Learn About the History of the Hope Diamond - Sell Diamonds

The Hope Diamond made its first appearance sometime before 1668 when a French merchant purchased a crudely cut, triangularly shaped violet, 112 3/16 carat diamond from India. The stone was sold to King Louis XIV of France in 1668.

Five years later, Louis’ court jeweler re-cut the stone to 67 1/8 carets. The diamond was referred to as the Blue Diamond of the Crown or French Blue and worn by the King around the neck in a gold setting. During the French Revolution, the French Royal Treasury confiscated the crown jewels of Louis XVI and the French Blue diamond disappeared in 1792.

A diamond weighing 177 grains (4 grains = 1 carat) and of deep blue color was found in the possession of a London diamond merchant in 1812. Evidence suggested that the re-cut diamond was the French Blue stone. It was also believed that England’s King George IV bought the diamond, later selling it to pay off his debts.

In 1839, the diamond reappeared as a possession of Henry Philip Hope (from whom it takes its name). The diamond continued to be passed along due to deaths and debts until Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean acquired it in 1911. She reset it in the pendant it is in today. After her death in 1947, Harry Winston Inc purchased McLean’s jewelry collection. They donated the piece to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958.

The Hope Diamond was believed to be 44.5 carats until the 1974 when the stone was removed and found to weigh 45.52 carats. It is a type IIb diamond. The pendant it is set in has 16 white diamonds and the chain has 45. Mrs. McLean used a bail on the pendant to attach other diamonds such as the Star of the East.

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