diamond, famous gems

Susanne Steinem Patch’s Blue Mystery: The Story of the Hope Diamond (1976) is a carefully researched history of the celebrated blue diamond, tracing its probable origins in India, its association with the French Crown Jewels, its passage through prominent European and American collections, and its eventual donation to the Smithsonian Institution. Patch distinguishes documented events from the numerous legends surrounding the stone, particularly the supposed curse responsible for misfortunes suffered by its owners. The diamond’s earliest probable history begins with Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the French gem merchant who acquired a blue diamond weighing approximately 112 carats in India, possibly from the Kollur mine in the Golconda region, and sold it to Louis XIV in 1668. Recut in 1673 by the royal diamond cutter Sieur Pitau into a 67⅛-carat stone known as the French Blue, it subsequently became part of the French royal regalia, eventually being incorporated into the elaborate Order of the Golden Fleece alongside the carved red spinel known as the Côte de Bretagne. The French Blue disappeared during the extraordinary theft of the Crown Jewels from the Garde-Meuble in Paris in September 1792. Patch examines evidence that the surviving Hope Diamond was recut from this stolen gem, particularly early nineteenth-century descriptions and drawings establishing its presence in London considerably earlier than generally supposed. Of exceptional historical importance are two drawings dated September 19, 1812, made by John Francillon for diamond merchant Daniel Eliason, whose outlines correspond closely to the present stone. The author traces its subsequent acquisition by Henry Philip Hope, whose remarkable collection included numerous coloured diamonds and the celebrated Hope Pearl, and follows its inheritance by Lord Francis Hope, whose financial difficulties eventually led to its sale in 1901. Subsequent ownership passed through the diamond dealers Simon Franckel, Habib, Rosenau, and Cartier before its acquisition by Evalyn Walsh McLean in 1911–1912. Patch provides detailed accounts of McLean’s extravagant jewellery collection, personal tragedies, and the diamond’s association with American high society. Following her death in 1947, the collection was purchased by Harry Winston, who donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958. Particularly valuable to gemologists is the discussion of the diamond’s physical characteristics, including its exceptional deep-blue colour, unusual cutting style, and intense orange-red phosphorescence following ultraviolet excitation. Its actual weight of 45.52 metric carats was established when the stone was removed from its mounting and weighed in November 1975, resolving discrepancies arising from historical carat standards. Patch also evaluates the proposed relationship between the Hope and the smaller Brunswick blue diamond, examining the contradictory accounts published by Edwin W. Streeter and the possibility that both originated from the French Blue. The author systematically challenges stories that Tavernier stole the diamond from a Hindu idol, that its owners were inevitably cursed, and that various supposed victims suffered supernatural retribution, demonstrating that many such accounts are unsupported or chronologically impossible. The work combines archival research, contemporary newspaper accounts, historical gem literature, photographs, and documentary illustrations to reconstruct the diamond’s history. Although the principal emphasis is historical, its documentation of provenance, cutting, gemological properties, and the development of one of the world’s most persistent gemstone legends makes it a valuable contribution to diamond literature.