WASHINGTON, DC.- One of the world’s most extraordinary gemstones, the “Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond”, will be on display at the National Museum of Natural History Jan. 28, 2010, through Aug. 1, 2010. This will be the first time it has been available to the public in more than 50 years. A diamond of rare deep-blue color and weighing 31.06 carats, the “Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond” will be presented in the “National Gem Collection” in the Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals, where the renowned Hope Diamond is on permanent view. The “Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond” has long been rumored to have originated from the same diamond mine in India as the “Hope Diamond”. Smithsonian scientists will explore this mystery while the diamond is in their care. “The “Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond” is an object of intrigue and legend, certainly one of the great gemstones of the world,” said Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem Collection.