Smithsonian's 'Dom Pedro' Aquamarine Is the Masterwork of Bernd Munsteiner

Beaming with star power, the obelisk-shaped, fantasy-cut “Dom Pedro” aquamarine is one of the top attractions at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Standing nearly 14 inches tall and weighing 10,363 carats, Dom Pedro is the largest faceted aquamarine in the world and, arguably, the most beautiful example of March’s official birthstone.

The Dom Pedro is the masterwork of the late Bernd Munsteiner, an Idar-Oberstein-based gem cutter, who has been called “The Picasso of Gems” and “The Father of the Fantasy Cut.” When Munsteiner viewed the rough, 57-pound, two-foot-tall crystal for the first time, “it was love a first sight,” according to Smithsonian.com. And transforming the rough crystal into the Dom Pedro would become the “project of his life.”

Munsteiner spent four months studying the towering aquamarine before embarking on a grueling six-month labor of love to meticulously cut, facet and polish the stone in a project he would call "Ondas Maritimas" in Portuguese, or “Waves of the Sea.”

The Dom Pedro was originally part of a much larger crystal that was discovered by three Brazilian prospectors — garimperos — in the state of Minas Gerais in the late 1980s. While being transported, the one-meter-long, 100-pound crystal fractured in two places. Two pieces were eventually cut into smaller gemstones, but the largest piece had much greater potential. Its exquisite sea-blue color and pristine clarity opened a window of opportunity for a cutter with the skill of Munsteiner.

Munsteiner reportedly made hundreds of sketches before deciding on the lozenge-shaped “negative facets” that are “stepped” along the two backsides of the obelisk. In certain lighting conditions, the gem gives the illusion of being illuminated from within.

The former curator of the Smithsonian National Gem Collection, Jeffrey Post, described it as an "ethereal glow."

While cutting the gem completely by hand, Munsteiner was never concerned with the eventual carat weight. His attention was purely on the beauty and the brilliance. The finished piece measured four inches across the base and weighed 4.57 pounds.

“When you focus on the carat weight, it’s only about the money,” he said. “I cannot create when I’m worried about the money.”

Unveiled at the annual gem fair in Basel, Switzerland, in 1993, the Dom Pedro became a traveling ambassador for the German government, an example of German craftsmanship and ingenuity.

But, by the late 1990s, the gem’s future was in jeopardy. The Brazilian consortium partner wanted the gem to be sold so he could recoup his investment. Gem collector Jane Mitchell and her husband Jeffery Bland stepped in to purchase the Dom Pedro in 1999, ensuring that it wouldn’t be cut up and made into many smaller aquamarines.

The stone was generously gifted to the Smithsonian by the couple in 2011 and made part of the permanent exhibition at the very end of 2012. Munsteiner passed away on June 6, 2024, in Stipshausen, Germany. He was 81 years old.

Aquamarine is the pretty soft blue variety of the mineral beryl. Other gems in the same family include green emerald, pink morganite and golden yellow heliodore.

Credits: Dom Pedro photos by Bruce Carter for The Jeweler Blog.