Whatever Happened to the Infamous Hope Diamond?
by: Karl Needan
The Hope Diamond's Legendary Power
Evalyn Walsh MacLean was the last private owner of the Hope Diamond. She died in 1947 at the age of 60, and she left behind one of the most beautiful and well-known pieces of jewelry known to man. This diamond had a tragic history that appealed to the public and made headlines for many years. It was a massive diamond of incredible beauty and unimaginable value, but today is like any other old lady, leading a rather uneventful existence.
Ms. MacLean's staff were unsure about how to deal with the Hope Diamond after she died, since the diamond had such a remarkable history and a superb value. They turned to a friend of Ms. MacLean's, Frank Murphy, who they thought would give them the best advice. This Mr. Murphy, in addition to being a long-time friend of the MacLeans, was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Judge Murphy very quickly secured the jewels in the MacLean collection as soon as he came to Ms. MacClean's house the night she died. He immediately left by cab, but since he couldn't think of a safe place to put the the diamond at twelve o'clock at night, he decided to ride around in the cab until the banks opened in the morning.
Murphy approached a bank officer at the Riggs National Bank that morning and requested that the entire collection be deposited. When he gave bank officer the inventory of what was in the sack, he didn't believe the Hope Diamond was one of the items. So he asked for proof that it was the Hope Diamond and when he saw for himself, he realized it had to be. In addition, the fact that a judge of the United States Supreme Court was the courier of this parcel, that he had just picked it up at midnight from the MacClean mansion, he became convinced that it most certainly must be the famous Hope Diamond.
Finally accepting the responsibility of securing such a gem, the bankers agreed to store the diamond, which was soon procured by Murphy, himself, in a sealed bid to purchase it, since no-one else wanted to take it into their possession. There it sat for several years, until he decided to donate it to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. How did he transport it to its new home? By placing it in a regular mailing package with a number of other gems which were of low quality and sending it by way of the U.S. Postal Service.
The beautiful Hope Diamond rests in its case of velvet at the Smithsonian to this day. Any tourist who strolls into the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. can have a glimpse of the most beautiful diamond in the world, which seems an ignoble ending for a gem whose history is steeped in greed, corruption, tragedy and insanity. Even Ms. MacClean died an untimely death at only 60 years of age. The mail carrier who was responsible for its delivery was in two separate car accidents, both resulting in serious injury. The stone had its final revenge.
About The Author:
Karl Needan runs the website Flava Diamond, inc. which a site dedicated to diamond enthusiasts and contains all the very latest news and views diamond related. Please visit http://www.flavadiamond.com if you have any questions or comments concerning this article.
March 2006
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