Customer Reviews

Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem

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This is a fascinating book! Kurin gives a color and life to the history of the Hope Diamond, showing the interesting characters and lives touched by the "curse" and also those lives that have been positively affected by the diamond.

There are photos, paintings, illustrations, and cartoons interspersed in the text to help bring alive the history of the gem. The writing was smooth and accessible and I truly enjoyed the look into history and past cultures as the author brought us on a world and historical tour of the Hope Diamond.

The first few chapters dragged a bit but I guess necessary to debunk popular myth. It was very interesting to see the story of the diamond as it was manipulated by royalty, governments, businessmen, owners and media. We used it for our bookclub.

Most people who have visited the Smithsonian have peered into the secure exhibit space to view the Hope Diamond. Most are surprised at how relatively small the diamond is, but the mystique and aura of the gem makes the wait through the long line worthwhile. Furthermore, the history, stories, and folklore associated with the stone often further piques the visitor's curiosity. This book more than satisfies this curiosity, and Kurin provides a well-written presentation of various stories and beliefs associated with the gem. Kurin takes the reader through an interesting history that details how it was discovered, traded, given away, and eventually accessioned at the museum. It's a fun read for anyone interested in history, folklore, gemology, and museum practice.

I enjoyed this book, I have always found the history of the French Blue to be fascinating, but all the curse rehetoric is just that rehetoric, I mean, yeah, it makes for a good story, but get real, I mean Louis XIV, reigned longer than any monarch in history and is the most famous monarch in the history of Europe...was he cursed?!!!..we all wish we were that cursed..and Harry Winston, one of the greatest and most successful jewelers in history, he was curesed?!! and the United States of America, the world's only superpower, the envey of the world, an economic and military powerhouse is cursed?!!!..I mean give me a break, but this book is well written and very interesting, but the Hope, cursed?...hummmm..I'd take it and maybe i could be cursed like Louis and Harry.

This wonderfully researched and lively account traces the story of the Hope Diamond and in the process debunks and dispels much of the misinformation surrounding the world's most famous gem.

The debunking begins on page one. Years ago I heard a story that Harry Winston shipped the Hope to the Smithsonian by regular mail in a plain brown paper wrapped package. It went by mail alright in a plain brown wrapper but it was insured for a million dollars.

Kurin begins his tale at the beginning by making his own journey to northwestern India to the fabled Kingdom of Golconda and the storied mines of Kollur. This is the mine mentioned by the famed 17th Century French gem merchant, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. Tavernier, the man who sold the diamond to Louis XIV of France was famously silent about where he obtained the stone but he does mention Kollur as a source of colored diamonds and based on that single mention, most experts have deduced that Kollur was the source.

What did he find in Kollur? Snakes! After a difficult three day journey following Tavernier's route by car, snakes and very little else. There exists barely a trace of the old mines which were played out and abandoned in the 18th century. The presence of snakes together with a nearby mountain and bit of local folklore leads Kurin to speculate that perhaps, Kollur was the site of the original Valley of the Serpents mentioned by Marco Polo. A bit of a leap, perhaps, unlike Mogok, Kollur isn't a deep valley but the locals do have a two-headed bird god and that is something the Burmese contender lacks.

Kurin pulls together an interesting, if flawed, argument for India's Kollur as the source of the Hope. He points out that when Tavernier sold the stone to the Sun King, the Hope was barely fashioned, almost rough. From this he concludes that the stone was purchased at the mines.

His next conclusion is a bit more of a reach. With the meticulous attention to detail that he demonstrates throughout, Kurin discovered a short note by Tavernier on the original chart made up by the French gem merchant, describing number six of the best twenty stones Tavernier sold to the French monarch in 1668.

"C'est un autre diamante que j'achetais l'an 1653 a la mine de Coulour."

Taking this statement and the fact that there are no other stones immediately adjacent to that bit of text, the author speculates that the autre diamond, to which Tavernier refers, may be the blue and if so, Kurin concludes, it was purchased in 1653 at Kollur.

The question is; to which diamond does the note refer and was number six simply another diamond purchased or another diamond purchased at Kollur? The passage can be read either way. The note, as Kurin points out, was not next to the Hope which was number one on the list. To that I would add two additional points that pose certain difficulties in accepting Kurin's speculations: First, number six is a colorless diamond and both the stones, numbers five and seven, immediately adjacent to number six are also colorless and second; number six is shown as completely faceted even though, according to Tavernier's own words, it was originally purchased at the mines at Kollur. Fact is, any dealer worth his salt knows a bit about recutting. The real question is; why if Tavernier did hold on to the stone for fifteen years why didn't he recut it?

To the above I would add a further quibble. Tavernier was a dealer and speaking as a gem dealer I can state with some authority that our biggest thrill is the hunt. After the adrenalin rush of bagging a big, beautiful and expensive stone, a dealer's next thrill is selling that big beautiful expensive stone to obtain the capital to begin the hunt all over again. Would a dealer hang onto such a treasure for 15 years if he could have sold it? I doubt it.

Harry Winston and The Smithsonian:

The book is a great read. I discovered interesting facts and important information not previously available with each turn of the page. One particular favorite is the section in which the author reproduces the correspondence between Harry Winston, his lawyers, The Smithsonian, their lawyers and the IRS and its lawyers that detail the labyrinthine negotiations that resulted in Harry Winston's donation of the Hope Diamond to The Smithsonian. Winston was more than willing to donate the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian but he was also determined to receive its full value as a tax deduction.

Hope Diamond is the most authoritative account of the legendary blue gem published to date. It is also a great story packed with anecdotes detailing the machinations of the rich and shameless. Highly Recommended.

Richard W. Wise, G.G.
Author: Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur's Guide To Precious GemstonesSecrets of the Gem Trade: The Connoisseur's Guide to Precious Gemstones

That was a gift for my girlfriend and she is realy enjoy it
but now, she wants a diamond. so I'm in trouble!

The Hope Diamond by Richard Kurin gives the legendary history of this fabulous stone from its earliest beginnings in India to its current placement by Harry Winston with the Smithsonian Institution. An exemplary read.

This was a great book - fascinating and so interesting. I had to read it for a class, but I personally enjoyed it.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in a fascinating history of a unique gem stone. I could not put it down. Research is well done. I learned a lot I did not know about the Hope Diamond.