Smithsonian’s Richard Kurin talks Hope Diamond and the legendary curse

Smithsonian Under Secretary Richard Kurin asked Patricia Frost to hold a small jewelry box while he addressed an audience of FIU faculty/staff, students and friends anxious to hear the history of the Hope Diamond and its legendary curse.

In a presentation on March 4 filled with history, humor and tales, Kurin described how the 112-carat deep blue diamond came into the hands of Louis XIV through diamond trader Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who in turn had bought it from an Indian mine.

The diamond was re-cut (reducing its size by half) and kept by the French monarchy until it was stolen during the revolution. It resurfaced, unrecognizable after being cut again, in the possession of London merchant Daniel Eliason in 1812.

Some years later, it came into the hands of Henry Phillip Hope, was inherited by his wife and sold to several other owners, before being donated in 1958 to the Smithsonian Institution.

A few years ago, the Smithsonian received an offer for the diamond of $200 million; Kurin said they would never consider selling it.

More than five million people from around the world visit the 45-carat diamond at the museum. FIU guests checked out replicas on view at the Frost Art Museum prior to the talk.

As the author of Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem, Kurin has become an expert on the myth of the Hope Diamond curse.

“We’ve gotten letters from many people who visit the Hope Diamond and say, ‘you know, I stood next to the Hope Diamond. I looked at it for a long time. Then I went back home and I broke up with my boyfriend or my girlfriend,’” said Kurin. “’It must be the curse of the Hope Diamond.’”

French jeweler Pierre Cartier made up the curse, said Kurin, to allure socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean. McLean liked mystery and danger and eventually purchased the diamond. The myth took when McLean’s son was run over by a car and killed.

“The story is absolutely fascinating,” said Carol Damian, director and chief curator of The Frost. “We got the book at the museum a couple of days ago. I brought a copy home, sat down to read a few passages and at midnight I was still reading.”

At the end of his lecture, Kurin put on a pair of white gloves and asked Patricia Frost to show the audience what was in the jewelry box he had handed her earlier.

The crowd gathered around as he explained the Hope Diamond always travels in the pocket of a curator, never by carrier. He had traveled from Washington, D.C.  with this diamond in his pocket. After a flurry a photos, Kurin admitted it was a replica – nonetheless, valued at $50, 000.