Episode 25 - Cursed Gems

You had not made a habit of going to auctions, but tonight, you made an exception. So you found yourself, formally dressed and ready to bid your night away. It was for a good cause, anyway. This was an estate auction of some kind, you hadn’t looked into the details much, beyond the line-up was eclectic and strange.

Most of the night, you spent placing small bids that were rapidly outpaced. You bid for a painting, a portrait of a child that was haunting in a way you appreciated. But the painting must have had a reputation, because the bids quickly went beyond what you were willing to pay for the piece.

You bid on a wooden-chair, it looked heavy, and well-made, that the ticket said was from the 1800s. This bid was far more competitive, but in the end, you decided it wasn’t worth what your fellow bidders seemed to think it was.

Then the necklace was brought out. It was astounding. A chain of precious metals holding a large pendant set with many small diamonds in rings, and in the center, a large blue-violet diamond.

Few objects speak to longevity, beauty, and status as clearly as gemstones do. And chief among the gems stands the diamond.

Over the course of time, many diamonds have developed history as they were passed from country to country, royalty to royalty, and across oceans. Through surrender during colonization, private sale, auction, and inheritance, these diamonds have traveled across the world and found themselves on display as art, and embroiled in the middle of diplomatic debates.

Their stories date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, and they continue to hold interest and importance to this day.

Throughout the history, and across the world, people have been fascinated by gem stones. We treasure them, display them, and wear them, as symbols of beauty and wealth.

And none has reached such an elevated state as that of the diamond. But with its fame and standing among the gems of the world, there is always the risk of developing a different reputation. And in the case of several gems throughout history, that reputation has become one of misfortune, and in extreme cases, of bearing a curse.

So today, I hope to share with you the story of two of the most famous diamonds in the world. The Hope Diamond and the Koh-i-Noor.

Both have long and storied histories, full of interesting facts, but they both have something else. They both have a string of misfortune long enough that they became known as cursed.

You were amazed, but you had won the pendant. You were to pick up the piece the next day from the auction house.

So, you woke up the next morning feeling satisfied and excited. The pendant was truly beautiful, and after this afternoon, it would be yours. Although your day up until the pick-up appointment was in every way routine, it seemed to drag on and on. Your excitement made time feel stretched.

But finally, the appointment was upcoming. You got in your car, and drove to the auction house. They showed you the pendant. It was every bit as beautiful as you remembered, and loaded it into your car in a secure case.

The appointment was over and done quickly, and you got back on the road.

The Hope Diamond is probably the most famous diamond in the world. This is due to its massive size, its beautiful blue color, and its vivid red phosphorescence. It was originally mined sometime in the mid 1600s, probably from the Kollur mine in India. A French merchant, Jean Baptiste Tavernier purchased the 112 carat diamond in a rough cut form and by 1668, Tavernier had sold the diamond to King Louis XIV of France along with many other diamonds.

Louis decided to have the stone recut in 1673 and it became known as the French Blue. It remained among the crown jewels of France until 1792  when the crown jewels underwent significant looting, and the French Blue was stolen.

The diamond was missing for many years, and in 1812 a diamond showed up in the possession of an English diamond merchant. Although the cut was different, physical evidence suggests that the diamond was the same stone once known as the French Blue, and was in fact the stone that would become known as the Hope Diamond.

It changed hands several more times, passing to King George IV of the United Kingdom, and sold to pay his debts. Then to Henry Philip Hope from whom the diamond takes its name. Litigation among his heirs determined the next owner, who then accumulated massive debts and sold the stone to pay them off. Eventually it made its way across the Atlantic to New York, where it remained with Joseph Frankels and Sons of New York City until they too, developed debts and needed to sell the stone to pay them.

It passed back to France at auction, and eventually after several more owners, made its way back to the United States in the collection of Evalyn Walsh McLean who kept it until it was donated to the Smithsonian Institution, where it remains to this day.

All of that is the history of the Hope Diamond. The people who have owned it and the places it has been. But the stone has a second story. One full of misfortune and doom. If you believe the stories, many of those who have owned or worn the gem have encountered misfortune and tragedy.

Although much of the evidence suggests that these stories were fabricated as a way to increase the mystery and therefore the marketability of the gemstone, there are many who still believe in the power of this stone’s curse.

The curse-version of the history is different from the very start. In the version of the story bandered about by those who believe in the Hope Diamond’s curse, the diamond was serving as the eye of a statue of the goddess Sita. It was stolen and shipped away, with the ire of a goddess now trailing it, all those who would own it would suffer greatly.

