Diamonds have fascinated mankind for centuries, but this is the one – the biggest blue diamond on earth that no one dare to own.
One of the most spectacular gems in the world named the Hope Diamond, a beautiful blue diamond weighing over 45 carats. About the size of a walnut, the stone is estimated to be worth a quarter of a billion dollars. However, there are many people who would think twice about buying it, for it is said to be cursed.
The folktale start from an Indian temple, where the blue diamond sparkled on the forehead of a Hindu god. On 1642, a French adventurer named Tavernier theft the blue diamond and soon after the priest of the temple found that out, he cursed the thief with unholy act for bad luck and death not only for the owner of the diamond but for all who touched it.
After went back to Europe, He sold the blue diamond to King Louis XIV for a handsome profit. But unfortunately, he was mauled to death by a pack of wild dogs on his way home. This was the first horrible death attributed to the curse, and many more to follow.
King Louis XIV lost his power, but the diamond still remain in the French royal family until it was stolen on 1792. The next owner after King Louis XIV was Nicholas Fouquet, a French official who was executed; Princess de Lambale, beaten to death by a French mob; Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette were beheaded.
The diamond was then said missing for a few decades, and was recut into a smaller gem. There are rumours that it belonged to Britain’s King George IV, whose estate sold it to pay off his enormous debts.
In 1839, the diamond was acquired by Henry Thomas Hope, which is how it got its name ” The Hope Diamond. Hope was saying died penniless and after his death, the diamond passed through the hands of several owners.
US singer May Yohe was the next with a few failed marriage and ended badly. Evalyn Walsh McLean then bought the Hope Diamond and she wore constantly. Her firstborn son died in a car crash when he was 9. Her daughter committed suicide at age 25. Her husband was declared insane and confined to a mental institution until his death in 1941.
When the Hope diamond went on sale in 1949, it was acquired by the famed New York jeweler Harry Winston. The curse somehow ended when he donated (not sold) it to the National museum, where it can be seen today.
Info via A Day Magazine