Sometimes famous diamonds, which are covered with many legends, carry a curse. This is evidenced by newspaper articles about murders, suicides, financial collapses of the owners of the legendary stones. But these events may not have anything to do with mysticism, just diamonds are so expensive and rare that they attract the attention of thieves, cause passion and envy.
The superstitions surrounding the curse haunt famous diamonds today. In 1958, the Smithsonian Institution received many letters demanding the disposal of the Hope Diamond, as it was believed that its presence would bring disaster to the entire nation. The newspapers were full of reports and stories of deaths and misfortunes associated with the possession of the blue stone.
9. Spoonmaker's Diamond
The 86 carat stone is considered the largest diamond in the world. Legend has it that one fisherman found it on the bank of the river and when he offered the merchant to buy it, the swindler said that he was worthless and gave the poor man only three spoons. In the 17th century, the sultan took possession of the stone, and many women of the imperial families considered it the most valuable of their jewelry. Today, the diamond is housed in a museum at Topkapi Palace in Turkey.
8. Orlov's diamond
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The royal scepter of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great was decorated with a diamond weighing 189.6 carats. Legend has it that a French soldier stole it from the eye of an Indian idol. The Empress's favorite Grigory Orlov bought a diamond for his beloved. But his hopes for a marriage with the empress did not come true, all he received was a palace in Petersburg, loneliness and madness.
7. Derianur
This rare pink Ocean of Light diamond is associated with a bloody history. In gratitude for the return of the Mughal crown, Nader Shah from Persia took possession of a diamond and other precious stones. This happened after the invasion of northern India in the 18th century and the destruction of the inhabitants of Delhi. Today, the 182-carat diamond is kept in the Central Bank of Iran.
6. The Regent's Diamond
The diamond, the progenitor of the Regent's Diamond, weighing 410 carats, once adorned the hilt of the sword of Napoleon I and the crown of Louis XV. It is said that the executed Marie Antoinette wore it as a hat ornament. Today the stone is kept in the Louvre. A terrible legend has it that a slave who worked in a diamond mine in India and found him severely cut his leg. He had the imprudence to trust the captain of the English ship, who robbed and drowned him.
5. Orlov's black diamond
The diamond is also called "The Eye of Brahma Diamond". An impressive 67.5 carat stone was found in a mine in India in the early 19th century. Legend has it that a thief stole a stone from a statue of an Indian god. Throughout history, three people have owned a diamond - they all committed suicide, having heard stories about the curse that the stone bears on itself.
4. Curse of the Blue Diamond
Death reports associated with this 50-carat Saudi diamond continue to appear in the press. In 1989, a Thai worker stole $ 20 million worth of gems from a palace in Saudi Arabia and took them to Thailand. This event was followed by the deaths of Muhammad Al-Ruwaili, a Saudi businessman, and three diplomats who went to Thailand in search of the thief - all of these murders have not been solved.
In March 2014, a Thai court charged five people, including a police officer, with kidnapping and killing Al-Ruwaili, but the case fell apart. In July, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry called for justice in the case, according to the Arab press. Thais believe that 20 people associated with the theft of the diamond will die a cruel death. The fate of the stone is still unknown.
3. Diamond "Koh-i-Noor"
The "Koh-i-Noor" diamond is also called "Mountain of Light". The founder of the Great Mughals in India claimed that the 739 carat stone was stolen from Raja Malwa in 1306. But he appeared on the crown of British monarchs in 1877, when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.
Now a 105.6-carat diamond adorns the crown of Queen Elizabeth II. Indian beliefs say that the one who owns the stone owns the world, but will not escape misfortune, that only God or a woman can wear the stone with impunity.
2. The Hope Diamond
According to the Smithsonian, a Hope diamond could be seen in the first cut when the sun was placed on gold. The stone was owned by Louis XIV, known as the Sun King. After a series of cuts, the stone began to weigh 45.52 carats. Legend has it that the diamond was in the place of the eye of the statue of the Indian deity Sita, and the thief who stole it brought a curse on the stone.
This is evidenced by the deaths of Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV, a series of tragedies that took place in the Hope family and even the misfortune of a postman who delivered a parcel with a stone to the Smithsonian Institution. The "King of Diamonds" jeweler Harry Winston donated the stone to the Smithsonian in 1958.
The diamond toured the country with an event hosted by Winston's Court of Jewels to raise funds for charity.
1. Diamond Taylor-Barton
According to Ian Balfour, author of Famous Diamonds, the progenitor of the Taylor-Barton diamond was a 240.8-carat diamond that was found in the Main Mine in South Africa in 1966. Richard Burton bought it from Cartier for $ 1.1 million the following year.
It was a massive and expensive piece of jewelry that became a symbol of love, which was put on the scales of fate, of stormy and all-destructive love. In 1978, after her second divorce, Taylor sold the stone. With this money, she built a hospital in Botswana, Africa, near the mine in which the stone was born.
