Dom Pedro aquamarine

The Dom Pedro aquamarine is the world's largest cut aquamarine gem. It was cut from a crystal originally weighing approximately 60 lb and measuring almost 2 ft in length. The stone was mined in Pedra Azul, in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil around 1980, and named after the Brazilian emperors Pedro I and Pedro II. The blue-green gemstone was cut by Bernd Munsteiner into an obelisk form weighing 10,363 carats. The finished dimensions measure 14 in tall by 4 in wide. The jewel was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by Jane Mitchell and Jeffery Bland. It is housed in the National Museum of Natural History's Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology.