Monday, January 11, 2021

Museums in the National Mall in Washington DC- The Hope Diamond


Visiting museums are some of the highlights of our 12 years residency in the Washington DC area. We resided in Colesville, MD -( a suburb of Washington DC-only 30 minutes to the National Mall) from 1990 to 2002.   One of our favorite recreation is to visit the museums in the Mall and nearby areas. There are 15 most popular museums in the Mall. Several of the museums we have visited more than 3 times.

One of Macrine(RIP) favorite is the Museum Of Natural History that had a collection of Gems and Jewelry including the Hope Diamond.  In one of our visits she purchased a simulated Hope Diamond in the Museum gift shop that she treasured during her lifetime. 

 

This is the simulated Hope Diamond(cubic zirconia) that Macrine purchased in the Museum Gift shop that she treasured very much. In 1992 she paid $100 for it. She had worn it several times during our Filipino- American Ball and Parties in the several cities that we had resided here in the US.

 For the history and mystery of the real Hope Diamond visit this site: 

https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/video/show/mystery-of-the-hope-diamond/13041

The Hope Diamond is renowned for its rare color and rich history. It was formed more than a billion years ago at a depth of about 150 kilometers. The diamond was brought to the Earth's surface by a volcanic eruption. The rare blue color of the jewel is attributed to light interaction with an impurity in the diamond's atomic structure. As the diamond grew, a few atoms of boron entered the crystal structure and substituted for some of the carbon atoms.


For a list of 15 most popular museums in the mall visit the following site. 

https://washington.org/dc-focus-on/museums-national-mall


 

Note: I found that a cheap imitation of the Hope Diamond is advertised in FB today as Heart of the Titanic. It sells for 0nly $27.95 plus shipping. However, this could be a scam. I have been scammed in FB ads once and I am suspicious of buying on FB again.


 

 

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