It Is Hard to Be a Gem in a Rhinestone World: a Diamond Museum Collection Between History and Science

The goal of this work is to investigate the diamond collection preserved at the Natural History Museum of the University of Firenze (MSN-FI) using a multidisciplinary approach. The mixed methods combine historical research with spectroscopic techniques to gain a deeper understanding of this collection of great historical, scientific and gemmological interest. This study concerns the analysis of 61 diamonds that are relatively small in both size and weight, mostly unworked and sometimes rich in inclusions. These specimens were acquired by MSN-FI from diverse collectors and institutions from 1824 until the most recent acquisitions in the 1990s. The FTIR spectroscopy was performed on 45 specimens. The results show the physical classification of diamonds in three groups (IaAB, IaA, and IaB) and reveal the presence of hydrogen as ethylene -CH = CH- or vinylidene > C = CH2 group.