Hope Diamond French Blue Hope Family Road To USA Smithsonian

Hope diamond was originally mined from the Kollur mine in Golconda, India, and was a crudely cut triangular shape of 112 3/16-carats. French merchant traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier purchased it around 1660-1661 and it was named "Tavernier Blue".

During the French RevolutionThe period of the French Revolution in the history of France covers the years between 1789 and 1799, in which democrats and republicans overthrew the absolute monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. While France wo when King Louis XVILouis XVI of France ( August 23, 1754 January 21, 1793) succeeded his grandfather ( Louis XV of France) as King of France on May 10, 1774; he was crowned on June 11, 1775. His father, the Louis dauphin son of Marie Leszczynska, had died in 1765. Louis was and Marie AntoinetteElisabeth Vigee-Lebrun Marie Antoinette ( November 2, 1755 October 16, 1793) was Queen Consort of France. Daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria of the Habsburg dynasty and her consort, the Emperor Francis I, she was married to the heir to the Frenc were held in prison, the pendant with the diamond was stolen September 11September 11 is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years). There are 111 days remaining. It is usually the first day of the Coptic calendar (in the period 1900 to 2099 A. The terms "September 11" and "9/11" have been widely used in the Western media 1792Events January 25 The London Corresponding Society is founded. February 20 The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington. March 16 King of Sweden Gustav III Shot in the back by Jaco when six men broke into the house used to store the crown jewels. One of the robbers, cadet Guillot, took it to Le HavreLe Havre is a city in Normandy, northern France, on the English Channel at the mouth of the Seine. Population: 200,000. It was the port-of-call for French ocean liners making the Transatlantic crossing cf Cruise ship). Administration Le Havre is a sous-pr alongside the Gôte de Bretagne spinel and then to London where he tried to sell the jewels. 1696, apparently seriously in debt, he handed the spinel to Lancry de la Loyelle, who had Guillot put into prison for his trouble. There is no record of what had happened to the diamond.

A similar blue diamond was in the possession of a London diamond merchant Daniel Eliason in September 1812Events January 1 the Allgemeines Burgerliches Gesetzbuch, the Austrian civil code enters into force in the Austrian Empire February 2 Russia establishes a fur trading colony at Fort Ross, California February 7 The strongest in a series of massive earthqua. This diamond now known as the "Hope Diamond" is believed to be the re-cut French Blue. It is believed that it was acquired by King George IVGeorge IV (George Augustus Frederick) ( 12 August 1762 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820. He had earlier served as Prince Regent; his father, George III, suffered from porphyria, and had lapsed into insanity. although there is no record of the ownership in the Royal Archives at Windsor.

2 Hope Family

Next the diamond appeared in the gem collection of Henry Philip Hope in 1824, who had it set on a brooch and sometimes loaned it to Louisa Beresford, wife of his brother Henry Thomas Hope to host society balls. Henry Philip Hope died in 1839 and his three nephews fought in court for ten years over his inheritance until Henry Hope acquired the gems, including the Hope Diamond. The Hope Diamond was in display in the Great Exhibition of London in 1851 and Paris Exhibition Universelle in 1855 but was usually kept in a bank vault.

Henry Hope died on December 4, 1862 and his wife Adele inherited the gem until her death in March 31 1884. The next owner was Henry Francis Hope Pelham-Clinton , son of a daughter of Henry and Adele Hope, Henrietta and the 6th Duke of Newcastle, who had to add one additional Hope to his name. He received his inheritance in 1887. However, he had only a life interest to his heritance, meaning that he could not sell anything.

Sir Francis' expensive tastes brought him to bankruptcy. In 1894 he married US actress May Yohe . Yohe later claimed that she had worn the Hope Diamond in social gatherings but Sir Francis claimed otherwise. In effect, Sir Francis lived on his wife's salary from her theatrical performances. His bankruptcy was discharged in 1896 but he sought a court's permission to sell his life inheritance. In 1901 he received a permission to sell the Hope Diamond.

