Hope Diamond

The curse of the Hope diamond
by The Historian

The Hope Diamond is probably the most famous precious stone in the world and is now the centerpiece of the National Gem Collection at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. For many years, however, it passed from private owner to private owner. One of these private owners was Evalyn Walsh McLean, a flamboyant American socialite who is largely responsible for the fame of the jewel. According to legend, McLean and most of the other private owners were cursed by their possession of the jewel which brought bad luck to whoever owned it.

There are conflicting stories about the origins of the Hope Diamond, but most agree that it was the same gem once known as the Tavernier Blue. Supposedly, this gem came from the Kollur mine in Golconda, India and was bought by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in 1660 or 1661 after it had been stolen from the eye of a statue of the Hindu goddess Sita. According to legend, the curse of the Hope diamond comes from its having been stolen from this Hindu idol.

Whatever its origins, the deep blue 112 carat diamond came into the possession of Tavernier who sold it to King Louis XIV in 1668. The court jeweler cut the gem into a 67 1/8 carat crown jewel known as French Blue or the Blue Diamond of the Crown. It stayed in the hands of the French monarchy until it was stolen during the French Revolution in 1792. Incidentally, King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were both beheaded during the Revolution making them one of the most famous victims of the curse. The diamond eventually appeared in London under the possession of various merchants. It may have even been owned by King George IV of England for a brief time. It was not until 1824 that it finally resurfaced for good, however. That was the year it came into the possession of Henry Philip Hope, for whom diamond was named.

The Hopes were a prominent English family and the fame of the diamond spread while it was in their possession. It was in the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 and in London in 1855. It stayed in the family until 1902 when it was sold by Lord Francis Hope to pay his mounting debts. The diamond was then kicked around until 1911 when the French diamond merchant Pierre Cartier sold it to Evalyn Walsh McLean, an American mining heiress. She made it the pendant in a diamond necklace that it is today.

She wore it virtually every social function she attended from the time she purchased it to the time of her death in 1947. Unfortunately, those who believe in the curse say it brought her great tragedy. She lost her nine year old son in an automobile accident and her twenty-five year old daughter to an overdose of sleeping piles. Further, her husband left her for another woman and McLean lost much of her fortune by the end of her life. Although she willed it to her grandchildren, the gem had to be sold to pay her doubts.

It was bought by Hary Winston who took it on a nine year tour of the United States and Canada raising money for charity. It was also him who cut it one last time to accentuate its luster, making it 45 carats. In 1958, he sent it in a brown paper bag through the United States Postal System to the Smithsonian Institute to add to the national gem collection. It is now the centerpiece of the Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals and is viewed behind three inches of bullet proof glass by thousands of visitors every year. If there was ever any curse attached to it, it was apparently broken by Winston's good will tour as it has not been blamed for any misfortune since he acquired it in 1949.

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