The Hope Diamond

Of course no trip to DC is complete without stopping in to see the World’s most famous diamond, the 45.52 carat Hope Diamond. I guess I would say the diamond is about the size of a walnut or maybe a little bit bigger. Lots of people commented on how small it was but I assure you it really is impressive. The Hope diamond is surrounded by 16 white diamonds and connected to a platinum chain with another 46 white diamonds. Although it has been re cut several times over the years it has steadily increased in value.

The Hope Diamond was found in India. No one is completely sure how old it is but rocks in India where diamonds are found have been dated at 1.1 billion years old. It started out as a 112 3/16 carat diamond that was purchased by a French merchant named Jean Baptiste Tavernier. In 1668 Tavernier sold the diamond to King Louis XIV of France. In 1673 it was re cut to 67 1/8 carats. It became known as the Blue Diamond of the Crown or French Blue. The King wore it on a ribbon around his neck for ceremonial occasions.

In 1791 after an attempt by King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to flee France, all the jewels of the royal treasury were turned over to the government. In September 1792 it was stolen.

In 1812 a deep blue diamond believed to be the Hope diamond was documented as belonging to a London diamond merchant named Daniel Eliason. There is strong evidence that it was acquired by King George IV of England. Upon his death it was believed to be sold through private channels in order to help pay for his enormous debt.

A 1839 entry in Henry Phillip Hope’s gem catalogue is the first reference to its next known owner, that was of course Henry Phillip Hope who the diamond is now named for. They is no reference as to who Hope acquired the diamond from. Later that year Henry Phillip Hope died and the diamond was passed on to his nephew Henry Thomas Hope, and then his grandson Lord Francis Hope. In 1902 Lord Francis Hope sold the diamond to pay off his debts. It was purchased by a London dealer who then sold it to Joseph Frankles and Sons of New York City. They kept the stone until they too needed money and sold it to Selim Habib who put it up for auction in Paris in 1909. It was eventually sold to R.H Rosenau and later resold that same year to Pierre Cartier.

While in Paris on her honeymoon Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean, was shown the diamond while it was at Cartiers. She eventually bought the diamond in 1912. Sometime later it was placed in the setting was we see it today. By the time it was acquired by Mrs McLean the legend of the Hope Diamond’s curse was well known (it seems a lot of people who owned it went broke and died). Mrs McLean actually found the stories of the curse amusing and had no issues with adding the diamond to her collection. Mrs. McLean died in 1947 and 2 years later her entire jewellery collection was purchased by Harry Winston Inc. Her collection not only included the Hope Diamond, but also the 94.9 carat Star of the East diamond, the 15 carat Star of the South Diamond, a 9 carat green diamond and 31 carat diamond that is now called the McLean diamond. Harry Winston Inc. donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian in November of 1958.

There are still many mysteries regarding the Hope Diamond including some of its previous owners and the possibility that it was actually cut from a much larger stone and that there is in fact a sister stone out there somewhere. Really I guess the mystery and intrigue of the stone are part of the reasons why it is worth so much.

Julie