While writing another hub I came across the Hope Diamond.  It is one of the inf not the largest blue fancy diamond int he world.  Being a fan of sparkly shiny things I felt I had to investigate!

Reading up on this fancy diamond I found that it has a long history itself.  Currently it is resting from it's travels at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

According to the Smithsonian Website the Hope Diamond was originally discovered in a Diamond Mine in India by a french traveler. The stone weighed 112 3/116 at the time and was not cut. The Frenchman sold his diamond along with other diamond to King Louis the XIV of France in 1668. In 1673 the french Jeweler cut the diamond int a 67 1/8 carat stone and placed it in Ribbon for the King to wear on official occasions. This diamond was then known as the Blue Diamond of the Crown, or the French Blue Diamond. The Jewel was passed down to King Louis the XV and King Louis XVI. The jewel was eventually turned over to the French Government and then Stolen in 1792.

The next time the Diamond surfaced int was in 1893 in the possession of a Mr. Henry Philip Hope, Gem Collector. Unfortunately there were no records to to support who he bought the diamond form or how much he paid for it. The Diamond was kept in the family for three generations until it was sold in 1902 to pay off debts.

In 1910 Mrs. Evelyn Walsh McLean was in Paris at Cariters on her Honeymoon. She saw the Hope Diamond and had it reset into the necklace we know today.( at this time it was 45.5 carats) In 1949 the Hope Diamond was purchased by Harry Winston and placed on display around the world. On November 10, 1958 Mr Winston sold the Diamond to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Where it resides today.

If that Diamond could talk!!!  It has alsobeen aroudn the world on exhibition.  In 1962 it went to be displayed in France in 1965 it went to South Africa.

This large fancy blue diamond has some other unique properties besides being huge. The Hope Diamond is classified to be a type II diamond and is considered to be phosphorous. Phosphorous means the stone is conductive. When an Ultra violet light is placed on the stone it emits a deep red color that last seconds after the light is turned off. The deep red color is attributed to the boron in the stone. Little study has been completed on phosphorous, but scientists state this is not uncommon in blue diamonds. In fact the phosphorous factor can help classify diamonds. A study was done with man made blue diamond verses the mined blue diamond. The man made blue diamonds did not put off as much intense red color as the natural diamonds. This may be a way for jewelers to weed out the fakes!.

This stone is rumored to have a curse upon it. It has been noted in several newspapers throughout the years that who eve has possession of the stone shall befall bad luck. The bad luck all started when out French traveler took the stone from a Hindu Temple from the eye of a temple idol. It is said that Temple priest gave the stone a curse and bad luck will befall the owner of the stone.. Rumors had it that the French traveler was torn apart by wolves, when actually he lived until he was 84 years old.The Curse was supposed to be responsible for the beheadings of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XIV. The curse legend was also reinforced by the death of a jeweler who had cut the stone. his son had reportedly killed him. The son stole the stone and had than committed suicide. Even Ms Evelyn McClain had a lot of misfortune in her life.  Her son died at the age of nine in a car wreck.  Her  husband left her and her daughter died of a drug overdose.  There are many more rumors concerning the stone, but a stone centuries old is bound to have have many many untold stories.