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Diamond in pebbleA solitary diamond in conglomerate, from Golconda, India
Cukoo and host eggsFrom the collection of ornithologist Edgar Percival Chance (1881 - 1955)
Ursus maritimus, Polar bearPart of the collection amassed by Walter Rothschild in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. On display at the Natural History Museum at Tring
AquamarineThis Russian gem is about the size of a peach and weighs 898 carats
Discodermid spongeDiscodermia lives a sessile life on the seabed around North America and the Caribbean
Athene blewitti, forest owletDonated to the Museum in 1954 by Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, it was discovered that he had in fact stolen the specimen from the Museum and changed its label
MorganiteThis gemstone is 600 carats and one of the worlds largest Morganite specimens
Diamond flower broochVictorian diamond-encrusted flower with a sapphire at its centre
Butterscotch wulfeniteA large specimen of the mineral wulfenite from the Glove Mine, Arizona, USA
Shipworm boringsThis block of wood was attacked by Teredo navalis, common shipworm about 50 million years ago
Eastmanosteus, Gogo fishThe Gogo fish, Eastmanosteus, was one of the first ever fossils extracted using acid
JadeA block of jade measuring more than a metre across and weighing over half a tonne
Black opal131-carat black opal found in the Lightning Ridge area of New South Wales, Australia
EmeraldPossibly from the collection of Rt Hon Charles Greville in 1810. Emerald is a variety of beryl (beryllium aluminum silicate). The green colour attributed to small amounts of chromium
Yellow sapphire from Sri Lanka, 101 carats. Acquired by the museum in 1874
Sir John Lubbocks pet waspSir John Lubbock (1834 - 1913) caught this wasp in the Pyrenees and kept it as a pet until its death 10 months later
Fish DapediumWell preserved Dapedium fish from the Jurassic period
Imperial TopazFound in 1852 in one of the oldest mines in the southeastern Ouro Preto region of Brazil
Woodward Tablecloth
Eocarcinus, the oldest crab fossil ever foundThree centimetres long and only a little longer than a finger nail. Discovered in Gloucestershire in the nineteenth century. This crab lived 180 million years ago
Blue sapphireSri Lankan specimen of blue sapphire. A rare example of the uncut material
Copper massThis copper block was discovered by Samuel Hearne in the Arctic Circle in 1771. He carried it for a year before presenting it to the Hudsons Bay Company
Bubalus bubalis, Indian water buffaloThese are the largest Indian water buffalo horns ever recorded, each almost 2 metres long
Skin from a Ground slothThis rare sloth skin, one of the best examples of its kind, was found in a cave in Chile in the early 1900 s
Oceanites maorianus, New Zealand strom petrelThis skin is one of only three in the world that can prove the New Zealand storm petrel is a living species
Opal necklace given to the museum in 1958
Spinel specimenSpinel crystals from Vietnam. The rock has been chipped away to reveal the well-defined crystals
Glove knitted from the beard threads of the pen shell (PinMade in the 1700s from the beard threads of the pen shell (Pinna nobilis), a large Mediterranean mollusc
Crepidula, slipper limpetsSlipper limpets collected by Charles Darwin in Chile on the Beagle voyage (1831-1836)
Silver wireFound in the Kongsberg mines in Norway, this specimen still has its long wires attached to the white calcite in which they grew
First shell bookFirst ever book to be dedicated soley to shells, written and published by Philippo Buonanni in 1684
Missourium theristrocaulodon, jaw boneUnearthed in 1840 on the shore of the Pomme de Terre River in Missouri by Albert Koch. The enormous skulls, jaws and bones all belonged to an extinct relative of the elephant
Tray of shells
Diamond spikes
Wasp nest in a bowler hatThis bowler hat containing a wasp nest was found in an outhouse on the estate of Walter Rothschild in Tring. The nest was built by the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Epimachus ellioti, elliots sicklebillPlate from a first edition of Birds of New Guinea by John Gould (1804 - 1881)
Ring with a weevil set inAbout 200 years old, this weevil (Tetrasothynus regalis) has been set in a gold ring
Natural ruby crystalThis ruby is a staggering 1, 085 carats. Mined in Burmas Mogok (Myanmar s) mines and bought by the Museum in 1924 from Burma Ruby Mines Ltd. It is one of the largest crystals in the Museum collection
The Wellington Tree CupboardThis tree was made from an elm tree that sheltered the Duke of Wellington during the Battle of Waterloo, in Belgium
Star sapphireParallel bundles of fibres are formed in the stone as it crystallises. When the sapphire is cut in the correct orientation the silky needles reflect light to form a star effect
Natural ruby in marbleFrom the mines of Mogok in Burma (Myanmar). Ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum with small impurities of chromium that turn it red
Cursed amethystWhen the Mineralogy Department received this amethyst in 1943 they found a note inside the box: this stone is trebly accursed and is stained with the blood
Pressed insects, mounted by botanist Leonard Plukenet (1642Pressed by Leonard Plukenet in around 1690
Fossil WoodFossilised palm from the North African desert that supposedly carries a curse
Neritina waigiensis, snailA collection of colourful snail shells all from the same species
Le Livre du Tresor+F2294Page of Brunetto Latinis book Le Livre du Tresor (The Book of the Treasures) depicting Aristotle instructing