The diamond that is known today as the Hope Diamond was discovered in India. To the naked eye the Hope diamond appears to be bright blue. It is the world's largest blue diamond. Around 1660 a Frenchman named Jean-Baptiste Tavernier purchased it and sold the 115 carat diamond to French royalty. The diamond was cut to 67 1/8 carats and named the "French Blue". Today the Hope Diamond takes it residence in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in the Washington DC region of the United States of America. From its introduction into European history to its current resting place the Hope Diamond has been associated with much myth, mystery and legend.
The legend stems from a story that says Jean-Baptiste Tavernier stole the diamond from the eye of a idol in India. The myth is that when one of the idol's eyes was discovered missing the priests placed a curse upon whoever possesses the diamond. The mystery is that some of the possessors of this diamond actually have had unfortunate things happen to them.
Some of the early owners of this diamond were very misfortunate. However, because of their lifestyles it would be hard to say that their misfortune was due to possessing the diamond. For example: King Louis the sixteenth gave the diamond to Queen Marie Antoinette. They were both beheaded near the end of the French revolution (1789 – 1792). In 1792, Cadet Guillot helped to steal the diamond from the French crown jewels. He ended up deep in debt and tried to sell the diamond in London where he was imprisoned for his actions.
The whereabouts of the diamond after 1793 is undeterminable. In 1812 it is documented that a diamond resembling the French Blue was in the possession of Daniel Eliason, a London diamond merchant. It is commonly believed that the diamond was acquired by King George IV of England and in 1830 the diamond was sold to pay off his debts.
By 1839, England's Henry Phillip Hope, for whom the diamond is named, was the recorded owner. There is no record of any misfortune happening to him. However, his family fought over the diamond after his death. It stayed in the Hope family until 1901 when it was sold to settle gambling debts.
During the next few years, the Hope Diamond changed hands several times. And several documented suicides and murders occurred in the life of the owners during this period. In 1910, Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean from the Washington DC region of the USA purchased the Hope Diamond from Pierre Cartier of Paris. It is believed that Cartier or one of his salespersons made up the legend of the curse in order to intrigue Mrs. McLean into buying the diamond. Mrs. McLean often wore the diamond at social functions. She was somewhat eccentric and would at times have her great Dane wear it on his dog collar. Some believe that the several misfortunate events in Mrs. McLean's life were confirmation of the legendary curse on the Hope Diamond. The diamond remained in her ownership until her death in 1947.
In 1949 Harry Winston, Inc of New York city, purchased Mrs. McLean's jewelry from her estate. Over the next 10 years, Harry Winston, Inc. placed the Hope Diamond on exhibition world wide. On November 10, 1958 Harry Winston, Inc. donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian Institution. The Hope Diamond remains with the Smithsonian until today. There have been no misfortunate events due to the Museum's ownership of the Hope Diamond.
The Hope Diamond's statistics are as follows:
WEIGHT: 45.52 carats
DIMENSIONS: Length 25.60 mm WIDTH: 21.78 mm
DEPTH: 12.00 mm
CUT: Cushion antique brilliant with a faceted girdle and extra facets on the pavilion.
CLARITY: VS1. Whitish graining is present.
COLOR: Fancy dark grayish-blue
COST: Estimation unverifiable
(C) KNG Enterprises, Inc. 2008
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