Worth an astonishing $350 million, the Hope Diamond is a blue stone that is 45.52 carats in size and according to legend, it is cursed because so many people associated with it have died.
The Hope Diamond is believed to have been mined in India in the 17th Century and was taken to France, where it was sold to Louis XIV and made into a cravat pin, known as the French Blue. It disappeared during a theft of the French Crown Jewels during the French Revolution and is thought to have been smuggled to England. It’s believed the jewel now known as the Hope Diamond is just a part of the original French Blue.
It was owned by the British Royal Family for a period and ended up in the US at the start of the 20th Century. It was owned for a time by jeweller Harry Winston, who eventually agreed to gift it to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, where it is on display in Washington DC.
