The light of the Hope diamond manages to magnify the halo of mystery that surrounds it. Also known as a blue diamond, the diamond Hope It has an estimated weight of 45 carats, being described as a navy blue diamond with traces of boron.
The ‘Hope’ diamond has become a legend thanks to the supposed curse that has darkened the lives of its respective owners. From millionaire losses of money, to the worst ways to die. Without a doubt, the ‘Hope’ diamond managed to go down in history for something more than its particular beauty.
The origin of the ‘Hope’ diamond begins in a mine in India. Characterized by being triangular in shape, its first owner was the French merchant, Jean Baptiste Tavernier. The legend of the curse indicates that a deity of the sun had cut the gem to offer it to the Hindu goddess, Sita, but before it was delivered, the diamond was stolen from the offering.
From the hands of Tavernier, it passed to King Louis XIV of France, who used to wear it as a pendant, after being cut and embedded in a piece of gold. The ‘Hope’ diamond remained a part of the French monarchy, eventually earning the name «French Blue Crown Diamond». With the death of Louis XV, the diamond passed into the hands of his successor, Louis XVI, who decided to give it to the queen, Marie Antoinette.
With the French Revolution, the diamond was stolen by a cadet named Guillot, who took it to London to sell it, but was imprisoned in 1796. With the legislative process of the recovery of royal assets after the French Revolution, the diamond was kept hidden until in 1824 it became part of the collection of Henry Phillip Hope.
When not used in a fibula, the ‘Hope’ diamond was shared with his brother’s wife, Henry Thomas Hope, remaining for several generations in the same family, who even demonstrated it at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1855. Until 1901, the ‘Hope’ diamond remained a family jewel.
Francis Hope sold the diamond to Adolf Well, who would only be its predecessor owner, followed by Abdul Hamid, Evalyn Walsh McLean, and Harry Winston. Currently, the ‘Hope’ diamond remains in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of History, after Winston donated it in 1958, sending it through the national mail service, wrapped in butcher paper.
It seems strange that such a precious gem has passed through so many different hands, but it turns out that the mystery that accompanies him is the main factor in his changing destiny.. The ‘Hope’ diamond is credited with the bankruptcy and tragic death of Tavernier, whose body was devoured by vermin from a river in Russia; the surprise death of Louis XIV; the fall from grace of the French monarchy, with Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette being led to the guillotine; and the most recent tragic deaths of the Hamid and McLean families.