As Lord Francis Hope, this grandson received his legacy in However, he had only a life interest in his inheritance, meaning that he could not sell any part of it without court permission.
She later claimed that she had worn it at social gatherings and had an exact replica made for her performances, but her husband claimed otherwise. Lord Francis lived beyond his means, and this eventually caught up with him, leading to marriage troubles and financial reverses, and he found that he had to sell the diamond.
In , his bankruptcy was discharged, but, as he could not sell the Hope Diamond without the court's permission, he was supported financially by his wife during these intervening years. In , the financial situation had changed, and after a "long legal fight," he was given permission to sell the Hope Diamond by an order of the Master in Chancery to "pay off debts".
There were reports in one story in The New York Times of several owners of the gem, perhaps who had bought it from Frankel and owned it temporarily who met with ill-fortune, but this report conflicts with the more likely possibility that the gem remained in the hands of the Frankel jewelry firm during these years.
Like many jewelry firms, the Frankel business ran into financial difficulties during the depression of and referred to the gem as the "hoodoo diamond.
A contrary report, however, suggested that Sultan Abdul Hamid did own the gem but ordered Habib to sell it when his throne "began to totter. The Parisian jewel merchant Simon Rosenau bought the Hope Diamond for , francs and resold it in to Pierre Cartier for , francs. Smithsonian mineralogist George Switzer is credited with persuading jeweler Harry Winston to donate the Hope Diamond Institution for a proposed national gem collection to be housed at the National Museum of Natural History.
On November 10, , Winston acquiesced, sending it through U. Upon its arrival it became Specimen Winston had never believed in any of the tales about the curse; he donated the diamond with the hope that it would help the United States "establish a gem collection. Winston's gift, according to Smithsonian curator Dr. Jeffrey Post, indeed helped spur additional gifts to the museum.
For its first four decades in the National Museum of Natural History, the Hope Diamond lay in its necklace inside a glass-fronted safe as part of the gems and jewelry gallery, except for a few brief excursions: a exhibition to the Louvre; the Rand Easter Show in Johannesburg, South Africa; and two visits back to Harry Winston's premises in New York City, once in , and once for a 50th anniversary celebration in To guard against theft during the diamond's trip to the Louvre exhibition, Switzer traveled to Paris with the Hope Diamond tucked inside a velvet pouch sewn by his wife.
The Hope Diamond was placed into the pouch, which was pinned inside Switzer's pants pocket for the flight. When the Smithsonian's gallery was renovated in , the necklace was moved onto a rotating pedestal inside a cylinder made of 3-inch 76 mm thick bulletproof glass in its own display room, adjacent to the main exhibit of the National Gem Collection, in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals.
The Hope Diamond is the most popular jewel on display and the collection's centerpiece. There is evidence of several newspaper accounts which helped spread the curse story. A New Zealand newspaper article in described the supposedly lurid history of the Hope Diamond, including a claim that it was "said once to have formed the single eye of a great idol", as part of a confused description that also claimed that its namesake owner had personally "brought it from India", and that the diamond's true color was "white, [although] when held to the light, it emits the most superb and dazzling blue rays.
An additional account of the Hope Diamond's "cursed origins" was a fanciful and anonymously written newspaper article in It was followed by another article in which detailed a rather lengthy list of supposed cases of ill-fortune but with few confirmations from other sources: Jacques Colet bought the Hope Diamond from Simon Frankel and committed suicide.
Prince Ivan Kanitovski bought it from Colet but was killed by Russian revolutionists. Kanitovski loaned it to Mlle Ladue who was "murdered by her sweetheart. Sultan Hamid gave it to Abu Sabir to "polish" but later Sabir was imprisoned and tortured. Stone guardian Kulub Bey was hanged by a mob in Turkey.
A Turkish attendant named Hehver Agha was hanged for having it in his possession. Tavernier, who brought the stone from India to Paris was "torn to pieces by wild dogs in Constantinople. Nicholas Fouquet, an "Intendant of France", borrowed it temporarily to wear it but was "disgraced and died in prison. A few months later, perhaps compounded by inaccurate reports in The New York Times on November 17, , it was incorrectly reported that the diamond's former owner, Selim Habib, had drowned in a shipwreck of the steamer Seyne near Singapore; in fact, it was a different person with the same name, not the owner of the diamond.
There was also speculation that jeweler Pierre Cartier further embroidered the lurid tales to intrigue Evalyn Walsh McLean into buying the Hope Diamond in The theme of greedy robbers stealing a valuable metal from the tomb or shrine of an ancient god or ruler, and then being punished by it, is one which repeats in many different forms of literature.
