Hope The history of the stone that was eventually named the Hope diamond began when the French merchant traveler, Jean Baptist Tavernier, purchased a 112.5 carat diamond. This diamond, which was most likely from the Kollur mine in Golconda, India, was somewhat triangular in shape and crudely cut. Its color was described by Tavernier as a "beautiful violet."
Tavernier sold the diamond to King Louis XIV of France in 1668. In 1673 the stone was recut by Sieur Pitau, the court jeweler, resulting in a 67.50 carat stone. In the royal inventorie, its color was described as an intense steely-blue. It was set in gold and suspended on a neck ribbon that the king wore on ceremonial occasions.
In 1791, after an attempt by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to flee France, the jewels of the French Royal Treasury were turned over to the government. The diamond was stolen during the French Revolution in September of 1792. In 1812 a deep blue diamond described by John Francillion was documented as being in the possession of London diamond merchant, Daniel Eliason who sold the diamond to the well-known Henry Philip Hope, the man from whom the diamond takes its name.
In 1912 Catier sold the Hope diamond to Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean, of Washington D.C. Sometime later it became the pendant on a diamond necklace as we know it today. Mrs. McLean's family then suffered a series of catastrophes : her only child was accidentially killed, the family broke up, Mrs. McLean lost her money, and then committed suicide in 1947.
Harry Winston Inc. of New York City purchased Mrs. McLean's entire jewelry collection, including the Hope diamond, from her estate in 1949. On November 10, 1958, Harry Winston donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, and almost immediately the great blue stone became its premier attraction.
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