The Hope Diamond is one of the most famous diamonds in the world. It is perhaps the largest and most perfect blue diamond at over 45.5 carats. Its brilliant blue color is due to the presence of traces of boron in it. It is classified as a Type llb diamond, and displays red phosphorescence under ultraviolet light.
While there are numerous tales about its origins and legends about its curse, the Hope Diamond as it is known today, was first put on sale in 1812 by a London jeweler Daniel. It is believed to have acquired by British Monarch, King George IV, though there is no record of it in the Royal archives.
The Hope Diamond got its name from its subsequent owner, Henry Philip Hope, in whose collection it resurfaced in 1824. On his death, after much litigation, it passed on to his nephew Henry Hope, and stayed with the family till 1902. The Hope Diamond was sold to a London jeweler, but eventually made its way to the United States. It was bought by the Sultan of Turkey, who subsequently sold it in 1910. The diamond was later sold to Pierre Cartier of Paris, who changed its setting, and sold it to a young flamboyant American socialite Evelyn Walsh McLean.
It was Evelyn Walsh McLean who brought the Hope Diamond into the limelight. She wore it on every social occasion, and eventually she was recognized wherever she went because of the ever present diamond necklace. Like almost all of its previous owners had done, the Hope Diamond was sold to settle debts. It was bought by New York diamond merchant Harry Winston in1949, who exhibited it around the world. He eventually donated it to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC in 1958.
The Hope Diamond has been a central exhibit at the Smithsonian ever since. It has been taken abroad on a few occasions, for exhibitions and is a star attraction of the Institute’s National Gem Collection. In 2005, after detailed computer analysis, the Institution officially confirmed that the Hope Diamond was part of the missing French Blue Crown Jewel.
The Origins of the Hope Diamond
Until 2005, the origins of the Hope Diamond were only a matter of conjecture. In 1660, a French merchant Tavernier took a 112 carat blue diamond from India to France. The diamond was mined in the Kollur mines of Golconda, and was believed to be stolen from the third eye of a Hindu Goddess. This is also believed to be the origin of the curse. Tavernier sold it to King Louis XIV, who had it cut to 67 carats. It became known as the Blue Diamond of the Crown or French Blue.
It was stolen during the French Revolution, and surfaced mysteriously in London twenty years after it disappeared. Death and debt may have stalked its owners, but the Smithsonian has raked in a fortune from curious visitors who come to see the Hope Diamond.
