The HopeThe Hope Diamond is one of the most famous diamonds in the world. Guess why? It’s big. It’s blue. It glows bright red under black lights. And, it has history.
Well, it’s not really a contest. The Harry Winston Company, namesake of the donor who bequeathed the Hope to the National Gem Collection, was commissioned to submit all three new designs.
The public has only been asked to choose which one they like best.
My vote goes to re-cutting the Hope itself!!! Why? Because, it’s high time that this most precious of all gems be seen in its best light.
You might think that sounds sacrilegious or perhaps I’m just joking. But, you’d be wrong. I’m serious!!!
Like most well-known diamonds the Hope is famous for both fact and fiction. It is the biggest blue diamond around. But, its history is also replete with myth, guile and hype.
The Truth...
Mystery surrounds the very origins of the Hope. The earliest record of any blue diamond big enough to have produced the Hope was provided by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier - gem dealer, world traveler and raconteur extraordinaire.
His stone, supposedly plucked from a Hindu idol’s eye in India, became known as the “Tavernier Blue”. It weighed approx. 115 carats and was sold to King Louis XIV in 1668.
The Sun King took full power of his throne upon the death of Cardinal Mazarin, whose name is widely associated with the first brilliant style diamond cuts.
The King had his royal jewelers re-cut his blue diamond for better brilliancy, yielding a shield shaped diamond weighing approx. 69 carats. His great grandson Louis XV later had the “French Blue” set prominently in his jewel the Order of the Golden Fleece.
In late 1792, as Revolutionaries deposed the monarchy, the Royal Storehouse in Paris was ransacked by thieves and the French Blue disappeared forever.
However, in 1812 just shortly after the 20 year statute of limitations expired, a large blue diamond was spotted in London. This stone later showed up in the collection of Henry Philip Hope and has been known as the Hope Diamond ever since.
Nobody knows exactly how and when he came to own it, but the Hope Diamond finally saw the light of day weighing a bit over 45 carats.
After Henry Hope died, his treasured diamond passed among his family. It was eventually sold by Cartier to the Washington DC-based, hard-rock mining heiress and socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean.
Unlike Mr. Hope who kept his gem collection private and under wraps, McLean wore her diamond everywhere.
The media couldn’t resist the temptation to fan the flames of the Hope’s cursed history, especially when Evalyn’s son died in a car wreck, her daughter committed suicide, and her husband died insane.
But, she never lost her love for the diamond.
In 1947, Harry Winston purchased the Hope as part of the McLean estate. An unabashed promoter of jewels and gems, Harry trotted the Hope out on many occasions as part of his Court of Jewels, which traveled throughout the US, Canada and Cuba.
Eventually he “gave” it to the Smithsonian, with a deed that bequeathed ownership in 1/10 interest per year until the Institute gained full ownership in 1967.
Can we say “tax-deduction”?
The Justice...
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) published a fascinating article about the relationship between the French Blue and the Hope in its Spring 2009 Gems and Gemology.
Juxtaposing a recently uncovered lo-tech lead casting from the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle and hi-tech GemCad and DiamCalc diamond modeling software, they have created a compelling argument that the Hope was in fact re-cut from the French Blue.
We can pretty much guess why the French Blue was re-cut: to hide its origin. Even so, we still don’t and probably won’t ever know for sure who did the deed.
But we do know the end result. With no disrespect to the diamond itself, in my humble opinion it’s a hack job.
And, that’s a rotten shame.
Throughout its long history the Hope has been a reflection of the life and times of its owners and surroundings.
When does it get the chance to shine brightly all on its own? When does it finally get justice?
Those same techniques used by the GIA can now be employed by the most skilled diamond cutters of our day to create the ultimate design for the diamond itself.
The Hope could be one of the top performing diamonds in the world – known for its brilliance and fire, not just its color and size.
Of course, it will become smaller. But that's OK. Its value will increase tremendously because it will look Brighter, Bolder, Better and more Beautiful than any other Blue diamond on Earth!!!
2 comments:
Very interesting... but show us the light, Martin. How would you cut it?
With all due respect, very carefully!
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