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Myth of Hope Diamond
Fiction
Taken from the Forehead of an Idol
Legend has it that several centuries ago the Hope Diamond was embedded in the forehead of a statue of the Hindu Goddess Sita. A man named Tavernier on a trip to India stole the large blue diamond from the temple. For this indiscretion, according to the legend, Tavernier was cursed with bad luck. He was torn apart by wild dogs on a trip to Russia. But by this time he had sold the diamond. This was the first horrible death attributed to the curse.
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Fact
In 1642 a Frenchman by the name of Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a jeweler who traveled extensively, visited India and bought a 112 3/16 carat blue diamond. This diamond was apparently much larger than the present weight of the Hope diamond because the Hope Diamond has been broken down at least twice in the past three centuries. The diamond is believed to have originated from the Kollur mine in Golconda, India.
Tavernier continued to travel around the world and arrived back in France in 1668, twenty-six years after he bought the large, blue diamond. French King Louis XIV, known as the "Sun King," ordered Tavernier to be presented at court. From Tavernier, Louis XIV bought the large, blue diamond as well as forty-four large diamonds and 1,122 smaller diamonds. Tavernier was knighted a noble and died at he age 84 in Russia. It is not clear how he died.
Susanne Patch, author of Blue Mystery: The Story of the Hope Diamond, suggests the shape of the diamond was such that it was unlikely to have been used as an eye of an idol.
King Louis XIV decided to re-cut the diamond to enhance its luster in 1673 (the previous cut had been to enhance size and not brilliance). The now cut gem was 67 1/8 carats. Louis XIV officially named it the "Blue Diamond of the Crown" and would often wear the diamond on a long ribbon around his neck.
Much later in 1749, when Louis XIV's great-grandson, Louis XV, was king, he ordered the court jeweler to make a decoration for the Order of the Golden Fleece, using the blue diamond and the Cote de Bretagne (a large red spinel - supposedly thought to be a ruby). The resulting decoration was extremely ornate and huge.
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Theft!
After Louis XV death, his grandson, the rather infamous Louis XVI, became ruler with Marie Antoinette as his queen. According to the legend, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were executed during the French Revolution because of the blue diamond's curse. But considering that even King Louis XIV and King Louis XV had both possessed and worn the blue diamond a number of times and not suffered any misfortune, it is difficult to pin the deaths of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI on the hope Diamond. It seems that it had much more to do with their extravagance and the historic French Revolution than a curse on the diamond. Also these two royals were amongst the many who lost their lives during the Reign of Terror.
During the French Revolution, the crown jewels, including the blue diamond, were taken from the royal couple and placed in the Garde-Meuble but were not well guarded. Hence between September 12 and September 16, 1791, the Garde-Meuble was repeatedly plundered, without notice from officials until September 17. Though most of the crown jewels were soon repossessed, the blue diamond was not and disappeared from the public eye for several years.
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The Hope Diamond makes an appearance!!
Evidence shows that the blue diamond resurfaced in London by 1813 and was in the possession of a jeweler by the name of Daniel Eliason by 1823. But it is not clear whether it was the same one stolen from the Garde-Meuble because the one in London was of a different cut. But many felt the uniqueness and flawlessness of the French blue diamond may have resulted in the seller re-cutting the French blue diamond in the hopes of keeping its origin a secret. The blue diamond, which is considered the Hope Diamond, which surfaced in London, was estimated at 44 carats.
After this evidence points to King George IV of England buying the Hope diamond from Daniel Eliason and upon the kings death, the diamond was sold to pay off outstanding dues.
In 1939, the blue diamond came into the hands of Henry Philip Hope, from whom the Hope diamond has taken its name. Here again the curse of the Hope Diamond sprang to life. The Hope family is said to have been struck with the diamond's curse. According to the legend, the wealthy Hopes went bankrupt because of the Hope diamond.
From authentic sources it is confirmed that Henry Philip Hope was one of the heirs of the banking firm Hope & Co. that was sold in 1813. Henry Philip Hope later became a collector of fine art and gems, and in this process ended up purchasing the large blue diamond that was then names as the Hope Diamond. Henry Philip Hope was a bachelor and left his estate to his three nephews when he died in 1839. The blue Hope diamond went to the oldest of the three brothers, Henry Thomas Hope.
Finally it was sold a couple of generations later it was sold to repay gambling debts and went out of the possession of the Hope family.
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Across the Atlantic
Simon Frankel, an American jeweler, purchased the Hope diamond in 1901 and who brought the diamond to the United States. The diamond went through several buyers before eventually ending with Pierre Cartier.
Pierre Cartier was interested in selling it a rich patron called Evalyn Walsh McLean. She had first seen the Hope diamond in 1910 while visiting Paris with her husband. Eventually Evalyn McLean bought the Hope diamond.
Susanne Patch, who has written a book on the Hope diamond, has a theory that Pierre Cartier deliberately started the story of the cursed blue diamond to provoke her to buy it. This lady apparently claimed objects usually considered ill fated turned into good luck for her. According to Patch's study, the tales about a curse attached to the diamond did not appear in print until the twentieth century, so it is quite possible her theory is right.
Evalyn McLean also suffered during this period. Her first-born son, Vinson, died in a car crash when he was only nine. McLean suffered another major loss when her daughter committed suicide at age 25. In addition to all this, Evalyn McLean's husband was declared insane and confined to a mental institution until his death in 1941.
These stories almost seem to vindicate the curse of the Hope Diamond. Evalyn McLean’s jewelry, along with the Hope Diamond was put on sale in 1949, two years after her death, in order to settle debts from the McLean estate.
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The Hope Diamond - Finally a resting place
When the Hope diamond went on sale from the McLean estate in 1949, it was bought by Harry Winston, a New York jeweler. He later offered the diamond, on many occasions, to be worn at balls to raise money for charity events.
Though some believe (again propagating the mythical curse of the blue gem) that Winston donated the Hope diamond to rid himself of the curse, there were other reasons for doing so. Winston donated the diamond because he had long pursued the dream of creating a institution which would house a national jewel collection. Therefore Winston donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in the year 1958 to be the launching of a newly established national gem collection as well as to enthuse others to donate similar treasures.
On November 10, 1958, the Hope diamond was received by a large group of people at the Smithsonian who were overjoyed at its arrival. The Hope diamond is currently on display as part of the National Gem and Mineral Collection in the National Museum of Natural History for all members of the public.
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