Hope Diamond

The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem

Richard Kurin

The true story behind the most famous-and infamous-stone in the world.

The Hope diamond is not only exceptionally beautiful it has a long and incredibly colorful history. That history - spread over three continents - features diamond mining in India, the French Revolution, the machinations of British King George IV, the Gilded Age in America and a number of very clever jewelers including Pierre Cartier and Harry Winston. In the 20th century, the myth of the Hope diamond curse made the diamond more notorious and famous than ever before, but it is only one small piece of a long and lustrous history.