robert Mouawad is one of the most respected figures in the industry. His considerable influence and generous contributions enabled the 'Diamonds' exhibition to become one of the most important jewellery-related events in the world. With his renowned passion for beautiful gems, passed on through generations of the Mouawad family, Robert Mouawad recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA) for his lifelong dedication and contribution to the industry.

There are two niches within the famous vault dedicated to Mouawad. One features beautiful pieces of diamond jewellery by House of Mouawad including a selection of rare coloured stones, while the second niche features the distinctive Roberg? watches, a collection of unique diamond-set time pieces.

Robert Mouawad is the proud owner of one of the largest private collections of diamonds in the world, a selection of which he has loaned to the exhibition for this special event. They include the following:

The Excelsior is cut from the second-largest diamond ever found and is claimed to be the Great Unknown of famous diamonds. It possesses a marvellous blue-white colour with internal characteristics of the finest Jagersfontein diamonds. It was due to the diamond's unusual shape, flat one on side, rising to a peak on the other that it was named the Excelsior, meaning higher. At the beginning of the 20th Century the Excelsior was cut into ten smaller diamonds. The most historic gem from this collection was the Excelsior I, a pear shaped diamond weighing 69.68 carats, which was purchased by Robert Mouawad in 1996.

The Mouawad-Mondera is a superb flawless pear-shaped diamond weighing 60.19 carats. This breathtaking diamond is both unique in colour and clarity with excellent finish and proportions, ranking it a world-class gem. Robert Mouawad purchased the Mouawad Mondera, the latest in his impressive collection, on 16th November 2000. He named it Mondera, to represent both the traditional world of the family jeweller and the new face represented by Mondera.com, the jewellery e-tailers founded by his sons. The Mouawad Mondera is worth in excess of ?3,500,000.

The Mouawad Royal Purple Heart Diamond is the largest fancy vivid purple stone diamond known to exist at 7.34 carats. This unique stone has been expertly cut and polished into a perfect heart shape to allow the maximum striking natural purple colour to dazzle. Natural purple diamonds are among the rarest and most highly sought after colour in which diamonds occur. The Mouawad Royal Purple Heart Diamond was cut by and is a joint venture with the Julius Klein Diamond Corporation and is worth in excess of ?10 million.

The President Vargas IV, a beautiful emerald cut flawless diamond weighing 27.33 carats and named in honour of Guetulio Dornelles Vargas, former President of Brazil, adorns a sumptuous Mouawad bracelet, with the precious diamond set on a band of black and white brilliant-cut diamonds.