Many beautiful works of art are formed of diamonds. Largely of course this means jewellery, though not solely. The American firm Aurora Gems approaches the issue of diamonds a little differently and at the Museum of Natural History in New York it is possible to admire an unusual two exhibits which they brought into being. The Pyramid of Hope and Butterfly of Peace are two sculptures which very much rivet the attention of the viewer. Why? The answer is very simple. Both are works entirely in diamonds.

The Pyramid of Hope is composed of 296 stones with a total weight of 267.45 carat (53.49 g). It was created in 1989 by Alan Bronstein and Harry Rodman and completed in 2006. The diamonds of which it is formed appear in all possible colors and to be found upon it are both green diamonds and blue, as well as the exceptionally rare purple. The Butterfly of Peace is also a work entirely in diamonds (the so-called fancy). The Butterfly is lighter than the Pyramid with a total weight of 167 carat (33 g), the work having taken the authors 12 years. In their view the sculpture symbolizes the bond of humanity with the earth.

Beyond the artistic qualities, the Pyramid and Butterfly are both of scientific value too. Exposing them to ultraviolet light, scientists discovered new properties of the phosphorization of diamonds.