Hope Diamond: the blue Golconda diamond at the Smithsonian

Origins: Golconda and the French Blue

The Hope Diamond's documented history begins with the French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who acquired a large blue diamond in India in approximately 1666, most likely from the Kollur mine in the Golconda region of what is now Andhra Pradesh. Tavernier described it as a "beautiful violet" stone weighing 112.5 old French carats (approximately 116 modern metric carats), rough or in an Indian cut (Tavernier, J.B., 1676, Travels in India, trans. Valentine Ball, 1889, Macmillan & Co., London).

Tavernier sold the diamond to King Louis XIV of France in 1668, along with 44 other large diamonds. Louis XIV had it recut by court jeweller Sieur Pitau in 1673, reducing it to approximately 67.5 old carats in a style that became known as the "French Blue", a stone of exceptional deep blue colour set in the French Crown Jewels. The recut Tavernier Blue/French Blue stone was described in French royal inventory records as "the Blue Diamond of the Crown" (French royal court records, as documented in Kurin, 2006, op. cit., pp. 28–45).

The French Blue disappeared from historical records during the French Revolution, specifically during a theft of the French Crown Jewels from the Garde-Meuble in September 1792. It was not seen again in any documented form for over 20 years. When a blue diamond of similar dimensions reappeared in London in 1812, it was almost certainly the recut former French Blue. The 20-year gap corresponds exactly to the statutory limitation period for receiving stolen goods under French law at the time (Kurin, 2006, op. cit., pp. 80–95).

The Hope family and the name

By 1839, the blue diamond appeared in the catalogue of the gem collection of Henry Philip Hope, a London banker and gem collector. The catalogue described a blue diamond of 45.54 carats (very close to the current 45.52ct, the difference attributable to measurement methods). This is the first documented use of the name "Hope Diamond" (catalogue of the Hope collection, 1839, as documented in Kurin, 2006, op. cit., pp. 98–108).

The Hope family owned the diamond until 1902, when it was sold by Lord Francis Hope, a descendant burdened by gambling debts, to a London gem dealer. It passed through several owners over the next decade, eventually reaching the collection of Sultan Abdul Hamid II of Turkey, who sold it in 1911 to Pierre Cartier (Kurin, 2006, op. cit.; Smithsonian documentation).

Evalyn Walsh McLean and Harry Winston

Pierre Cartier sold the Hope Diamond to American socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean in 1911, famously keeping the stone in her possession before the sale was finalised so that she could grow attached to it. McLean wore it constantly and publicly for decades, including at White House events during multiple presidential administrations. She dismissed the curse legend explicitly, saying she believed bad luck stones brought her good luck. After McLean's death in 1947, Harry Winston purchased the stone as part of her estate in 1949 (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History documentation; Kurin, 2006, op. cit., pp. 186–220).

The curse legend

The Hope Diamond's curse legend holds that the stone brings bad luck and misfortune to its owners. The specific curse, often attributed to its alleged theft from the eye of an Indian idol, has been attached retrospectively to a series of misfortunes among owners: Marie Antoinette's execution, various tragedies among European owners, and Evalyn McLean's personal losses (her son died, her husband was institutionalised, her daughter died young). The Smithsonian's official position is that the curse is legend, not history: there is no documented Indian temple theft, and the pattern of "misfortunes" among a list of wealthy owners over centuries is not statistically distinguishable from random life events (Post, 1997, op. cit.; Smithsonian documentation, si.edu/spotlight/hope-diamond).

The gemology: Type IIb and red phosphorescence

The Hope Diamond's most scientifically remarkable characteristic, beyond its size and deep blue colour, is its red phosphorescence under ultraviolet light. Most blue diamonds emit a faint blue or no phosphorescence under UV. The Hope Diamond glows a vivid red after UV exposure, then fades over approximately 30 seconds. This property is extremely rare even among Type IIb blue diamonds and is believed to result from the specific concentration and distribution of boron impurities in this particular stone (Post, J.E., 1997, "The Hope Diamond," Gems & Gemology, 33(4), 246–266, GIA; Smithsonian research documentation).

Type IIb diamonds, of which the Hope is the most famous example, contain boron as a trace element instead of the nitrogen found in most diamonds. Boron absorbs red and yellow light, transmitting blue, creating the characteristic blue colour. Type IIb diamonds are also semiconductors rather than electrical insulators, a property unique in the gem world (GIA Gems & Gemology, Type IIb research; Post, 1997, op. cit.).

The Hope Diamond today

The Hope Diamond has been on continuous public display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC since its donation in 1958. It is displayed in the Harry Winston Gallery (named in honour of the donor) in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals. It is one of the most visited objects in any museum in the world, attracting approximately 6 million visitors annually to its gallery. Admission to the Smithsonian is free (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, si.edu/spotlight/hope-diamond; Smithsonian institutional information, si.edu).

Primary sources