Date/Time
Date(s) - 12/03/2025
7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Categories No Categories
(venue opens at 6.30pm for socialising)
Léonie Rennie has an unquenchable interest in minerals and gemstones, and has spent her career in teaching and communicating about science. Now retired (sort of), she has had time to continue pursuing her interest in these matters. In particular, she has been working with her colleague, Robin Hansen (Senior Curator at the Natural History Museum, London), to research and write about Australian gemstones and mineral specimens in the NHM collection. When a fabulous black diamond came on display at the NHM, Robin and Léonie took the opportunity to write an article about black diamonds, which was awarded the WH Hicks Prize from The Australian Gemmologist. During the research for this article, they stumbled across The Sergio, the world’s largest ever black “diamond”, a carbonado. Found in 1895, it was tragically destroyed in the same year and, we thought, lost forever. Then Robin found some casts of this amazing carbonado, and she and Léonie enlisted some colleagues, including from the V&A and National History Museum in Paris, and set off on a journey to document the life and times of The Sergio.
This presentation is the result of their research. On the way, they distinguish between black diamonds and carbonados and uncover a fascinating story of biographical intrigue.
The Mineralogical Society of Western Australia (MinSocWA) is a not-for-profit organization that caters to all mineral enthusiasts and people of all ages keen to learn more about minerals.
ABN 11983546312
Registered Society No. A1009304P, 13 October 2000
