Story of The World Largest Cut Aquamarine "Dome Pedro

The Dom Pedro Aquamarine

The largest Aquamarine in the world ever faceted is named as" The Dom Pedro ". It was meticulously cut and crafted by Bernd Munsteiner who was a German Artist.

It would have been even more magnificent if it has remained intact before being fragmented into 3 pieces during its formation as a rough crystal. Despite being enormous initially, it was unfortunately broken down into three pieces.

History of " The Dom Pedro" Aquamarine

In 1980, a massive aquamarine stone weighing 100 pounds was unearthed in Minas, Gerais, Brazil. Unfortunately, the crystal slipped from the hand of the miner, fell to the ground and was broken down into three pieces. The miner opted for selling 2 smaller pieces for crafting into gems for their use as ornaments.

The largest fragment was named " The Dom Pedro " , in the remembrance of two Brazilian emperors ( Dom Pedro I and his son, Dom Pedro II) who reigned over Brazil during the 19th century.

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The largest fragment was acquired by Bernd Munsteiner who was a German gem artist. He decided to carve an exquisite model sculpture from that massive crystal instead cutting it into smaller pieces despite the risk of financial loss. Leveraging his extraordinary creativity he crafted the aquamarine crystal and changed it into a magnificent piece of art.

After crafting, its weight was found to be 10,000 carats. In Smithsonian Magazine, the sculpture was described as "shot through with dazzling starburst of remarkable intricacy and precision." It appeared outstanding after crafting. Prior to fragmentation, the crystal weighed 100 pounds (45 kg ) . Its length was more than 3 feet. In 1980, Aquamarine crystal was unearthed in Pedra Azul, situated in Minas Gerais in Brazil.

The distinguishing feature of the Dom Pedro is its recognition as the largest single piece cut gem quality aquamarine found in the world. Jane Mitchell and her husband Jeffrey Bland graciously donated this beautiful Aquamarine crystal to the Smithsonian institution.

Do you want to see other aquamarine stones and crystals?... see here
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BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty
Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian Institution
Tom Munsteiner