Should be known as: The Fear Diamond
Size: 45.52 carat
Color: Deep Blue
The Problem With This Diamond:
The Hope Diamond is arguably the most famous diamond in the world. How did it get to be so notorious? Well, it’s cursed. The story is, whoever owns it suffers misfortune. Some say this was all just made up for publicity. But consider. It was originally owned by the goddess Sita, the wife of Rama, 7th Avatar of Vishnu. Well, not exactly owned by the goddess herself, but it represented the eye of the goddess, in a statue. Close enough.
How Bad Is The Curse?
Pretty bad. The statue had its eye (diamond) gouged out by a thief and the diamond was stolen. So obviously things didn’t turn out so well for the first owner, the goddess. And things went downhill from there. Take a deep breath:
Jacques Colet acquired the Hope Diamond and committed suicide; then Prince Ivan Kanitovski bought it from Colet but was killed by Russian revolutionaries after which Kanitovski loaned it to Mademoiselle Ladue who was killed by her sweetheart Simon Mencharides, who had once sold it to the Turkish sultan; but he was thrown from a precipice along with his wife and young child, after which Sultan Hamid gave it to a Mr. Abu Sabir to re-cut it, but that must not have gone so well because Sabir was subsequently imprisoned and tortured, after which the stone’s guardian Kulub Bey was hanged by a mob in Turkey; an event which was followed by a Turkish attendant named Hehver Agha being hanged for having it in his possession. Later Tavernier, who brought the stone from India to Paris was torn to pieces by wild dogs in Constantinople. King Louis gave it to Madame de Montespan whom later he abandoned (ouch!), and then next up was Nicholas Fouquet, an Intendant of France who borrowed it temporarily to wear but he was disgraced and died in prison. Princess de Lamballe acquired it next but she was "torn to pieces by a French mob, and then jeweler William Fals recut the stone and died a ruined man; but his son Hendrik stole the jewel from his father and later committed suicide, after which it was sold to Francis Deaulieu, who died in misery and want. And then the curse really kicked in (see next section).
Where Is It Now:
It is now owned by the U.S. Government’s Smithsonian museum in Washington, and it has been there since 1958. Since 1958, the United States has been involved in five wars, and the country’s national debt has quadrupled. In short, it appears that the curse is going strong.
