In February 1928 she acquired the Portuguese Diamond from Black, Starr
& Frost. She traded a $350,000 pearl necklace for the diamond and
$23,000 in cash. According to New York newspaper accounts, it was
mounted on a diamond-studded platinum choker to be worn close around
the throat. The jewelry firm's spokesperson at the time indicated that
the diamond was found at the Premier Mine, Kimberly, South Africa, in
1910, and that the firm had obtained it shortly after its discovery.
Sometime prior to 1946 she placed the diamond on consignment to the
group of jewelers mentioned above, in an unsuccessful attempt to sell
it. Harry Winston acquired the Portuguese Diamond from her in 1951, and
for the next several years it traveled the country as part of his
"Court of Jewels" exhibition. In 1957, Winston sold the diamond to an
international industrialist, who then traded it back in 1962. In 1963,
the Smithsonian acquired the Portuguese Diamond from Mr. Winston in
exchange for 2,400 carats of small diamonds.