Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals

[4] The burglars, who included Jack Murphy, gained entrance by climbing through a bathroom window they had unlocked hours before the museum was closed.

Weeks later, the Star of India was later recovered from a locker in a Miami bus station, but the Eagle Diamond was never found; it may have been recut or lost.

It was discovered over 300 years ago in Sri Lanka,[citation needed] most likely in the sands of ancient river beds from where sapphires continue to be found today.

The thin, radiant, six pointed star, or asterism, is created by incoming light that reflects from needle-like crystals of the mineral rutile which are found within the sapphire.

[12] Among other notable specimens on display were a 596-pound (270 kg) topaz, a 4.5 ton block of blue azurite/malachite ore that was found in the Copper Queen Mine in Bisbee, Arizona at the start of the 20th century;[13] and a rare, 100 carat (20 g) orange-colored padparadschan sapphire from Sri Lanka, considered "the mother of all pads.

The new exhibits explore a range of topics, including the diversification of mineral species over the course of Earth's history, plate tectonics, and the stories of specific gems.