THE HOPE DIAMOND
Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith says of this gem that it is of “a steely or greenish blue, not the royal blue colour of the glass models supposed to represent it.” If the accepted history of the stone be true, it must be regarded as a strange specimen. It was stated to have been discovered at the Kollur mines, and to have been purchased by Tavernier in 1642. In 1668, Tavernier interested Louis XIV in the gem so much that he purchased it. After this the fortunes of the great traveller began to change. His son defrauded him of a large sum of money, and he was later, being a Protestant, compelled by the Edict of Nantes (1685) to fly from France and seek protection in Switzerland. Thence he went to Berlin, where the Elector of Brandenburg offered him the Directorship in a projected East India Company. In the endeavor to find a road through Russia to India, Tavernier left Berlin, but he succumbed to fatigue and financial worry soon after, dying, it is said, in want, in his 84th year at Moscow. After wearing this diamond at a Court Ball, Madame de Montespan lost the favour of her Royal lover. It was a stone of ill fortune for Marie Antoinette, to whom, however, all diamonds were unfortunate. After the tragic death of Louis XVI and his Queen, the stone was stolen with the French regalia. Afterwards it is stated to have been stolen from Fals, the Dutch gem cutter, by his son. Fals died a broken-hearted man, and his son, after selling the gem to Francois Beaulieu, went insane and killed himself. Beaulieu, after selling the stone to Daniel Eliason, a London dealer, died suddenly the following day. Mr. Eliason sold it to Mr. Thomas Philip Hope, the banker, in 1830 for £18,000 sterling. Mr. Hope’s grandson, Lord Henry Francis Hope, married the Australian actress, Miss May Yohe, in 1894. This lady wore the diamond and misfortune followed her. In 1901 Lord Hope was glad to sell the stone to Mr. Weil, a London diamond merchant, who, without waiting for its influence to affect him, sold it immediately to Mr. Simon Frankel, jeweller, of New York, who suffered financial hardships consequent on the difficulty of finding a purchaser. At last he sold it to Mr. Jacques Colot, a French dealer in gems, and with it went his troubles also. Monsieur Colot quickly sold the gem to the Russian Prince, Kanitovski, and, it is stated, became insane and died mysteriously a few weeks afterwards. The Prince lent it to Mademoiselle Lorens Laduc of the Folies Bergeres, with whom he was in love. As she wore it one night on the stage the Prince in a mad fit shot her. A few days later he was himself stabbed to death by some members of a secret political club. The Blue Terror next came into the possession of the Greek jeweller, Simon Montharides, who, after having sold it to the Sultan, Adbul Hamid, was killed by accident with his wife and two children whilst driving. Abu Sabir, the Sultan’s lapidary, was entrusted with the polishing of the jewel, and whilst he had it he accidentally destroyed a large pearl belonging to Abdul Hamid, who ordered him to be severely flogged and cast into prison. A little later the keeper of the Sultan’s jewels was found murdered, and his successor was hanged by a mob in a street of Constantinople. The Sultan’s favourite, Salama Zubayba, incurred his anger by wearing the blue gem and the infuriated ruler shot her as Prince Kanitovski had shot Lorens Laduc. All diamonds, however, would be unfortunate for Abdul Hamid. The diamond then fell into the hands of the Turkish revolutionary party and was sold by them to Senor Habib, a rich Spaniard, who was drowned in the wreck of the French mail steamer, Seyne, off Singapore. The gem was not lost with its owner, and was later sold to Messrs. Cartier Bros, of Paris and New York by Monsieur Rosenau, a well-known diamond merchant. In 1911 it was bought by Mr. Edward McLean, proprietor of the “Washington Post,” for £52,000 sterling, from Cartier Bros. It is said that both Mr. and Mrs. McLean were doubtful about the wisdom of purchasing this stone of ill omen which, according to report, had been previously refused by the Court of England on account of its evil reputation. Misfortunes quickly followed the new owners, culminating with the tragic death of little Vinson Walsh McLean, their only son, who was knocked down and killed by a motor car close to his father’s estate. After leaving the possession of the McLean family this stone found a purchaser in Monsieur de Hautville. Within three months the same peculiar misfortune which had befallen its previous owners befell them. Madame de Hautville, sharing the same fate as little Vinson McLean, was killed by a motor car whilst crossing a street in Paris. Following on this the eldest son, having taken poison by mistake, died in terrible agony. Mademoiselle[Mademoiselle] de Hautville was accidentally drowned and the younger son whilst out shooting was blinded by the explosion of his gun. Quickly the de Hautvilles parted with this peculiar gem of ill omen. Where will it next find a home? The weight of the Hope diamond when sold by Tavernier to Louis XIV was 67 carats; its present weight is 44½ carats. It presents a curious psychical study and an undeniable evidence of fatal influence which it would indeed be difficult to explain away.
THE PAUL THE FIRST
This diamond is described as a brilliant red, weighing 10 carats. It was one of the Russian Crown jewels, being purchased by Emperor Paul the First for 100,000 roubles. It was a stone of ill omen for both Paul and Russia. He was murdered in 1801, and in his nativity the planet Neptune was, as in that of Marie Antoinette, in the sign Leo, accompanied by unfortunate planetary afflictions.
THE DRESDEN
The Dresden diamond which is in the Green Vaults at Dresden is described as of the purest apple-green colour. Authorities differ as to its weight, which is variously given at 40 and 48½ carats. It is stated that the gem was purchased by Augustus the Strong in 1743 for 60,000 thalers, but this Augustus died of an old wound in 1733. It was probably his son Frederick Augustus III who died at Dresden in 1763.
THE NIZAM
This gem which belonged to the Nizam of Hyderabad was, to judge by its particular native cutting, probably employed in certain sex mysteries. Its weight is 340 carats, and strangely enough, it fractured just before the Indian Mutiny. The diamond is not a stone of harmony for India.
THE CUMBERLAND
After the battle of Culloden (1746) the city of London presented this diamond, which weighed 32 carats and cost £10,000, to the Duke of Cumberland. During Queen Victoria’s reign the stone was claimed by the City of Hanover, to which place it was sent by the Queen’s command.