3 Road to USA

Hope was sold for £29,000 to London jewel merchant Adolf Weil who sold it to US diamond dealer Simon Frankel, who took it to New York. There it was evaluated worth $141,032 (equal to £28,206 at the time). 1908 Frankel sold the diamond to Salomon Habib in Paris for $400,000. It was presented in an aborted auction on June 24 1909 alongside other possessions of Habib to settle his debts. Habib sold the Hope Diamond to Paris jewel merchant Rosenau for equal to $80,000. 1910 Rosenau sold it to Pierre Cartier for 550,000 francs.

Cartier re-set the stone and 1911 sold it to US socialite Evalyn Walsh MacLean , who initially rejected it but afterwards wore it in every social occasion she organized. When she died 1947, she had willed the diamond to her grandchildren though her property would be in the hands of trustees until the five eldest had reached 25 years of age, which would have meant at least 20 years in the future. However, the trustees gained permission to sell her jewels to settle her debts and in 1949 sold them to New York diamond merchant Harry Winston .

Winston exhibited the Hope Diamond in his Court of Jewels, a tour of jewels around USA, and various charity balls over the years but did not sell it. In August 1958 the diamond was exhibited in the Canadian National Exhibition. He also had the bottom facet cut to increase the diamond's brilliance and donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in November 7 1958. He sent it through the US Mail. Winston died of heart attack in 1978.

4 Smithsonian years

The Hope Diamond is part of the National Gem Collection in the Smithsonian Institution, in the National Museum of Natural History. At first it was placed inside a glass-fronted safe in a gem hall. In 1962 it was loaned to an exhibition of French jewellery in Paris and in 1965 to South Africa to Rand Easter Show . After renovations to the gems exhibit were completed, the diamond was moved into its own display room, adjacent to the main gem exhibit, where it on a rotating pedestal. This exhibit is the most popular in the museum.

The most recent examinations show the diamond to weigh 45.52 carats and it is described as "Fancy dark grayish-blue". The stone exhibits a unique delayed fluorescence; like many other gemstones, it emits a dim light under ultraviolet light, but when the light source is removed, the diamond produces a brilliant red phosphorescence.

5 The Curse

First stories about the supposed curse of the Hope Diamond surfaced 1909. In the June 25 issue of The Times an article written by the Paris correspondent listed a number of supposed owners who had come to an ignoble end.

The curse's origins are from India. According to legend, Tavernier stole the diamond from a Hindu idol. The diamond was one of the two eyes of the idol, and when the priests noticed it was missing, they placed a curse on whomever owned the diamond. One reason that this is not accepted is because the Hope Diamond's sister has not been found. Tavernier supposedly died of fever soon after - when he actually lived to 84 (and was not torn apart by wolves, either). The Hope diamond was blamed for fall of king's favor for of madame Athenais de Montespan and French finance minister Nicolas Fouquet, not the mention beheading of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and Princes de Lamballe. Story added fictitious persons like a diamond cutter Wilhelm Fals (supposedly ruined when his son Hendrik stole it), Hendrik Fals (suicide) and Francois Beaulieu (starvation after he had supposedly sold it to Daniel Eliason).

Simon Frankel (alleged to be in financial difficulties) had supposedly sold it to one Jacques Colot (suicide); The next owner, Russian prince Kanitowski who first had supposedly lent it to French actress Lorens Ladue who he later shot and was later himself killed by revolutionaries; jeweler Simon Montharides (killed with his family) and Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid (the diamond was blamed for his forced abdication) who had supposedly killed various members of his court for the stone. There is no evidence that most of these people ever existed.

May Yohe later blamed the Hope Diamond for her misfortunes like her divorce from Sir Francis and her unsuccessful stage career. In 1920 she persuaded US silent movie producer George Kleine to produce a 15-episode serial The Hope Diamond Mystery, which added more fictitious characters to the tale. It was not successful. 1921 she hired Henry Leyford Gates to help her to write The Mystery of the Hope Diamond with more characters, including a fictional version of Tavernier and added Marat to the victims. She also wore a copy of the Hope Diamond, probably trying to generate more publicity to further her career.

Evalyn Walsh MacLean also added her own tales, including that one of the owners would have been Catherine the Great.

6 Books

Marian Fowler, Hope - Adventures of a diamond

Famous gems

<Hide>

Home > Hope Diamond

1 French Blue