#  Au: Origins Unearthed 

 



    ![Gold on black background.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2026-09/98459_1134_Background%20Removed_highest%20res_0.jpg?itok=cUPGwHat) 

 



 

 Gold crystal MGMH#98459, Garden Valley, Mother Lode Belt, California, USA. Mineralogical & Geological Museum, Harvard University.



   

 

 

*Opening November 12, 2026*

*Au: Origins Unearthed* is a new Exhibit Spotlight in the Earth & Planetary Sciences Gallery that follows gold from the geological forces that formed it, through the scientific research that decodes its origins, to the studios of six visionary jewelers working today.

At its scientific core, the spotlight draws on Harvard's TraceFor Gold project, an international forensic research program using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and artificial intelligence to trace gold, including seized illegal material, back to its origin. The project also extends to mercury, in collaboration with Elsie M. Sunderland, Fred Kavli professor of environmental chemistry and professor of earth and planetary sciences at Harvard, who is conducting the mercury isotope analysis.

Alongside the science, the spotlight presents jewels by six designers selected by curators Dr. Raquel Alonso-Perez and Melanie Grant for their exceptional skill and their commitment to asking the deepest questions about the materials they work with

[Related opening event](https://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/event/au-origins-unearthed).

[Press release](https://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/news/2026/09/harvard-museum-natural-history-presents-new-exhibit-spotlight-tracing-gold-ancient).