hope diamond has a curse

[Adam_666]

The famous blue Hope Diamond, weighing 44.52 carats, is reputed to be unlucky for its owner. It is named after a former owner, Henry Philip Hope. The Hope Diamond is on permanent display in the Smithsonian Institution.

The Legend Behind The Hope Diamond

This great blue diamond is perhaps the most notorious gem in history. It has left behind it a trail of so many unlucky owners that it has been popularly supposed to be cursed. The Hope was mined in India, and the 112-carat gem was brought to France in 1668. It was said that a curse rested on it, for a thief was reputed to have stolen the diamond from the eye of a statue of the Hindu goddess Sita, wife of Rama.

Tavernier, who brought the gem from India to France, sold it to Louis XIV, who had it cut into a 67-carat heart-shaped stone and named it the Blue Diamond of the Crown. Tavernier is said to have been killed by wild dogs on his next trip to India.

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette inherited the French Blue, as it was popularly known. In 1792, about the time of their executions, the French Blue was stolen from the Garde-Meuble together with all of the French crown jewels. Some of the gems taken in this robbery were recovered, but not the Blue Diamond of the Crown.

It is intriguing to note that a gem resembling the Hope is worn by Queen Maria Louisa of Spain in a portrait painted by Goya in 1800. There are reports that the stolen French Blue was recut to its present size by Wilhelm Fals, a Dutch diamond cutter. Fals is said to have died of grief after his son, Hendrick stole the gem from him. Hendrick, in turn, committed suicide.

In 1830, there appeared in London a 44.5-carat deep blue oval-cut diamond the gem experts agree was the French Blue recut to conceal its identity. Henry Hope bought i, and since then it has been known as the Hope diamond.

The Hope moved on. An Eastern European prince gave it to an actress of the Folies Bergere and later shot her. A Greek owner and his family plunged to their death over a precipice in an automobile accident. The Turkish sultan Abdul-Hamid II had owned the gem only a few months when an army revolt toppled him from his throne in 1909.

Evalyn Walsh McLean, a wealthy and eccentric American social figure, bought the Hope diamond in 1911. Her son was killed in an automobile accident, her husband died in a mental hospital, and her daughter died in 1946 of an overdose of sleeping pills.

After Mrs. McLean’s death in 1947, New York jeweler Harry Winston purchased her jewels, including the Hope. He gave the gem to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., in 1958, no doubt with a certain sense of relief.

Coincidence or not, the diamond seems to have brought enormous troubles in its train.

Source: The Great Book of Jewels, Ernst A. and Jean Heiniger, 1974, Printed in Italy

[Adam_666]

i believe that there is a curse due to someone stole the Hope Diamond a long time ago

[zandore]

i believe that there is a curse due to someone stole the Hope Diamond a long time ago

According to the legend, a curse befell the large, blue diamond when it was plucked (i.e. stolen) from an idol in India - a curse that foretold bad luck and death not only for the owner of the diamond but for all who touched it.

about.com

curses debunked

According to Smithsonian Curator, Jeffrey Post: "The curse is a fascinating part of the story of the Hope Diamond that has helped to make the diamond as famous as it is. But as a scientist, as a curator, I don't believe in curses.

pbs.org

[Adam_666]

you may be right but who knows for sure

[Luca-Muka]

Hmmm i have actaully read about this in an history book..

[theGhost_and_theDarkness]

I want to touch it to see if the curse is true. . . .

[Bigfoot freak]

My brother has seen the diamond is'nt it the largest blue diamond in the world?

[hamellr]

That last person owned it from 1911 to 1946... over a 35 year period, three closely related people dieing isn't that odd. I think that the stories about the diamond have been over blown a bit because of it's size. Now, if these coinsidences all happened with in a shorter period (a year or less,) I'd be more inclined to believe them.

You could create a similiar stories about any object that has been passed down. Take the White House for example. Harrison, Taylor, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinney, Harding, Rooselvelt, Kennedy all died while living in the White House. Reagan almost did but barely survived, therefore the White House is Cursed!

[najaesouljah]

I think I will stay far away from this diamond just to be on the safe side

[Merreton]

I have been to the smithsonia museam of natral history and saw that famous blue diamond.

I really doubt it if its cursed. Uncannily ive been having wonderful luck.

Am i cursed for just seeing it?

Probably not.

[LostLittleGirl]

I think your only curesed if you own the diamond.

[OldTimeRadio]

I've never touched the Hope Diamond but I HAVE seen tt.

One does not have to be anti-Science to accept at least the possibility of curses. If curses truly exist they are real, and reality is what Science investigates.

It has been suggested that perhaps the crystalline structure of diamonds (not only the Hope, many others have baleful histories too) captures and stores human emotions (including rage and hatred) and then releases them again, perhaps concentrated and directed by the facets cut into the gem.

[Withoutnight]

It is a frigin diamond, yes.

Is it going to kill you... no.

Do people want it,... yes.

Anyone with a diamond that is big enough, is going to have some trouble.

I really don't feel the need to say anymore.

Edited October 19, 2006 by Withoutnight

[Princess Serenity]

I believe it has a curse to it. I mean everyone who owned it died. I believe Queen Victoria owned it once, not sure. But the Hope Diamond was cut into two, one's here in the States. While the other one is in England. ^^;

[coldethyl]

I would believe it more if everyone that owned it didn't do the inevitable thing like dying. If they were like 150 years old or something. That'd make me a believer.

[Ryo Ohki]

I dont like diamonds. They dont have color.

[A+Certified]

ive seen this thing up close, its really quite beautiful. i was a little suprised at its placement in the museum, lol, it wasnt outstanding in the section it was in, you had to look for it

[RollingThunder06]

I saw the misfortunes on a show that was telling about some of the museums displays. I remember another story about the Blue Diamond. The man who delivered it had some things happen to him. If I remember correctly, within a year he broke his leg, his dog died, his house caught fire and the one I am not sure about is that his wife left him. Even though I try to be logical, at the same time I don't believe in pushing luck.

[Dracos Nightwolf]

First off, I don't believe that it's cursed. While I believe in curses, I don't think that this is what we're dealing with. The best selling proof on it not being cursed is this...

Is the other half of the stone cursed?

According to the story, there is well over half of this gem (in bits and pieces true) out there somewhere. If the curse was on the whole uncut gem, it should still be valid on the remainder of it. But is there any stories about any other cursed remainders? I haven't found anything...

[xYlvax]

Greed was probably the curse...

or coincidence made it seem to be.

[Rafterman]

Um, yeah, curses.

Once again, no one can show any evidence that these incidents happened at any higher rate than they do in the general non-big hunkin' diamond owning population.

Apparently nothing happened to Harry Winston and he owned it for 11 years and certainly the Smithsonian has done pretty well in the past 60 years.