![]() ![]() It was passed down to Hope's family members until it was ultimately sold to help pay off their debts. Thestone was then likely sold through private channels and was purchased by Henry Philip Hope, from whom it got its name. The diamond is believed to have then been owned by King George IV of England, but was sold after his death in 1830 to help settle his enormous debts. In 1792, after Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted to flee France - their escape was foiled and they were guillotined in 1793 - the diamond was stolen during a looting of the French Royal Treasury, according to theSmithsonian Institution. ![]() Tavernier sold the stone to King Louis XIV of France in 1668, who later had the stone re-cut and set in gold by the court jeweler. Its history traces back to the 17th-century diamond mines of Golconda, India, where it was first purchased in its original, crudely cut, 112.19-carat form by the French merchant Jean Baptiste Tavernier. (Image credit: Chip Clark | Smithsonian Institution | si.edu)Īt 45.52 carats, the beautiful grayish-blue Hope Diamond is 1 inch (25.6 millimeters) in length and 0.8 inch (21.7 mm) in width.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |