Hope Diamond

The Hope Diamond is one of the most famous and most legendary diamonds in the world.

History

The 45.52 carat ( 9.104 g) heavy blue diamond was found by the merchant Jean -Baptiste Tavernier in a tributary of the Kooleron ( Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India). He probably came into the possession of the French kings Louis XIV and later Louis XVI. , But was stolen during the French Revolution and disappeared for several years from the time history.

Only in 1830 there was another possible clue, as in England, a rough blue diamond was offered for sale. The British banker and avid gem collector Henry Philip Hope purchased this stone for 18,000 pounds. Later, the famous diamond to be named after his family, who owned it for over 50 years. After the death of his three nephews Hopes led a fierce battle for his jewel collection.

After years of litigation Henry Thomas Hope was awarded the Hope diamond and seven other jewels. In his possession the blue diamond was exhibited in 1841 at the Great Exhibition of London in 1855 and in the Exposition Universelle in Paris. After Henry Thomas Hope died, his wife Adele inherited the precious jewel. This had him for 24 years before she died.

The subsequent owner was thus the grandson of Adele and Henry Thomas Hope, who was called Lord Francis Hope. He got through his lush lifestyle in the debt. The sale of the stone was not possible for him because the stone was protected from the pledge by the Erbbedingungen his grandmother. He moved then to court to obtain an order for the sale of the diamond. This decision was made ​​known only in 1901, when his then wife May Yohe had him already actively supported financially. After the diamond was sold in 1902, his wife left him for Putnam Strong, and the marriage of the two was divorced.

The sale of diamonds by Lord Francis Hope diamond came into the possession of Pierre Cartier, who sold it to Evalyn Walsh McLean. This was over 30 years in the possession of the diamond, before she died in 1947.

Two years later, the American jeweler Harry Winston became the new owner. He sent him to an insured parcel post on November 8, 1958, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC as a gift. There, the stone can be seen to this day.

Today, the value of the diamond is estimated at about 200 to 250 million dollars.

Legends

According to legend, the diamond belonged to the statue of the Indian deity Vishnu. When her stolen the treasure, said to have prophesied the future owners misfortune divinity. Louis XV. carried him and allegedly died of smallpox. Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette wore it and ended up under the guillotine.

In fact, the Finder does not Tavernier was, as the legend goes, devoured by wild animals, but died at the age of 80 years suffering from a cold. Louis XIV tenure was one of the longest in history, he ruled, after he had come into the possession of the diamond, yet more than 40 years.

Color and phosphorescence

The bluish color of the block is mainly caused by a small amount of boron, which replaces carbon in a few positions of the crystal lattice, whereby light absorption in the visible region of the electromagnetic wave spectrum occurs, or more precisely in the yellow wavelength range, the complementary color of blue.

For a long time it was thought, the Hope Diamond was the only one who was able to phosphorescence. Over a connection to the above curse of the Hope Diamond was also speculated. According to recent studies, however, all the blue diamonds are capable of " nachzuglühen ," the Hope Diamond stands out here, however, by its intense reddish phosphorescence, which can last up to a minute out. This is probably also caused by boron together with nitrogen atoms, which are also distributed to a small extent in the crystal lattice. It takes place between boron and nitrogen instead of an electron exchange, which was initiated through intermediate steps before the incident light. Thus, the boron atoms are negative and the nitrogen atoms are positively charged, the exchange establishes a charge balance and the energy released in the exchange energy can be observed as reddish radiation.

Documentary

• The Curse of the Hope Diamond. Documentary and docudrama, United States, United Kingdom, 2010, 43 min, written and directed by Mark Radice, Simon Berthon, Production: Blink Films, Off the Fence, Smithsonian Channel, ZDF, Arte, Channel 4, National Geographic, NHK, Phoenix German Original Air Date: June 1, 2011 arte, Summary of arte.

Cinematic reception

In the movie Titanic by James Cameron, a diamond plays an important role, called the " Heart of the Ocean ". It is mentioned that he was worth more than the Hope Diamond.

In the South Park episode Obama 's Eleven of the diamond in the vein of Ocean's Eleven is stolen by a thief team led by Barack Obama and John McCain.

In the television series Leverage claims the thief Parker, they have stolen " out of boredom " the diamond and returned.

The fifth season of the television series White Collar is about the search for the alleged twin of the Hope Diamond.