Faceted stones cut from the leaded viewing glass used by scientists while working on the plutonium core for the first atomic bomb, Trinity Gadget. This work was being done at the Hanford Atomic Works location in Washington State.

Around 2008, during cleanup of the Hanford site, five panes of this glass was being transported to a museum for preservation when one of the panes was broken. The glass panes varied between six and eight inches thick and weighed approximately 800 pounds each. The piece of broken glass was auctioned off, and gem cutter, Patrick Kelley of Lake Norman, NC was able to acquire two pieces of the glass. He cut several stones from this glass, including the largest, a 51.40 carat Baguette stone, (top right) which was sold to the Carnegie Museum in Pennsylvania and put on permanent display in the Wertz Gallery.

In March of 2019, I was shown a small faceted stone that was cut by Patrick from this glass. I had just purchased a Manhattan Project workers pin and was getting interested in the project. I decided to contact Patrick to see if he still had any of this material left and if I could purchase a faceted piece to use in the display I was planning to build. He contacted me several months later and sent pictures of a 14mm, 23 carat round brilliant stone (pictured above, top left and middle). This piece is now part of my Manhattan Project/Trinitite display.

If you are interested in a piece like this, contact me and I will put you in touch with Patrick.