The Roosevelt Aquamarine
The Roosevelt Aquamarine
A 1,298-carat Brazilian aquamarine presented to Eleanor Roosevelt in 1936
The Roosevelt Aquamarine is a large gem-quality aquamarine crystal of approximately 1,298 carats, presented as a state gift to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt by Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas during a 1936 state visit to Rio de Janeiro by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The stone is one of the most celebrated examples of mid-twentieth-century diplomatic gemstone presentation and is associated with the broader prominence of Brazil as the dominant world source of fine aquamarine in the early decades of the twentieth century. It is documented in Smithsonian and other museum sources as part of the Roosevelt presidential collection, with material now held principally at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York.
Origin and gift
President Roosevelt's 1936 South American tour, undertaken in November and December of that year, included a state visit to Brazil during which the Roosevelts were received at length by President Vargas and the Brazilian government. The aquamarine was presented as a state gift to Eleanor Roosevelt during this visit, in continuation of a Brazilian diplomatic tradition of presenting major gemstones to visiting heads of state and senior figures. The stone is reported to have come from one of the major aquamarine-producing pegmatite mines of Minas Gerais, the Brazilian state that had supplied the world market with fine aquamarine since the late nineteenth century.
The stone
At approximately 1,298 carats, the Roosevelt Aquamarine is a large gem of high transparency and the clean light blue colour characteristic of the finest Minas Gerais material. The exact dimensions and the cutting style on presentation are reported variously in different sources; comprehensive published documentation of the stone's current cut weight, dimensions, and condition is limited compared to the documentation of contemporaneous diplomatic gifts at the same level. The Smithsonian and the Roosevelt Library hold the principal references for what is known.
Brazilian aquamarine in the period
The presentation of the Roosevelt Aquamarine sits within a moment when Brazil was the dominant supplier of large fine aquamarine to the international market. The Minas Gerais pegmatite belt, particularly the Galiléia, Teófilo Otoni, and Marambaia districts, had produced exceptional crystals through the early twentieth century, and the country's aquamarine reputation rested on stones at sizes and qualities not matched elsewhere. The 1910 Marambaia aquamarine of 110.5 kilograms (the largest gem-quality aquamarine crystal ever recorded) and a series of smaller but still major finds through the 1920s and 1930s gave Brazilian state gifts of aquamarine particular weight as expressions of national resource and craft. Diplomatic gifts of this kind continued into the post-war period; the 1953 Coronation gift of an aquamarine necklace and earrings by the Brazilian government to Queen Elizabeth II is a later example of the same tradition.
The Roosevelt collection and its dispersal
Eleanor Roosevelt's personal jewellery and gifts received during her tenure as First Lady are documented across the holdings of the Roosevelt Presidential Library and the Smithsonian. Some material has been retained in the family or sold privately over the decades since her death in 1962. The Roosevelt Aquamarine itself has been the subject of intermittent press coverage; the stone reportedly remained in the Roosevelt family's possession for many years before being included in subsequent disposals. Comprehensive public information about its present whereabouts and condition is not available, and reliable scholarly publication on the stone is limited.
Significance
The Roosevelt Aquamarine has more than gem-trade significance. It exemplifies the use of major gemstones as instruments of diplomatic relationship in the twentieth century, particularly between Latin American resource economies and visiting heads of state from the Northern Hemisphere. Brazilian gemstones — aquamarine, tourmaline, topaz — featured repeatedly in such gifts through the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, and the Roosevelt stone is the most widely cited single example. The historical interest of the gift connects gemmological history to the broader narrative of inter-American relations in the Roosevelt era.
Care and the question of recutting
Large aquamarine crystals of this calibre often present cutters with a choice between maximum yield (a single very large stone of moderate proportions) and optimum brilliance (a smaller stone with carefully chosen proportions, with offcuts representing additional smaller stones). The cutting decisions made on the Roosevelt Aquamarine are not fully documented in public sources. For collectors and historians of major stones, this is one of the cases where additional documentation, if it survives in the Roosevelt family or institutional archives, would be of considerable interest.
In the trade
For students of major historic stones, the Roosevelt Aquamarine sits in a tier below the most-documented gems (the Hope, the Cullinans, the Star of India) but well within the secondary literature. Its principal interest is as a documented diplomatic gift of significant Brazilian provenance from the high period of Brazilian aquamarine production. The stone is also a useful reference point for buyers and collectors evaluating the typical character of Minas Gerais aquamarine in the period: the body colour, transparency, and clarity expected of fine material from the era are all exemplified in the Roosevelt stone.