Hooker Emerald

The Hooker Emerald is a 75.47 carat Colombian emerald of deep green color, today the centerpiece of a platinum and diamond brooch in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The stone was mined in Colombia in the 16th or 17th century and sent to Europe by Spanish colonists before passing to the Ottoman ruling family.

The emerald belonged to the Ottoman crown jewels under Sultan Abdul Hamid II, who reigned from 1876 to 1909 and is said to have worn it mounted in a belt buckle. The jewels left Constantinople around the time of the Young Turks revolution, and in 1911 Tiffany and Co. purchased the emerald at auction following the sale of the collection handled by gem dealer Salomon Habib. Tiffany first set the stone in a tiara, which went unsold for decades; in 1950 the company reset it as a brooch surrounded by round brilliant and baguette cut diamonds totaling about 13 carats.

Philanthropist Janet Annenberg Hooker bought the brooch from Tiffany in 1955 and donated it to the Smithsonian in 1977, when it was valued at 500,000 dollars. It was the first of her major gifts to the museum, which later named its geology, gems, and minerals hall in her honor.