[2] The Great Chrysanthemum Diamond was discovered in 1963 at the Kimberley Mines in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
[2] Julius Cohen, one-time protégé of Harry Winston and custodian of the Hope Diamond, purchased the rough stone from its original owners, saving it from the fate of being cut in two.
Cohen eventually brought the Great Chrysanthemum to the Smithsonian for display and attaching it briefly alongside the Hope Diamond.
In 1965, the Chrysanthemum was named a winner of one of the Diamonds International Awards and was placed on display in the Rand Easter Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa.
[4] Since then, it has gone on display once again, most notably in recent years by such high profile personalities as filmmaker and former First Lady of San Francisco, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who wore the diamond to a “Women of Power” event in 2008.