Stolen!

On September 11, 1792, in the midst of the French Revolution, the crown jewels, which included the fabulous Hope Diamond (Le Bleu de France), were stolen.

Deep blue: Most famous diamond. Photo: The Hindu Photo Library.

A French merchant traveller, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, purchased a 112 3/16-carat diamond in the 17 century while he was travelling across India. Beautiful violet in colour, triangular in shape and crudely cut, this diamond, was most likely from the Kollur mine in Golconda, India. He took it back to France where he sold it to the Sun King, Louis XIV.

Known first as the “Tavernier Blue” and then “ Le Bijou du Roi ” (the King’s jewel), the Hope Diamond was originally a blue, 112-carat diamond. Tavernier sold the diamond along with 14 other large diamonds and several smaller ones. In 1673, the stone was re-cut by Sieur Pitau, the court jeweller, resulting in a 67 1/8-carat stone. It was set in gold and suspended on a neck ribbon which the king wore on ceremonial occasions. For the next 124 years, it remained the property of the French royal family.

The French revolution that began in 1789 was perhaps the most chaotic time in the French history. The royal family was forced to move out of the Palace of Versailles and taken to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. At this time many robberies took place as there was no one keeping order. It was easy work for thieves and a lot of the crown jewels, including the Blue Diamond of the Crown of France) was taken off.

Trail of destruction?

The Hope Diamond carries with it a legacy of misfortune. The French royal family’s possession of the jewel and their speedily declining fortune proved the theory right. With the beheadings of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the power of the Hope Diamond was magnified.

Later, some of the jewels were recovered. But, the Hope Diamond seemed lost forever. To cover the tracks the diamond was cut to its present size of 45.52 carats.

Strangely, it reappeared in England sometime in the 1800s. It was rumoured that King George IV had purchased the diamond but mysteriously it disappeared. When it surfaced once again, a London banker named Thomas Hope bought the stone for something between $65,000 and $90, 000. The diamond is named after him and it stayed in his family’s possession for the next 63 years. It was sold to a London jeweller and then to a New York jeweller.

In 1949 diamond merchant Harry Winston bought the stone and in 1958 donated it to the Smithsonian Institution where it remains to this day.