Hope Diamond
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The Hope Diamond is a 45.52 carats (9.104 g; 0.3211 oz) blue-violet diamond that has been famed for its great size since the 17th century. It was extracted in the 17th century from the Kollur Mine in Guntur, India,. The Hope Diamond is a blue diamond. Its exceptional size has revealed new information about the formation of diamonds.
The Hope Diamond is a Golconda diamond. Its recorded history begins in 1666, when the French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier purchased it in India in uncut form. Tavernier sold it to King Louis XIV of France in 1668. Where after King Louis XIV had his jeweler turn it into "a piece to remember". After 2 years the jeweler returned a 69 carat triangular shaped cravat pin, the size of a pigeon egg, thus naming it "the French Blue" (Le bleu de France). It was stolen in 1792 during the French Revolution. While missing for many years, when it reappeared, in 1839, it was cut down to the size it is today, 42.52 carats. A wealthy banker named Henry Philip Hope was now the owner, and this is where it’s modern name comes from. Hope decided to list the diamond in his gem catalogue Hope banking family. Some say this is when the Hope Diamond’s curse first started to show itself, unfortunately within a year of listing the diamond in his catalog Henry Hope dies and his line of descendants the diamond passed through were riddled with financial difficulties, illnesses, and bad marriages.
Eventually famed jeweler, Perrier Cartier, sold the Hope Diamond to mining heiress and socialite Evelyn Walsh McLean. Despite her apprehension to buy it, due to the rumors of a curse, she went ahead with the purchase. Evelyn would wear this diamond around her neck with pride; it is even said that during lavish parties she would even hide it around her home having the children in attendance play rich people hide-and-seek with it, encouraging them to run around and find it. Evelyn didn’t seem to have any issues with the curse though she did pass away at the age of 60 due to pneumonia. In 1947 another famed jeweler, Harry Winston, bought the diamond, from Evelyn Walsh McLean’s estate, for an undisclosed amount. This would be the last time The Hope Diamond was owned by a private person. After exhibiting the diamond on tour for several years, Harry Winston donated in 1958 to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where it remains on permanent exhibition.
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Awaken - 2021-07-10 00:00:00
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