Diamond Museum Amsterdam
TIME : 2016/2/22 12:08:03
Diamond Museum Amsterdam
Few people know that Amsterdam has played an important role as a diamond center for more than four centuries, mostly because of the Dutch colonization in South Africa back in the 1800s. Since 2007, the Diamond Museum Amsterdam has helped visitors understand how diamonds are formed from a geological standpoint, through a process taking billions of years and beginning 200 kilometers underneath the earth’s surface. The museum’s permanent collection includes several world-famous pieces, such as the Katana, the Rembrandt Diamond, and The Ape Skul. Visitors can also witness diamond cutters and goldsmiths at work, turning stones into valuable and beautiful pieces of jewelry. The beam behind the museum has worked on the restoration of some of the most precious jewels in the world, including the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and the Saxon dynasty's Dresden Green Diamond. The museum also offers a Diamond Workshop (€475), in which a Master Diamond Cutter teaches visitors the basics of cutting and polishing a diamond, before they are invited to cut and polish one themselves, to bring home as a souvenir. Practical Info
The museum is located at Paulus Potterstraat 8, next to the Museum Square (Museumplein), between the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. It is open 7 days a week, from 9 AM until 5 PM. Admission is €8.50 for adults and €6 for children and students. Tram lines 2 and 5 (Rijksmuseum station) can be used to access the museum, as well as several buses.
