Indians have been blessed with the most exquisite jewels and gemstones, thanks to the royal families and desi billionaires. India has had no scarcity of some of the most valuable jewellery pieces. But unfortunately, many of them have been stolen from our country through force and deceit. Koh-i-noor is one of them! However, did y’all know about the world’s largest diamond that was stolen from India too? Here’s everything you need to know about it:
The Story Of ‘Hope Diamond’!
The Hope Diamond is a 45.52-carat diamond extracted in the 16th century from the Kollur Mine in Guntur, India. The traces of boron present in it makes it deep blue in colour. The mysterious history associated with the Hope Diamond makes it a widely popular gem. It is the biggest and most expensive diamond in the world and has a unique origin story filled with tragedy and misfortune.
The Curse Of ‘Hope’!
Back in 1666, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a French gem merchant visited India and acquired the precious stone through deceit. Since the precious gemstone was stolen from the eye of the Hindu goddess Sita’s statue, worshippers of Sita and the statue placed a curse on it. The story responsible for the gem’s curse suggests that bad luck and death will not only follow the owner of the diamond but all who touched it. This began the long string of unfortunate events for those who owned the precious stone.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier took the crude triangular shape gem to France and named it Tavernier Blue. Some say Tavernier died from a fever and wild dogs ate him shortly after he sold the diamond. A few years down the line, King Louis XIV bought the Tavernier Blue and had it recut and renamed the Blue Diamond of the Crown of France. But perhaps, it was just the beginning of bad luck after the French Blue was passed through several hands. King Louis XIV gave the blue diamond to Nicholas Fouquet and soon after he was accused of embezzlement. Later they imprisoned and executed him. In fact, almost all legitimate heirs of King Louis XIV died a painful death of gangrene, including himself.
Call it the infamous curse or coincidence, this trail of misfortunate and tragic events followed every owner of the Hope Diamond. Princess de Lamballe wore the famous Hope Diamond until the French mob attacked her. It was then owned by a Dutch jeweller whose son murdered him to steal the diamond. The son later committed suicide. Then, it was passed on to a Greek gem merchant, who drove off a cliff with his family. Even the famous jewellery designer, Pierre Cartier owned the cursed piece for a few years.
Where Is It Now?
The last American to own the exquisite piece was New York gem merchant Harry Winston, who purchased the diamond in 1949 and toured it for several years. He then donated it in 1958 to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in the United States, where it is on permanent exhibition.
Keeping all things apart, hope the ‘Hope Diamond’ finds its way back to where it belongs, someday!
Feature Image: Instagram
