A Giant of Gemology - George Frederick Kunz

In our recent post on Alexandrite, we briefly mentioned Tiffany & Co’s celebrated gem expert George Kunz. Here we wanted to elaborate a bit on a man who was a giant in the world of gemology.

George Frederick Kunz was born in 1856 in New York City. As a rock and mineral enthusiast growing up, Kunz became a self-taught mineralogist through books and field research. His expertise won him several honorary degrees, as well as the Vice Presidency of Tiffany & Co. by the young age of 23. In 1902, when a new variety of the mineral spodumene was discovered in California, Kunz was the first person to give an accurate definition of the stone. Fittingly, it was named “Kunzite” in his honor. It is a light purplish pink stone, pictured here in this modern art nouveau revival brooch.

At Tiffany & Co., Kunz became known for assembling extensive stone collections. One of his most important clients was the famed financier J.P. Morgan, who was also one of America’s foremost gem collectors. Kunz assembled a collection for J.P. Morgan that was exhibited at the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. The collection won several gold medals and was later donated to the Museum of Natural History. Kunz and Morgan continued to collaborate, and in 1911 Kunz named a new variety of beryl “Morganite” in honor of his friend.

Prior to Kunz’s tenure at Tiffany & Co, jewelry houses had favored precious stones in their jewels. He encouraged Tiffany to try new and exciting stones like Alexandrite and Morganite, making “semi-precious” stones more popular than ever. Kunz’s contributions to gemology and Tiffany & Co. have impacted the way that so many stones are viewed by the public. He brought semi-precious stones into the mainstream. Print this post