It's probably the sparkle and light, the hint of mystery entrapped in a unique, big diamond, which fires the imagination and holds an everlasting spell over the admiring public, who can't get enough of gawking at and marvelling over the world's most famous diamonds.
The Spoonmaker Diamond
Who wouldn't dream about finding a hidden treasure in the most unexpected place? According to legend, this dream came true for a very poor man in Anatolia, who rummaged around in a junk yard in the hope of finding something he could eat or sell back in 1669.
What he came upon, was a big chunk of sparkling glass. He didn't have a clue what it really was he had found, but thought it very pretty and worth exchanging for some much needed wooden spoons. And that's exactly what he did. The piece of "glass" changed hands for three wooden spoons. The spoonmaker was a bit smarter than the poor man and although he still didn't know that he owned a valuable diamond, sold it on for 10 silver pieces to a jeweler.
According to the Ottoman laws of the time, the jeweler had to inform the Head Jeweler about his acquisition. He took the stone, the Grand Vizir heard about it and in turn informed Sultan Mehmet IV, who bought it for his already vast collection.
History tells another story about the diamond. It's thought to have been bought by a Frenchman, Pigot, from the Maharadsha of Madras in 1774, then brought back to France, sold, stolen, disappeared and finally bought in auction by the infamous Casanova. From there is was bought by the mother of Napoleon, who in turn sold the stone to finance her son's escape from Elba. It was then acquired by the Turkish Pasha and, after he was murdered, his estate was confiscated by the state.
Whatever the truth, this 86 carat, pure white diamond, surrounded by 49 smaller diamonds, ended up in Istanbul's Topcapi Palace, where it can be admired today, forming the centre piece of the palace's treasury.
The Dresden Green
This diamond is less famous for it's twisted history than for the unique quality and deep green color. The gem is first mentioned in a London news sheet, The Post Boy, on 25th October 1722. Reference is made to a merchant by the name of Marcus Green, who had recently returned from India and offered a very rare diamond to King George I.
However, an earlier version of events attributes the stone to King August the Strong of Saxony (1694-1753) who did not buy it. But his son, Frederick Augustus II did and had it set together with the Dresden White in the Golden Fleece. Thereafter, the stone changed hands many times, survived wars, fire and plunder and can today be seen in the Albertinum Museum in Dresden/Germany. The Dresden Green weighs 41 carats, a rather small piece on the scale of famous diamonds, but its green color is so rare because it penetrates the stone to its very depth.
The Hope Diamond
The Hope Diamond is a much quoted example for intrigue, curse and mystery surrounding a famous stone. Legend has it, that the deep blue diamond once formed an eye of a statue of the Indian goddess Shiva, from where it was robbed in 1642 by a traveler called Tavernier. By this act, the curse of death and destruction for anyone owning or even coming in touch with the diamond, was created.
Other stories contend, that the diamond was purchased by Tavernier in India and brough to Europe. Fact is, that the Hope was subsequently owned by the French Kings Louis XIV, Louis V and, finally, Louis VI and Marie Antoinette. Both did indeed come to a bad end, being beheaded during the Revolution.
Again, like its "diamond colleagues", the stone changed hands and countries many times. By 1939 it was in the hands of a banker, called Henry Philip Hope from whom it took its name. The curse seems to have struck, because Hope and his family went bankrupt.
Thereafter, an American millionairesse, Evalyn McLean bought the Hope from Philip Cartier. Allegedly, she was attracted by the diamond's reputation of back luck, because she said that "anything bad turned to good in her hands." She wore the stone as a good luck charm on a daily basis, but it appears, that the curse of the Hope got the better of her. Her son died in a car accident, her daugher committed suicide and her husband was declared insane and committed to an asylum.
In 1949, Henry Winston acquired the Hope diamond and donated it to the Smithonian Institute. It is today displayed in the National Museum of Natural History.
These precious, unique stones with their plethora of legends, curses and even true history, carry a hint of fairy tale and therefore will continue to fascinate the public for generations to come.
Inka Piegsa-Quischotte - Since two years I am a full time travel and lifestyle writer and blogger. I published several articles and blogs on ...
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