Throughout history, several diamonds have gained fame for their size, beauty, and storied past.
The Hope Diamond
Known for its deep blue color and a supposed curse, the stone known as the “Hope Diamond” currently resides in the Smithsonian Institution.
The stone is thought to have originally been dug from the Kollur mine in Hyderabad, India, one of the largest and most productive diamond mines on the Indian subcontinent. It was supposedly one of the eyes of a sculpted statue of the goddess Sita, the wife of Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu which may explain the apparent curse which afflicted those who possessed it. It is said the diamond was stolen by a French traveller named Jean Baptiste Tavernier in the 1600’s, who sold it to King Louis XIV of France in 1668. Its color was described in the royal inventory as an intense steely-blue, and the stone became known as the “Blue Diamond of the Crown,” or the “French Blue.” The diamond was set in gold and suspended on a neck ribbon which the king wore on ceremonial occasions.
The “French Blue” diamond was stolen by an unknown thief during the French Revolution when the palace and jewelry repositories were looted, and never seen again.
However, in 1812, a remarkable deep blue diamond was documented in the possession of a London Diamond merchant named Danial Eliason. It is believed this diamond was the re-cut French Blue, previously in the possession of King Louis XIV. Some references suggest the stone was acquired by King George IV (1762-1830) of the United Kingdom, and subsequently sold after his death to resolve his debts.
The first reference to the diamond’s next owner is found in the 1839 entry of the gem collection catalogue of Henry Philip Hope, the man from whom the diamond takes its name. Described as a 45.52 carat fancy dark greyish-blue cushion-cut diamond, the catalogue unfortunately does not reveal where or from whom Hope acquired the diamond or how much he paid for it.
Henry Philip Hope was born into a wealthy Anglo-Dutch family and one of their heirs to the banking business Hope & Co. Hope was a collector of the arts and precious gems. When he died in 1839, his collection was viewed as “…one of most perfect collections of diamonds and precious stones that has, perhaps, ever been possessed by a private individual.
The diamond was donated to the Smithsonian Museum in 1958 by Harry Winston.
The Hope Diamond Curse
Many stories of discord linked to the stone are plainly false, for example the claim that it was on board the Titanic when in sank.
Henry Philip Hope suffered a long series of misfortunes, including the death of his only son, and died without a direct heir. The stone was at the centre of discord amongst the Hope family on the death of Henry Hope and years of bitter legal wrangling took place before the splitting of the collection amongst Hope’s nephews.
Lord Francis Thomas Hope inherited the Hope Diamond and died bankrupt. His wife, May Yohe runs off with an army officer and he is forced to sell the Hope Diamond to jeweler Simon Frankel in 1901 for $168,000. Simon Frankel and all subsequent owners suffer series of misfortunes. It is reputed that even the mailman who delivered the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian on behalf of Harry Winston suffered serious injuries in several accidents and his house burned down.
The Cullinan Diamond
The largest gem-quality diamond ever found, it was cut into several stones, with the largest, the Great Star of Africa, set in the British Crown Jewels. The stone was found in 1905 at the Premier mine in modern-day South Africa and named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, who had discovered the mine three years earlier. The superintendent of the mine, Frederick Wells, spotted the enormous stone by chance while on his rounds. Apparently the stone was initially thrown out of the window of the mine manager’s office because it was thought to be a worthless crystal!
