The stone’s heavenly color drove everyone who touched it to madness. The 45.52-carat diamond, which would be called both the «Blue Hope» and the «French Blue», along with other romantic names, would set off a chain of human tragedies. And it seems the diamond did not glow red for nothing, as if hinting that a great deal of blood would be spilled because of it.
Plague and the death of a king
The enormous blue diamond was brought to Europe by the traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. He would present it to King Louis XIV, hoping that this magnificent gift would earn him a title of nobility. Captivated by the beauty of the precious stone, the monarch ordered his court jewelers to cut it into the shape of a heart. The diamond, to the envy of society ladies, would go to one of the king’s favorites.
The appearance of the «blue eye» of Louis XIV – as the church fathers spoke of the diamond – would bring terrible misfortunes in its wake. People began to be cut down by the plague, and across all of France pyres blazed on which the bodies of the dead were burned. The newly minted nobleman Tavernier, overjoyed that he now had access to high society, did not bask in his happiness for long. One day, on his way home, he was attacked by a pack of stray dogs that literally tore the poor man to pieces.
And Louis XIV, while dancing at a ball, suddenly stepped on a rusty nail that had appeared from nowhere. The king badly injured himself and after some time died of gangrene. From that moment on, the «blue eye» became a relay race of death among reigning monarchs. Marie Antoinette, who coveted the diamond of wondrous beauty, would be executed. The precious stone’s sinister reputation now frightened people. Within it lay a bewitching, mesmerizing power that shattered human destinies.
Cut into pieces
The precious stone passed from hand to hand, and its temporary owners feared its deadly properties more than fire itself. To rid themselves of the fatal curse, the blue diamond would be divided into pieces. It would become smaller – and would not lose one iota of its ability to bring people grief.
To his own misfortune, the diamond would be purchased by the British banker Henry Hope. He was bursting with pride at having acquired such a rare object. He would name the blue diamond after himself – and after some time die of a mysterious illness. A vigorous, strong man would be consumed by the ailment in a matter of months. No sooner had the earth covered the banker’s body than someone poisoned his son. And his grandson, who had received a substantial inheritance, was completely ruined within a year.
The sultan’s curse and the road to Hollywood
The «Hope» diamond continued to roam the world in search of new owners. And the Egyptian sultan Abdul Hamid II fell for its outlandish beauty. He would give the diamond, in which the glints of the fading sky played, to his mistress. The beauty would not enjoy her happiness for long. She would be brutally murdered in the palace chambers. An unenviable fate awaited the sultan as well. The Eastern ruler would spend the rest of his life in exile.
The American socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean, possessor of a fortune worth millions, was well aware of the famous diamond’s fatal properties. But how could a woman resist the temptation to have a peerless treasure in her collection! Evalyn nonetheless bought the «Hope» diamond, with some trepidation, and had it blessed in a church. She hoped that this last measure would save her from future troubles and misfortunes.
Evalyn was simply obsessed with the diamond. And she became so attached to it that she could not imagine herself without her beloved gem for even a minute. Sometimes she would take it off and let her little son play with it.
Photo: still from the film
Evalyn had already begun to somehow forget about the bad qualities of the «Hope» diamond. But the dark and merciless power slumbering deep within the «blue eye» would soon awaken – and make itself known. Suddenly Evalyn’s husband took to drink and ended up in a madhouse, from which he would never emerge. Her son died under the wheels of a car, and her daughter died of an overdose of sleeping pills.
The diamond, over which an eternal curse hung, Evalyn would leave as an inheritance to her grandchildren. They chose not to tempt fate, and after their grandmother’s death they immediately handed the «Hope» diamond over to the jeweler Harry Winston. And they paid off the large debts that had lain on the family like a heavy yoke for many years.
Where is the cursed diamond now?
The jeweler dealt with the famous diamond ring quite sensibly. He organized exhibitions at which anyone could admire the «Hope» diamond. By the way, all the proceeds went to charitable causes. Strangely enough, Harry Winston turned out to be the only owner of the «blue eye» not to suffer from its evil spells.
And yet the jeweler would not risk his future. And he would donate the famous diamond to the Smithsonian Institution. Alas, in parting, the blue diamond once again, as tradition would have it, marked the occasion with dark deeds. Observing precautions, Winston wrapped the diamond in ordinary paper and sent the treasure to its new owners with a courier. The poor courier was soon run over by a truck, and his wife, along with their dog, burned alive in their own home.
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