The Hope Diamond

Only a relatively minuscule fraction of the world’s great jewels has gained the status of being a household name. The Hope Diamond, also known as Le Bijou du Roi and the Tavernier Blue, is perhaps among the most widely renowned of them all. This flawless 45.52 carat gem was forged in the churning mantle of the Earth in time immemorial and created by conditions and pressures of unimaginable magnitude. The Hope Diamond redefined our concept of nature’s beauty, and even after five centuries of wonder, it remains one of the most fascinating objects of desire in the world today.

Formed over a billion years ago in India, and embedded in a casing of kimberlite, the Hope Diamond is thought to have been brought to the surface at some point during the beginning of the seventeenth century. The first records of this phenomenally large diamond arise in 1666, when it was purchased by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, and weighed at 115 carats. Roughly-hewn, triangular in shape, and brimming with glittering potential as a result of its size and unique blue colour, Tavernier brought the diamond with him to Paris, where it would take the next essential steps on its incredible journey to prosperity.

Once in Paris, it was almost inevitable that the Tavernier Blue diamond would gain the attention of royalty. Indeed, this peerless gem was sold, along with up to a thousand other diamonds, to King Louis XIV, who had it cut down to 67 carats and mounted on a cravat pin. He’d later have the diamond set in gold and fashioned into a ceremonial necklace. The diamond stayed within the royal household and underwent further changes within each generation. Louis XV had the gem set into an elaborate pendant for the Toison D’Or, but his grandson, Louis XVI had the diamond confiscated by government forces while fleeing Versailles. The Hope Diamond vanished for many years following a looting in 1792, but it resurfaced in London where, again, perhaps inevitably, it was purchased by the British royal house under King George IV.

After passing into private ownership, the Hope Diamond made its way across the Atlantic to the New World. Auctioned to a buyer in Washington D.C, it spent some time being mounted onto an exquisite diamond headpiece at the turn of the 20th century. The gem was finally set into the platinum necklace we associate with the Hope Diamond to this day and recut to dazzle with its sixty exquisite facets. Such a precious and world-altering piece of jewellery was, of course, never destined to remain in private hands. Eventually, the Hope Diamond became a permanent part of the Smithsonian Collection, where it remains an almost mythic item, surrounded by era-traversing stories and legends of curses, and it continues to fascinate and inspire in a curious public a timeless sense of awe.

La Prairie