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The Hope Diamond is being exhibited in New York after being refitted with a chain of precious stones.

The Hope Diamond is being displayed in New York with its new adornment of a chain of gems.

Complete with a new setting entitled Embracing Hope, the precious stone is exhibited to the public at the city's National Museum of Natural History.

The jewel's new chain is made up of 340 individual baguette diamonds and was crafted as part of the anniversary of the donation of the Hope to the Smithsonian Institution by renowned jeweller Harry Winston, as well as the centenary of the museum.

Viewed by some seven million people annually, the rare blue stone will be showcased with its new setting for one years before being refitted into its original encasement.

A jewel sold by Harry Winston 60 years ago has recently changed hands at auction, with British investor Laurence Graff making a winning offer of £29 million for the rare 'fancy intense pink' diamond, establishing its title as the most expensive ever to have been bid on.

A team of experts will drill into the Hope Diamond in a forthcoming documentary in an effort to create a fingerprint of the gem.

An upcoming documentary on the Hope Diamond will follow a team of experts who drill into the precious gem in a bid to learn more about its unique properties.

Mystery of the Hope Diamond, which has been produced to mark the 50th anniversary of the precious stone being donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and will be screened on the Smithsonian Channel in the US, will see the specialists use a Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer on the diamond.

This will split the sample of the diamond into its atoms and sort them by weight – as well as magnify the image 1,000 times – resulting in what the Smithsonian describes as an "atomic fingerprint" of the gem.

In the documentary, which is being voiced by Kim Basinger, the Hope will also be modelled by Hilary Rhoda and placed in a new surround, as it has been on show at the museum without one since September 2009.

The Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace is currently on display at the Smithsonian, which received it as a gift last month ahead of its 100th anniversary celebrations.

The American Museum of Natural History is to put the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond on show from October 28th.

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is to go on display at the American Museum of Natural History later this week.

Loaned to the institution by Laurence Graff, the 31.06-carat precious stone will be on show in the Harry Frank Guggenheim Hall of Minerals from October 28th.

It recently made an appearance on the Today show in the US, where host Natalie Morales described it as "absolutely just perfect", MSNBC reports.

Discovered in India, the gem has been owned by Mr Graff since 2008, who has carried out repair work to reverse damage that had been done to the stone over the years.

It is classified as a Type IIb, a rare example that are believed to make up under 0.5 per cent of all diamonds.

The stone bears a similarity to the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond – which is on permanent display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC – and experts had considered the theory that the two gems were cut from the same stone, however recent comparisons have indicated this is unlikely.

Actress Kim Basinger is to narrate a documentary on the Hope Diamond

Hollywood star Kim Basinger is to narrate a documentary on the Hope Diamond set to be aired next month.

The Associated Press reports that the actress will provide the voiceover for Mystery of the Hope Diamond, a Smithsonian Channel programme marking the 50th anniversary of its donation to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC by Harry Winston, its last private owner.

Premiering on November 21st, the documentary will look at the history of the blue diamond, which was discovered in 17th century India and has previously been owned by King George IV.

The programme will also see the Hope Diamond placed in a new setting, as it will be worn by model Hilary Rhoda.

Although the museum has not put a value on the diamond, the news provider notes that some believe it is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Weighing 45.52 carats, the Hope Diamond takes its name from Henry Philip Hope, who acquired the gem in the 19th century.