The Hope Diamond is unique in many ways. First, it has a deep, dark blue color that makes it similar to a sapphire—diamonds of this color are very rare. Second, it is the rarest diamond ever discovered. It weighed 112 carats in the rough, but has been cut several times over the centuries, and now weighs 45.52 carats.
The blue diamond takes its name from the family that came into possession of it in the 19th century. Despite this, it is known as the Hope Diamond, not the Hope Diamond, because the word “hope” means “hope” in English. Over the centuries, the blue gem has had various names. The French know it as the Great Blue Jewel, Le Bijou du Roi — the King’s Jewel, or the “French Blue.”
This happened so often that the gem was called cursed. Before this happened, however, in the 17th century, the Great Blue Jewel, through the French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, reached the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV. In Paris, it was cut for the first time and set in a gold setting, because the French ruler wanted to wear it as an ornament. After this procedure, the diamond “lost weight” significantly, weighing 67.50 carats. The courtiers were enchanted by the beauty of the royal jewel, yet the ruler is said to have worn it only once.
Perhaps because, according to some sources, the ruler of France gave it to his mistress and mother of his seven children, Françoise-Athena de Rochechouart, known as the Marquise de Montespan. The woman was accused of witchcraft and using poisons to eliminate rivals to the heart and bed of Louis XIV. She was also accused of using aphrodisiacs on the king. The ruler covered up the case, but the Marquise fell out of favor and had to leave Paris. She died in 1679, and the king forbade her children from wearing mourning for her.
but he had to watch his legitimate children and grandchildren die. It wasn’t just an emotional issue – the lack of a male heir meant problems with succession and a potential power struggle, which Louis XIV wanted to avoid at all costs. Especially since the last period of his reign was a time of economic crisis and famine. The great and magnificent enterprises we learn about in school were extremely expensive, and the long-term budgetary strain eventually affected the economy. When the Sun King died of gangrene, his only surviving offspring was only five years old, and the country was in a serious crisis.
who gave “French Blue” to the courtesan and his favorite — Jeanne Bécu, Countess du Barry. The king had a special relationship with the countess in the years 1768-1774. Their peaceful years did not last long, because in 1770 Louis XV’s daughter-in-law — Marie Antoinette — appeared at the court, who showed open dislike for the adulteress (Marie Antoinette was an Austrian Catholic). Soon the king’s health deteriorated and in order to be able to confess, he dismissed Countess du Barry — the woman lived in a convent. In 1793 she was arrested by the Revolutionary Tribunal and after the trial — guillotined.
In 1789, the people stormed the Bastille, starting the French Revolution, during which Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were beheaded. France became a republic, and the stone was lost for many years.
The diamond reappeared in the 1820s at the court of George IV, the ruler of Great Britain. No longer looking like Le Bijou du Roi, it was reworked, changing its shape and, in the process, its weight to – 44.50 carats. The king, famous for giving in to his whims, whether in matters of food, entertainment or sex, had brought his own and the state’s treasuries to ruin, so he had to save the day – . George did not enjoy the budget repaired by this transaction for long. The ruler, who was blind and very overweight, developed a gastrointestinal hemorrhage that led to his death.
Thomas Hope, in addition to his bank holdings, was a patron of the arts, an interior decorator, and an artist. He collected paintings and other wonderful works of art, accumulating them in his home, which he made available like a museum. In early 1831, Thomas felt ill and died shortly afterwards. Francis Hope, the last of the family to inherit the diamond, was forced to sell it in the face of impending bankruptcy. As if his misfortunes were not enough, Hop’s wife, an American singer, betrayed him and left him for another man. It was from the family name that the diamond began to be called the Hope diamond.
who sold it to a New York jewelry dealer — Simon Frankel, who in turn sold it in 1908 for over $13 million to a Turkish collector, Salomon Habib. It is not known why, but a year later the new buyer sold the Hope diamond in Paris for a much lower amount of $2.61 million. According to some sources, Habib was only an intermediary who bought the jewel for Abdul Hamid II – the Sultan of Turkey. However, shortly after the purchase, a revolution broke out in the country, the ruler was overthrown and spent the rest of his life in captivity.
After so many tragic fates, disasters and cruel deaths that have befallen the owners of the Hope diamond over the centuries, a rumor quickly spread that the stone was cursed. But where did this curse come from?
In the 17th century, the stone was supposedly brought to Europe by a French merchant, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who bought it in India after his trained eye recognized that the precious stone was not a sapphire but an unusual diamond — that was the official version. In this version, an angry god whose statue had been desecrated curses the blue diamond, which from then on brings bad luck.
The origin of the world’s largest blue diamond is also unclear. For centuries, it was believed that the Hope diamond was discovered in a diamond mine in Kollur, India. However, recent research shows that they most likely come from Wajrakarur in Andhra Pradesh, which is located 300 kilometers from Kollur.
The next owners of the Hope diamond were the McLean family, who paid 10 million dollars for it. Edward McLean was the owner of the “Washington Post”, while his wife – Evelyn was born as the daughter of an ordinary miner, but the miner struck gold and became a millionaire in an instant. Evelyn McLean had a loose relationship with the gem, it is said that she often lost the precious necklace and then invited the gathered children to “play finding hope”. The diamond was found every time, no one stole it, and the McLeans were not cursed.
The last owner of the Hope diamond was an American merchant, Harry Winston. The man said that everyone should have the opportunity to admire such a beautiful stone. Winston packed the precious gem in an envelope and sent it by registered mail. The shipment was insured for one million dollars.
How much does Hope cost? The diamond has no real price, because it has been an exhibit in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington for years, but experts estimate its value at . Currently, the blue diamond, along with 16 smaller, white diamonds surrounding it, is part of a necklace, the chain of which is decorated with 45 more, white diamonds.