Visual artist Reena Ahluwalia’s painting, The Legacy of The Winston Red Diamond, has been accessioned into the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The work was formally accepted during a May 6 ceremony held in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals.

Dr. Gabriela Farfan, Coralyn W. Whitney Curator of Gems and Minerals, accepted the painting on behalf of the museum. According to the Smithsonian, it is the first contemporary painting to enter the National Gem Collection.

The artwork centres on the Winston Red Diamond, a 2.33-carat Fancy red old mine brilliant-cut diamond regarded among the rarest diamonds known. The stone is reported to represent a one-in-25-million rarity and is the only Fancy red diamond currently on public display. Ronald Winston donated the diamond to the Smithsonian in 2023.

The painting documents the diamond’s geological, historical, and cultural significance. It traces the stone’s transition from the “Raj Red” to the “Winston Red,” including its association with Digvijaysinhji, the Maharaja of Nawanagar, and its placement in the Ceremonial Necklace of Nawanagar created by Cartier.

The work was inspired by research published in the Spring 2025 edition of Gems & Gemology by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), authored by Dr. Gabriela Farfan and team. The study examined the diamond’s colour origin, attributed to a balance of absorption features linked to plastic deformation and nitrogen-related defects.

“Art endures beyond its physical form as an idea whose meaning transcends time,” said Ahluwalia. “I chose to paint the Winston Red because I felt a responsibility to tell its whole story through an artistic lens.”

Ahluwalia said the work aims to preserve the diamond’s cultural and geological legacy while encouraging interest among future generations of gem enthusiasts, historians, mineralogists, and Earth scientists.