Mish at the Cape Town Diamond Museum

International Museum Day

Friday, 18 May was International Museum Day and entry to most of SA’s museums was free. Here is a commonly unknown fact, International Museum Day was established in 1977 by the International Council of Museums but this year was the first time I have ever heard of this, thanks to a tweet on Twitter.

Museums are incredibly underrated and they are fun. Believe it. Everything these days are vintage inspired, décor, fashion, architecture, movies and music but do we know the history behind it? At school I hated history because it required you to stick to the curriculum as prescribed by the Department of Education. I was not very interested in a lot of the lessons covered at school level that is why I dropped it after two years of high school. Luckily an unquenchable thirst for learning and exploring would eventually bring me back to history and make me fall madly in love with its ability to transport me back in time and show me a world that I dismissed in my youthful ignorance.

Cape Town Diamond Museum

In celebration of this day, the V&A Waterfront tweeted about free entry to the Cape Town Diamond Museum for the entire weekend. I was intrigued and very interested in finding out what this museum could hold in store for me to report back on.  Little did I know that in the very near future I would be wearing a R 2 000 000 Diamond ring, if only for a few minutes.

I got my handsome fellow to escort me to this hidden gem at the V&A Waterfront. On the upper level of the Clock Tower we were greeted by two very friendly and welcoming ladies at the reception of this very elegant, sophisticated and one of a kind museum.  This museum was anything but old, dusty and boring.

Upon entering this stunning museum, you feel like you are early to an exclusive party thrown in your honour by the Princess of Monaco, our very own Charlene Lynette Wittstock. As you enter, the room is black with diamond shaped lights on the ceiling, dimmed, so that the animated diamonds seem even more sparkly and enticing.  The highly knowledgeable guide assigned to us made us feel at ease gave her undivided attention as she took us on a scintillating tour through this wonderful world of diamonds. A piece of history that stretched over 3 billion years to get to a precision diamond based on the 4C’s! Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat-weight.

Inside the mineshaft.

Take my word for it; it is an experience like no other. From learning that a 15-year old Erasmus Jacobs found the first precious rock in 1866 on the south bank of the Orange River to when the first engagement ring was given as a promise of marriage in 1477. We learnt about the Kimberlite and its history, famous people Barney Bernato, The Oppenheimers and De Beers to name a few.

The museum has a treat for every girl! Before entering the reproduced mine complete with sounds of men hard at work, a few diamonds stuck on rocks and some mining equipment, there is a wall with the lyrics to Marilyn Monroe’s Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. When you stand on a really sweet spot, you can hear the bygone singer/actress sing this song to her heart’s content.

The museum also boasts replicas of famous South African diamonds such as the Hope Diamond, the Taylor Burton and the Cullinan weighing in at a whopping 530.20 carats. As this museum is Israelite, Yair Shimansky’s initianitive, it is only fitting that the museum also features the My Girl diamond which gets its name from its unique cut internationally patented by Shimansky. Simply, mesmerizing and my personal favorite!

Left: Charlize at a charity event after winning her first Oscar. (Source Image) Middle: Her Ralph Lauren dress.
Right: The glittering 47ct neckpiece designed by Shimansky.

On our way to the Shimansky showroom we were met with another of South Africa’s captivating export’s, Charlize Theron… Well in a matter of speaking! Mister Shimansky acquired the black halter neck Ralph Lauren dress worn by Charlize herself in the time she won her first Oscar. She was perfection with a Shimansky brilliance to set off the night for a Hollywood star.

Our lovely guide, Cecilia on the right.

Our guide revealed to us the results of a scientific nine stage process to create the finest jewelry displayed in their sizeable but exclusive showroom. I asked about the perfume that captured my eye and to my surprise Shimansky created an exclusive Au de Parfum called My Girl. A limited addition can be purchased for about R 8 000 with a floating My Girl diamond inside the bottle. The smell is divine and reminds me of Issey Miyake. We were given a few different rings to observe with Black diamonds which I loved and the Tanzanite which will become rarer as the Tanzanian mine is the only place where this stone can be found.  But the cherry on this already decadent cake was when our guide handed me the R 2 000 000 My Girl diamond ring to me to put on my finger. It was as they described in their pamphlet; “the perfect balance of fire, brilliance and scintillation”. I love it and also I never thought such an exorbitant amount of money could fit on one finger! By the way scintillation is my word of the week.

The ring fit like it was made for me and was as perfect as the visit to this one of a kind museum. I want to thank Cecile De Villiers, our guide and Shimansky for a wonderful time and breathtaking experience. I have definitely gained an appreciation of this precious stone. Each diamond has its own unique birthmarks inside it, which means that each one is as unique as we are and life is the only agent with the ability to shape, cut and polish us to reveal our brilliance, our fire and unyielding beauty.  I highly recommend a visit to this museum for a thrilling experience! For more information about the museum, visit http://www.capetowndiamondmuseum.org/.