The Hope Diamond

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was fortunate enough to travel to Washington, D.C. for President's Day Weekend. Although I had a limited time frame to peruse the museums, my first stop was at the National Museum of Natural History. The top priority: THE HOPE DIAMOND.

King Louis XIV & "The French Blue"

Originally weighing a whopping 112 3/16th carats, this rare blue diamond was trimmed down to a smaller size of 69 carats under the orders of King Louis XIV himself (Smithsonian). Nicknamed "The French Blue", or "The Blue Diamond of the Crown", the diamond was said to have been set in gold and strung by a ribbon from the King's neck. Louis XIV's grandson, King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette was known also to sport this royal jewel on occasion.

Francillion's drawing of the diamond in question. 

Unfortunately, the diamond was stolen during the French empire's meltdown. The royal jewels were looted during the Revolution and "The French Blue" was lost for more than twenty years. In 1812, a jeweler by the name of John Francillion recognized the familiar "steely-blue" color of a diamond in the possession of a London diamond merchant (Wise). It had been cut once again from the 67 1/8th carat to a smaller, much more manageable 44.25 carats. It is said that this was done to disguise the stolen "French Blue" from curious eyes and still fetch a considerable profit. Fortunately for the world, its beauty was still recognizable.

It is rumored that the name "Hope Diamond" came from a certain Henry Phillip Hope, who was doing business for Napoleon during those twenty-odd years "The French Blue" was missing. It is said that Hope was also the "custodian" of the stolen diamond when it went missing in 1792. Napoleon was consumed with the desire to restore all the stolen jewels and considered its theft a war crime. Hope, who wanted to keep his professional relations with Napoleon in good standing, secretly had it cut to disguise the missing diamond. The stolen "French Blue" became what is known today as "The Hope Diamond".

Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean wearing the Hope Diamond, 1915.

After passing through several different owner's hands (or rather necklines), the Hope Diamond eventually made its way to America (Smithsonian). A certain Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean of Washington, D.C. was shown the Hope Diamond in a Cartier in Paris. Unfortunately, the setting was not to her taste and she left the jewelers without it. Cartier reset the diamond for her sake, and flew it to Washington to spend the weekend with Mrs. McLean anyway. His persuasion worked, and in 1911, Mrs. McLean purchased the Hope Diamond as a stunning headpiece. Sometime before her death in 1947, Mrs. McLean once again changed the setting of the Hope Diamond; this time placing sixteen white diamonds encircling the large blue and notorious diamond in the middle.

Upon her death, Harry Winston, the famous jeweler of New York City, bought her entire jewel collection. On November 10th, 1958 however, Winston decided to donate the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., where it remains to this day for all to see.

When I visited this past month, there was something definitely different about the Hope Diamond however. Once again, its rest cannot be in peace, for the diamond was featured in a contest--- what winning design would you like to see for the illustrious diamond? The beautiful setting of sixteen diamonds surrounding the Hope Diamond was exchanged for a more contemporary one. Which do you prefer more?