It is the first contemporary painting to join the National Gem Collection.
The painting features the ultra-rare “Winston Red” diamond, a 2.33-carat old mine brilliant-cut fancy red diamond. It is the fifth-largest fancy red diamond known to exist.
It was gifted to the museum in 2023 by Harry Winston’s son Ronald Winston, and in April 2025, it was unveiled in a new exhibit.
The only fancy red diamond on public exhibit, the “Winston Red” is displayed in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals.
Ahluwalia’s painting creates a visual bridge between the stone’s mineralogy and its place in human history, she said, combining its scientific findings, historical significance, and cultural symbolism.
The artwork takes inspiration from a scientific and historical study of the stone authored by Dr. Gabriela A. Farfan, the museum’s Coralyn W. Whitney curator of gems and minerals, and her team, which was published in the spring 2025 issue of GIA’s quarterly journal, “Gems & Gemology.”
The composition traces the diamond’s journey from its likely South American origins to Jacques Cartier’s 1938 sale to Digvijaysinhji, the Indian Maharaja of Nawanagar, also known as the “Good Maharaja,” where it became known as the “Raj Red.”
The red diamond was set in his Ceremonial Necklace of Nawanagar, a Cartier masterpiece that later inspired a replica, the “Toussaint Necklace,” which appeared in the film “Ocean’s 8.”
Winston purchased the diamond from the Maharaja of Jamnagar, Digvijaysinhji’s son, in the late 1980s, and it was later renamed the “Winston Red.”
Dr. Farfan accepted the painting at a ceremony in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals on May 6.
The work is a conceptual study of endurance, turning geological pressure into a visual statement of resilience, the artist said.
The depiction of the crimson gemstone even features precise mineralogical markers of the real “Winston Red.”
Reena Ahluwalia (left) and Dr. Gabriela Farfan, Coralyn W. Whitney curator of gems and minerals (right), at the May 6 ceremony marking the first contemporary painting accessioned into the National Gem Collection. (Image courtesy of Reena Ahluwalia)
Ahluwalia was in conversation with both Winston and Dr. Farfan throughout her artistic process.
“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. Using the diamond as a philosophical prism, my practice treats minerals as analogues for human resilience—formed under pressure, shaped by circumstance, and resilient through adversity.”
The resulting artwork intersects nature, science, and art, framing the diamond as a vessel of cultural and geological memory, the artist said.
She continued, “Ultimately, this painting serves the diamond’s history and legacy.”
“When art serves a larger purpose, its impact becomes as enduring as the diamond itself. It is my way of preserving the intangible heritage of the Winston Red Diamond for future generations. I want it to spark curiosity and inspire the next generation—from gem lovers and historians to mineralogists and Earth scientists.”
In addition to “The Legacy of The Winston Red Diamond,” Ahluwalia also created the diamond setting for the Legislative Mace of Ontario, Canada, and is featured on a Belgian postage stamp representing global diamond heritage. Her works are held in permanent museum collections globally.
