Kurin - Hope diamond: the legendary history of a cursed gem

A t the Smithsonian we have an obligation and commitment to preserve, study, and present to the public the artifacts, specimens, and objects of art we hold in trust for the American people.

Among the most treasured and well known of these objects is the Hope diamond, resident in the National Museum of Natural History since 1958, when Harry Winston donated it as a magnificent gift to the nation. Each year, between six and seven million visitors come to see this world-famous treasure and learn about its fabled history and its scientific and cultural significance.

Richard Kurin, a Smithsonian treasure in his own right, shows us how the Hope diamond embodies the worlds of science, art, history, and culture, all in one rare 45-carat blue gem. As a carbon crystal with traces of boron formed a billion years ago a hundred miles below the earths surface, the Hope diamond teaches us about the physical nature of our planet. We glean knowledge of design and aesthetics as we learn how the diamond was carefully cut and crafted into jewelry over the past 350 years as optic techniques were refined and stylistic innovations progressed. Historically, the Hope diamond was the object of desire of royalty, the wealthy, and the famous, providing us a fascinating perspective on key events in India, France, Great Britain, and the United States. Culturally, its storyincluding a legendary curseprovides unique insight into colonialism, disparities of wealth and power, and the role of the supernatural in modern thought. The Hope diamond even reveals what goes on behind the scenes in the vaults of the museum and in contemporary science and statecraft.

This is a marvelous account, founded upon solid scholarship and more than a decade of research but also wonderfully readable. I am sure you will find Dr. Kurins history enlightening, truly engaging, and highly enjoyable, just like a visit to the Smithsonian itself.

David J. Skorton

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution

This is a book about a small stone with a big storythe Hope diamond.

The Hope diamond is blue, not a pale sky blue, but a deep, steely blue. It weighs 45.52 carats. This seems like a lot, given that most engagement rings are one carat or less. While many people imagine the Hope diamond to be about the size of a softballor at least a baseball, it is about the size of a walnut. It is only one inch across, a bit less than an inch in width, and about a half inch in depth. This is nonetheless a very big diamond. And its blue color makes it quite rare. A blue diamond of this size and color would be valued at somewhere between $25 million and $40 million on the open market. But the Hope diamond is worth much more, its price recently estimated at $200 million!

What adds tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars to the gems worth? Simply, it is its story. The diamond has a rich history including a legendary ancient curse attached to its origins in India. This legend was so prevalent in 1958 when the Smithsonian acquired the Hope diamond that many Americans urged the National Museum not to accept the diamond in its collections for fear that the U.S. would be cursed.

As a cultural anthropologist, I became intrigued by the way people thought about the diamond, and how the meaning they imputed to it seemed to change over the course of centuries as it moved across cultures and through different societies. This prompted a decade of research as I followed the diamonds trail to mines and ruins in India, treasure houses and battlefronts in France, castles in England, jewelry stores and mansions in the United States, and finally to my professional home, the Smithsonian.