Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille discovered NGC 3293 = Lac II-8 = D 321 = h3276 in early 1752, using a 1/2-inch telescope at 8x during his expedition to the Cape of Good Hope. He described a "Small heap of 4 small stars forming a lozenge."

James Dunlop claimed to observe the cluster 4 times (first on 29 Apr 1826) and described "a very small cluster of very small bright stars; round figure, about 4' diameter; rich in extremely small stars resembling faint nebula". His position is poor -- 17' WSW of the cluster.

John Herschel only has a rough position in the Cape catalogue using his small refractor (no published observations with his 18-inch!) and he noted "a fine, bright, rich, not very L cluster. (Equatorial zone review)." A corrected RA was given in the IC 2 notes (Harv. Ann., xxvi, p207). Neither Lacaille nor Dunlop are listed as discoverers in the Cape catalogue, GC or NGC.

Henry Chamberlain Russell coined the nickname the "Gem Cluster" in an 1879 paper.

300/350mm - 12" (6/29/02 - Bargo, Australia): this very rich, young cluster is situated just NW of the Eta Carina complex and is one of the top open clusters in the southern sky. It is bright, compact and very rich with a half-dozen mag 6-8 stars over a rich background of dozens of mag 10-13 star in a 10' diameter. Appears somewhat similar to the Jewel Box including a mag 7 reddish supergiant, but with even a more compact appearance. The listed 40' diameter is much larger than the visual impression.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb