Smithsonian To Sell Jewelry On QVC

Everyone from Ivana Trump to Joan Rivers has sold jewelry on QVC but the latest QVC partnership is a bit of a surprise. The Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum and research complex, has entered into a licensing agreement with QVC offer a jewelry collection based on objects in the National Gem and Mineral Collection (part of the National Museum of Natural History). This is where you see beauties like the Hope Diamond, the Carmen Lucia ruby, Marie Antoinette's diamond earrings and the Tiffany amethyst shown above.

No images of the planned collection for sale have been released but Carol LeBlanc, director of consumer products for Smithsonian Enterprises said that they will "create jewelry that is not only fashionable, but also serves to educate the public about the Smithsonian and the jewelry, gems and minerals found in its collections." The line will include earrings, rings, bracelets, pins and brooches some of which will be replicas of pieces in the museum's collection. This is the Smithsonian's first foray into making a high-quality jewelry based on the museum's collection. The collection is scheduled to launch this fall.