Chalk Emerald - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17 : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Chalk Emerald - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17 / Tim Evanson
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示-継承 2.1 |
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| 説明 | The "Chalk Emerald" on display in the Hall of Gems and Minerals at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl. Beryl is composed of three atoms of beryllium and two of aluminum, from six sodium trioxide molecules are attached. Beryl which has chromium or vanadium in it turns green, making emerald. Emeralds are known for having pockets of water or gas inside them, and they shatter easily.The most magnificently colored emeralds are those that have a deep, velvety green color. These can be found around Muzo and Chivor, in Colombia. When the Spanish invaded in the 16th century, they quickly took control of the emerald mines. European nobility became fascinated with the emerald, and the Spanish shipped so many emeralds to Europe that there was a glut on the market.Europeans then began trading emeralds in the Middle East and India. The rulers of the Mughal Empire -- an empire founded by the direct descendants of Genghis Khan who converted to Islam and who ruled Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh -- absolutely fell in love with emeralds. The Chalk Emerald originally weighed 38.4 carats (a carat is 200 milligrams). The Maharajah of the state of Baroda (in India) had it set in a silver necklace featuring a huge number of large (40? 60?) large rough-cut diamonds. In 1943, Sita Devi married the Maharajah of Baroda. The beautiful woman was also exceptionally fond of luxury. She divorced the Maharajah in 1956, and began selling off her jewelry to maintain the lifestyle to which she had become accustomed.Jeweler Harry Winston purchased the necklace from the Maharini. He had the emerald recut to emphasize its transparency and glitter, so that now it weighed only 37.8 carats. Winston set the emerald in a platinum and gold ring, and surrounded it with 60 tiny pear-shaped diamonds totaling 15 carats.Oscar Roy Chalk, a wealthy New York realtor, had become the largest shareholder of American Airlines, owned the Central American railroad on which all bananas were shipped, owned the D.C. transit company (which ran mass transit in the nation's capital), and owned "El Diario-La Prensa". Chalk purchased the ring for his wife, Clair.The Chalks donated the emerald ring to the Smithsonian Institution in 1972. |
| 撮影日 | 2012-05-17 15:21:37 |
| 撮影者 | Tim Evanson , Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA |
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| カメラ | Canon EOS 5D Mark II , Canon |
| 露出 | 0.05 sec (1/20) |
| 開放F値 | f/6.3 |
| 焦点距離 | 300 mm |