By Amanda J. Luke

Al Gilbertson and Janet Levy, of J. & S.S. DeYoung, Inc., look over a cleaving tool that was used in Henry Morse's diamond cutting shop in the late 1860s. Photo by Gary Michaels/GIA

Bradley Weber's 2002 AGTA Spectrum Award-winning ring, titled "Neptune's Birth," garnered "amazing," "beautiful" and "that's what I call an original design" comments from visitors. Fans were able to walk away with a free, limited-edition 2007 GIA Collection poster that featured Weber's ring. All of the cultured pearl pieces on display are donations to the GIA Collection.

Several visitors were inspired by the reception the exhibit received and were moved to make donations of their own during the show. Robert Kane, president and CEO of Fine Gems International in Helena, Montana, donated a set of 54 heat-treated, rough and cut sapphires. The collection, which weighs a total of 21.24 carats, is from the renowned Rock Creek deposit in the Sapphire Mountains of Montana, otherwise known as "Gem Mountain." Sapphires were initially discovered there by gold miners in the late 1890s, and more than 100 million carats have been mined since then. Advances in heat treatment technology in the 1990s have made the deposit more commercially viable. The site has been affectionately coined by noted gemologists and writers as the "Rainbow Over Montana."

Etienne Perret shows his "Madonna" ring of more than 30 pavé-set diamonds and a Tahitian cultured pearl set in platinum to Elise Misiorowski, director of the GIA Museum. Photo by Gary Michaels/GIA

Designer Etienne Perret, of Camden, Maine, presented his "Madonna" ring to Misiorowski. He said the name was inspired by the protective arm of diamonds over the Tahitian cultured pearl, which reminds him of a mother with a child. "To me the ultimate mother with child image is Madonna with Christ," he said.

Misiorowski called it "stunningly dramatic in its soft and simple design."

Toby Pomeroy donated his 18K reclaimed gold hoop earrings, which Misiorowski said were "elegantly simple, yet carefully engineered." Pomeroy, whose business is based in Oregon, is concerned with environmental issues and intent on creating an alternative to destructive mining practices. He only uses reclaimed or recycled gold alloys in his jewelry. His work was recently featured in Town & Country and Vanity Fair's green issue, which focuses on environmental success stories.

Toby Pomeroy and Kimberly Vagner, GIA's project manager, In-Kind Gifts, show off Pomeroy's reclaimed gold earrings. Pomeroy's work was recently featured in Town & Country and Vanity Fair magazines. Photo by Gary Michaels/GIA

"We are grateful to all of our donors whose gifts enable GIA to continue its nonprofit mission to educate our students and visitors."

GIA Research Associate Al Gilbertson, whose book American Cut: The First 100 Years was the focus of another exhibit, was on hand to share some of the history of American diamond cutting and the evolution of "Ideal Cut" diamonds. The exhibit showcased an angle-measuring gauge and cleaving tools used by 19th-century cutter Henry D. Morse, whose story is central to Gilbertson's book. Also on display were copper castings of the rough and cut Tiffany II yellow diamond and a cubic zirconia replica of the 77-ct. stone, which Morse cut in 1884.

Robert Kane and Terri Ottaway, GIA's curator of Collections, hold the suite of rough and cut Montana sapphires he donated to the Institute. Photo by Gary Michaels/GIA