For centuries, the Hope Diamond has haunted history with its timeless beauty and its sinister legends. Over the years, it fell into ownership of kings, queens, socialites, and celebrity jewelers, many of whom were supposedly touched by its curse, and met tragic fates. While the diamond is now safely locked away at the Smithsonian Museum in D.C., there are ancient legends that say diamonds do hold mysterious powers… could the Hope Diamond be one of them?
Hope Diamond Today. Courtesy of Brite.co
The Hope Diamond today. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives. Wikimedia Commons via thecourtjeweller.com.
Replica of the Order of the Golden Fleece courtesy of Indepthwithdebbie.com
Evalyn McLean and the diamond. Courtesy of Topical Press/ Getty Images via thecourtjeweller.com
Episode Source Material
Books
- Father Struck it Rich by Evalyn Walsh McLean, Apple Books version. Originally published 1936.
Web
- National Museum of Natural History: History of the Hope Diamond.
- Tim & Co.: The Hope Diamond: A Journey Through History, Mystery, and Myth.
- Clean Origin: Size Matters: Average Engagement Ring Size.
- Brides.com: 20 of the Most Expensive Celebrity Engagement Rings.
- Smithsonian Magazine: The Hope Diamond Was Once a Symbol for Louis XIV, the Sun King.
- The British Museum: Jean Baptiste Tavernier.
- Mayo Clinic: Gangrene.
- Chateau de Versailles: Death of Louis XIV, 1715.
- Britannica: Seven Years’ War.
- Britannic: Louis XV.
- History.com: How Versailles’ Over‑the‑Top Opulence Drove the French to Revolt.
- Parisology: Princesse de Lamballe’ Gruesome Death.
- Capetown Diamond Museum: The Hope Diamond’s Mystery & Curse.
- Chateau de Versailles: Louis XVI.
- Kate Bateman: The real historical inspiration for To Catch An Earl: The theft of the French Crown Jewels and the Bleu du Roi blue diamond.
- PBS.org: Treasures of the world.
- Spartacus Educational: Henry Thomas Hope.
- Legends of America: The Curse of the Famous Hope Diamond.
- Google Books preview: Madcap May.
- CPI Inflation Calculator: $250,000 in 1901 is worth $9,273,558.82 today.
- Washington Chronicles. Anything Goes: The Life and Times of Evalyn Walsh McLean.
- Time: THE CAPITAL: Miner’s Daughter.
- The Court Jeweller: Evalyn Walsh McLean and the Curse of the Hope Diamond.
- Undark: In Louis XIV’s capital, slosh from chamber pots mixed with mud, blood, and offal to form a sulfurous stew. What to do?
- Our World in Data: Smallpox.
- Google Books: Giant Book of Superstitions.
- LiveScience: Mystery of the Hope Diamond Curse.
- Study.com: Indra | Mythology, Significance & Role.
- Ancient Origins: The Dark yet Glittering History of the Cursed Golconda Diamonds.
- Vulcan’s Forge: Cursed Gemstones – The Koh-I-Noor Diamond.
- Britannica: Koh-i-noor.
- Royal.uk: Elizabeth I (r.1558-1603).
- Smithsonian: History of the Hope Diamond.