Synopsis
The Hope diamond, seen in the Smithsonian Institution by millions of people each year, is surrounded by mystery and a supposed curse. This history of the stone, probably from India originally, attempts to separate legend from fact. The author traces its sale to Louis XIV of France and its subsequent roster of owners, including the American socialite, Evalyn Walsh McLean. Documentary illustrations and historical drawings show the diamond's changing shape and mounts over the centuries, and colour photographs display its beauty both unmounted and in the setting designed by Pierre Cartier about 1910.