Smithsonian and QVC® Announce New Jewelry Line

The Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex, and QVC, one of the world’s largest multimedia retailers, have entered into a licensing agreement to offer a jewelry collection based on objects in the National Gem and Mineral Collection, which is part of the National Museum of Natural History. The collection is scheduled to launch this fall.

The National Gem and Mineral Collection contains more than 375,000 individual specimens and includes such famous pieces as the Hope Diamond and the Marie Antoinette Earrings, as well as a research and mineral collection used by scientists around the world.

“The Smithsonian is delighted to work with QVC, a proven leader in multimedia retailing,” said Carol LeBlanc, director of consumer products for Smithsonian Enterprises. “Together, we will create jewelry that is not only fashionable, but also serves to educate the public about the Smithsonian and the jewelry, gems and minerals found in its collections.”

The jewelry will include earrings, rings, bracelets, pins and brooches, as well as replicas of pieces in the museum’s collection. This is the first time that the Smithsonian has entered into a relationship with a retailer to sell high-quality jewelry based on the museum’s collection.

“We are thrilled to team up with the Smithsonian to offer our customers jewelry inspired by one of its largest attractions—the National Gem and Mineral Collection,” said Debra Puzio, QVC’s director of merchandising. “Millions of people visit the museum each year, admiring its beautiful and rare jewelry and gemstone collection. Now our customers can share these national treasures in a very personal way as we give them access to owning jewelry based on items of great historical significance.”

About the Smithsonian
Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. There are 6,000 Smithsonian employees, including approximately 500 scientists, and more than 6,500 volunteers. Approximately 30 million people from around the world visited the Smithsonian in 2009 with more than 188 million visits to the Smithsonian Web sites. The total number of objects, works of art and specimens at the Smithsonian is estimated at 137 million.

About QVC Inc.
QVC Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Interactive Group (Nasdaq: LINTA), is one of the largest multimedia retailers in the world. QVC is committed to providing its customers with thousands of the most innovative and contemporary beauty, fashion, jewelry and home products. Its programming is distributed to more than 180 million homes worldwide. The company’s Web site, QVC.com, is ranked among the top general merchant Internet sites. With operations in the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, and launching in Italy this year, West Chester, Pa.-based QVC has shipped more than 1 billion packages in its 23-year history. QVC, Q and the Q Ribbon Logo are registered service marks of ER Marks Inc

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SI-152-2010