Long before a natural diamond becomes a jewel – or even takes shape deep within the Earth – its story begins among the stars. This October, De Beers will invite visitors to discover that hidden world through an immersive installation at Frieze Masters in London, as part of its autumn cultural programme.
Voyage Through the Diamond Realm, Chapter II: On the Birth of a Diamond will unfold across three rooms at Frieze Masters, held in Regent’s Park from 14 to 18 October. Bringing together art, geology, film and sound, the experience follows carbon as it transforms into a natural diamond, while also celebrating the craftspeople and creative traditions of Botswana, where many of De Beers’ natural diamonds are mined.
The installation begins with a five-metre handwoven tapestry by Shifron Mercury Studio, the Paris-based practice founded by artist-designers Goni Shifron and Gabrielle Laurin Mercury. Created using natural fibres from Botswana’s Okavango Delta, its richly layered surface evokes the geological depths in which natural diamonds form. Ceramic fragments inspired by the irregular contours of rough diamonds are woven into the work, alongside ostrich-eggshell beads.
The tapestry will be shown alongside 47 amulets commissioned by Botswana’s Mabeo Studio. The studio collaborated with 41 basket weavers, potters and wood carvers from across the country on the amulets, which were handcrafted from local materials and set with De Beers natural diamonds.
Born in the stars, formed in the Earth
In the installation’s second room moving image, narration and an enveloping soundscape will tell the story of carbon travelling from its earliest iteration within ancient stars (carbon atoms were created inside stars and dispersed into space when those stars died) to beneath the Earth’s surface, where extreme heat and pressure worked to transform them to the coveted diamonds they are today. The film is narrated by actors Lucian Msamati and Kristin Winters, with voices and original work by artists including Mumsy Themba and Ecka Mordecai.
The installation is the second chapter in De Beers’ ongoing Voyage Through the Diamond Realm series. Its first Frieze Masters presentation in 2025 explored the myths and legends that natural diamonds have inspired across different cultures, and later travelled to Mumbai and New York.
The 2026 installation forms part of De Beers’ autumn cultural programme, which also included a partnership with Homo Faber in Venice this September. At Homo Faber, a biennial exhibition of contemporary craftsmanship held at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, De Beers supported artists Abongile Sidzumo and Shakunona Parata in celebrating Southern African craft traditions through live leatherworking and basket-weaving demonstrations using locally sourced materials.
Voyage Through the Diamond Realm, Chapter II: On the Birth of a Diamond will be open to visitors at Frieze Masters in Regent’s Park, London, from 14 to 18 October 2026.
