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The
Blue Hope
| Infos Historic
Diamonds
Copyright
by | Perhaps like no other diamond, this stone has blighted the fate of so many people.But there is no other where the stories diverge so much. Oft-mentioned Jean Baptiste Tavernier bought this diamond in 1642 (or 1648) . The Hope had been stolen, perhaps as Tavernier had wished, and that is why a god imposed a curse on him.It was a 112 carat size then. Tavernier, in his turn, sold it to King Louis XIV., to escape the curse perhaps.From then on the Hope is said to have brought a lot of misfortune to all who owned it (see detailed story). Since1958 the 44.52 carat stone has been housed in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. Update: This stone was previously stored there in the National Museum of Natural History. But since September 1997, it has been shifted to the new Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals.There it is on display under exclusive security precautions, but nevertheless with better visibility than before. In less than one second the Blue Hope is moved to a secure safe as soon as sensors register unusual events (strong tremors, power failure or temperature fluctuations). By means of a rotating platform and state-of-the-art fibre-optic illumination it is, better than ever before, shown in a favourable light.The new hall war opened on September 20th, 1997 . |
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