A Dream Diamond Contest: I Wonder How Elizabeth Taylor Would Vote
If you love jewelry, there is a new and almost irresistible contest that seeks your input: If you could reset perhaps the most famous diamond in the world, which of three designs would you choose?The diamond is the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond, and the contest marks the 50-year anniversary of the donation of the renowned blue stone by jeweler Harry Winston to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. The House of Harry Winston proffers three possible settings for your consideration, meant to replace (on a temporary basis) the diamond’s current Cartier-designed setting.
Vote through September 7 at http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/site/smithsonian/hope.html.
The setting that receives the most votes will be featured, with the reset diamond, of course, in a documentary entitled “Mystery of the Hope Diamond” that will premiere on the Smithsonian Channel in March 2010. By the end of 2010, the stone will be returned to its previous setting.
Let’s take a look at the three new setting choices:
All of the designs have a sense of movement. The Journey of Hope design is notable for its asymmetry. To my eye, this is the least formal of the three designs. The Renewed Hope design has a waterfall of five strands of white diamonds dangling beneath the stone, bound to throw off incredible sparkle with each movement. The question is whether that feature would be important if the design is to be kept on display in a case rather than adorning the neck of a woman. Finally, the Embracing Hope design not only has a sensuousness due to its undulating design, but also keeps the focus most closely directed upon the stone it features in its “embrace.”
All of the designs are lovely, and any of them would provide a magnificent setting for the Hope Diamond. No doubt each setting will have its proponents.
Have some fun. Think about which one you would prefer. And if blue isn’t your color, well, there’s nothing to be done about that.
CynthiaSliwa commented:
Maarten, thank you so much for providing your opinions and extensive research. I do think that the “choose the design” event will trigger more public interest in the stone. Now’s the perfect time for you to make your case.
Maarten commented:
This is not really a contest. The Harry Winston Company, namesake of the donor who bequeathed the Hope to the National Gem Collection, was commissioned to submit all three new designs. The public has only been asked to choose which one they like best.
My vote goes to re-cutting the Hope itself!!! Why? Because, it’s high time that this most precious of all gems be seen in its best light.
You might think that sounds sacrilegious or perhaps I’m just joking. But, you’d be wrong. I’m serious!!!
Like most well-known diamonds the Hope is famous for both fact and fiction. It is the biggest blue diamond around. But, its history is also replete with myth, guile and hype.
Truth
Mystery surrounds the very origins of the Hope. The earliest record of any blue diamond big enough to have produced the Hope was provided by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier - gem dealer, world traveler and raconteur extraordinaire. His stone, supposedly plucked from a Hindu idol’s eye in India, became known as the “Tavernier Blue”. It weighed approx. 115 carats and was sold to King Louis XIV in 1668.
The Sun King took full power of his throne upon the death of Cardinal Mazarin, whose name is widely associated with the first brilliant style diamond cuts. The King had his royal jewelers re-cut his blue diamond for better brilliancy, yielding a shield shaped diamond weighing approx. 69 carats. His great grandson Louis XV later had the “French Blue” set prominently in his jewel the Order of the Golden Fleece.
In late 1792, as Revolutionaries deposed the monarchy, the Royal Storehouse in Paris was ransacked by thieves and the French Blue disappeared forever.
However, in 1812 just shortly after the 20 year statute of limitations expired, a large blue diamond was spotted in London. This stone later showed up in the collection of Henry Philip Hope and has been known as the Hope Diamond ever since. Nobody knows exactly how and when he came to own it, but it finally saw the light of day weighing a bit over 45 carats.
After Henry Hope died, his treasured diamond passed among his family. It was eventually sold by Cartier to the Washington DC-based, hard-rock mining heiress and socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean. Unlike Mr. Hope who kept his gem collection private and under wraps, McLean wore her diamond everywhere.
The media couldn’t resist the temptation to fan the flames of the Hope’s cursed history, especially when Evalyn’s son died in a car wreck, her daughter committed suicide, and her husband died in a sanatorium. She never lost her love for the diamond.
In 1947, Harry Winston purchased the Hope as part of the McLean estate. An unabashed promoter of jewels and gems, Harry trotted the Hope out on many occasions as part of his Court of Jewels, which traveled throughout the US, Canada and Cuba. Eventually he “gave” it to the Smithsonian, with a deed that bequeathed ownership in 1/10 interest per year until the Institute gained full ownership in 1967. Can we say “tax-deduction”?
Justice
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) published a fascinating article about the relationship between the French Blue and the Hope in its Spring 2009 Gems and Gemology. Juxtaposing a recently uncovered lo-tech lead casting from the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle and hi-tech GemCad and DiamCalc diamond modeling software, they have created a compelling argument that the Hope was in fact re-cut from the French Blue.
We can pretty much guess why the French Blue was re-cut: to hide its origin. Even so, we still don’t and probably won’t ever know for sure who did that re-cutting. But we do know the end result. With no disrespect to the diamond itself, in my humble opinion it’s a hack job. And, that’s a dirty rotten shame.
The Hope deserves to be treated better than that!!!
Throughout its long history the Hope has been a reflection of the life and times of its owners and surroundings. When does it get the chance to shine brightly all on its own? When does it finally get justice?
Those same techniques used by the GIA can now be employed by the most skilled diamond cutters of our day to create the ultimate design for the diamond itself. The Hope could be among one of the top performing diamonds in the world – known for its brilliance and fire, not just its color and size.
Of course, it will become smaller. But, that’s OK. Its value will increase tremendously because it will become Brighter, Bolder, Better and more Beautiful than any other Blue diamond on Earth.