A likely source of inspiration for the fabrications was the Wilkie Collins' novel The Moonstone , which created a coherent narrative from vague and largely disregarded legends which had been attached to other diamonds such as the Koh-i-Noor and the Orloff diamond.
The theme can be seen in the stories about the curse of Egyptian king Tutankhamun and in more recent films such as the Indiana Jones films. Frankel sold it to a Turkish diamond collector in but the next year, it was sold at auction in Paris.
It was resold to Pierre Cartier in Evalyn died in , and in , the Hope Diamond was sold to New York diamond merchant Harry Winston in order to settle her debts. You might have heard that the Hope Diamond is cursed, but experts say that this is nothing but superstition. Back to famous diamonds. All rights reserved. Worthy, Inc. The Hope Diamond. Share This Article. Hope Diamond History Believed to have originated in the Kollur mine in Golconda, India, the Hope Diamond was originally a much larger stone when it was purchased by French merchant traveller, Jean Baptiste Tavernier in the 17th century.
Hope Diamond Curse Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Hope Diamond is the alleged curse it spread to its owners over the last four centuries. Was this article helpful? Related Articles. Diamond Cuts and Diamond Shapes 1st Nov When buying a diamond it is important to understand the What Is Nephrite Jade? Meaning, History, Value, And Price! Gem Rock Auctions 1st Nov When you pack mother nature and the sun into a Latest Articles. Gem Rock Auctions 12th Nov Black onyx is a type of layered chalcedony in midnight Approved Gemstone Testing Laboratories 11th Nov Gem rock auctions has one of the largest range of Green Gemstones: Which Gems are Green?
Search the Gemstone Encyclopedia Search Encyclopedia. Birthstones By Month Our list of birthstones by month will help you understand what each birthstone means and why they make thoughtful and beautiful gifts. Did You Know? Tavernier arrived back in France in , where he was invited by the French King Louis XIV , the "Sun King," to visit him at court, describe his adventures and sell him diamonds.
Louis XIV bought the large, blue diamond as well as 44 large diamonds and 1, smaller diamonds. Tavernier was made a noble, wrote his memoirs in several volumes, and died at the age 84 in Russia. Louis XIV officially named it the "Blue Diamond of the Crown" and would often wear the diamond on a long ribbon around his neck. In , Louis XIV's great-grandson, Louis XV, was king and ordered the crown 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 thought at the time to be a ruby.
The resulting decoration was extremely ornate. During the Reign of Terror, the crown jewels including the blue diamond were taken from the royal couple after they attempted to flee France in The jewels were placed in the royal storehouse known as the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, but were not well guarded.
Between September 12 and 16, , the Garde-Meuble was repeatedly looted, something officials didn't notice until September Though most of the crown jewels were soon recovered, the blue diamond was not, and it disappeared. A large 44 carat blue diamond resurfaced in London by , and was owned by jeweler Daniel Eliason by It isn't certain that the blue diamond in London was the same one stolen from the Garde-Meuble because the one in London was of a different cut.
Yet, most people feel the rarity and perfection of the French blue diamond and the blue diamond that appeared in London makes it likely that someone re-cut the French blue diamond in the hopes of hiding its origin. Hope was a collector of fine art and gems, and he acquired the large blue diamond that was soon to carry his family's name.
Since he had never married, Henry Philip Hope left his estate to his three nephews when he died in The Hope diamond went to the oldest of the nephews, Henry Thomas Hope. Henry Thomas Hope married and had one daughter; his daughter grew up, married and had five children. When Henry Thomas Hope died in at the age of 54, the Hope diamond stayed in the possession of Hope's widow, and her grandson, the second oldest son, Lord Francis Hope he took the name Hope in , inherited the Hope as part of his grandmother's life estate, shared with his siblings.
Because of his gambling and high spending, Francis Hope asked permission from the court in to sell the Hope diamond—but his siblings opposed its sale and his request was denied. He appealed again in , and again his request was denied.
In , on an appeal to the House of Lords, Francis Hope was finally granted permission to sell the diamond. The diamond changed hands several times during the next few years including the sultan, the actress, the Russian count, if you believe Cartier , ending with Pierre Cartier.
Pierre Cartier believed he had found a buyer in Evalyn Walsh McLean, who had first seen the diamond in while visiting Paris with her husband. Since Mrs.
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