The origins of the curse’s story first appeared in newspaper publications in New Zealand in 1888, and in the Washington Post in 1908 claiming the diamond was the eye of an idol, and that it brought trouble to all who have owned it.

The list of cases from an article published in 1909 anonymously held what would become the core stories reported by those believing in the curse.

It includes owners who would go on to commit suicide suddenly, Russian princes murdered by revolutionists, quarrels between lovers escalating to murder, one owner tossed from a precipice to his death alongside his whole family, imprisonment and torture, hangings, attacks by mobs, and executions.

Although the stories surrounding the Hope Diamond are strange and amazing, there is no evidence to suggest that these accounts are true, let alone that they are caused by the presence of the stone.

According to one curator at the Smithsonian, the curse appears to have gone dormant, saying it has “brought nothing but good luck” for the museum, as it has helped them create a truly “world-class gem collection.”

You had just gotten on the two-lane road that led back to your home. You took the road nearly every day to get into the city, and were very familiar with its winding twists and turns.

So you normally sort of zoned out while driving along it, it had become routine.

So it took you a moment longer than it should have to see the fallen rock. You slammed on the brakes, and swerved into the other lane, narrowly missing the surprise obstacle and the truck coming down the road the other way.

Pulling to a stop, and catching your breath, you get a grip on yourself after the terrifying moment. Finally, you pulled back on the road and continued on your way. You were maybe two-thirds of the way home when another misfortune found you. You felt something shift and catch, and a tire popped on your car. You began to spin.

It was perhaps only due to the adrenaline from the earlier problem that you reacted fast enough to get on the brakes before your spin took you over the edge. It was strictly luck that instead of flying off the edge you stopped on the shoulder of the road.

A diamond with a complicated history, the Koh-i-Noor Diamond starts long ago in the Kollur mines in India. It is one of the largest cut-diamonds in the world, and is currently part of the British Crown Jewels.

The name was given to the diamond in the 18th century and means Mountain of Light. Although it changed hands several times in the region, in 1849, it was ceded to Queen Victoria during the colonization of the Punjab.

The original cut was viewed in England as somewhat lack-luster and so it was recut into its current shape. Over time, it acquired a reputation that developed into the story of its curse, and due to that history, it has only been worn by women since it arrived in England.

Victoria wore it set in a brooch and circlet, before it was set into the Crown of Queen Alexandra in 1901. Later, in 1911, it would transfer to Queen Mary’s crown and finally it would be set in the crown of Queen Elizabeth in 1937.

Today, the diamond is on display with the other Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.

However, the diamond’s proper ownership is contested. The governments of both India and Pakistan have claimed ownership of the diamond and have demanded its return. Later, Afghanistan also made a claim to the diamond, saying it was taken from there to India in the first place. The British government thus far has insisted the diamond was obtained legally in the terms of treaties made between the countries and has rejected their claims, although compromises have been discussed.

When the British first acquired the diamond in India, they were warned that the stone was cursed. That all who had worn it suffered great misfortune.

It was said that “He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God or a woman can wear it with impunity.”

With their knowledge of this curse, the British Royal family has been careful to never give the diamond to a male member of the family. Only Queens of England have worn the diamond.

For centuries in India, the diamond was held by the rulers of the Mughal Empire, but their wealth drew invaders. And brought the fall of Delhi. After that, every ruler who held the diamond across India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, ended in violence and blood-shed.

You called a tow truck for your car. The guard rail on the road had done some damage, and you felt it was safer than trying to drive it.

In the meantime you called the auction house. You don’t really know why you felt the need to call them, why you needed to ask them about the pendant you were now carrying.

At first, they were oddly reluctant to share, but when you pressed, they offered up a few pieces of the stone’s history.

It had passed from hand to hand, estate to estate. It changed owners quickly throughout its long and storied history, each time the new owner met with some disaster.

They were buried in debt, or robbed, or found, in some cases, killed. The trend was certainly upsetting, it was clear, somehow, that this stone was bringing bad luck on its owners.

After you spoke with them, you made up your mind quickly. You would donate the pendant to a museum. They would be glad to have a stone with such a history, and it would get it away from you before it managed to do more damage than it already had.

Once your car was towed, you called a museum and offered them the piece, on one condition, they had to come to you. Once it was out of your life, you felt a weight lift, although your tenure with the diamond had been brief, you were glad to be rid of the cursed thing.

Cursed gems are a strange phenomena, with its primary origins coming from the Victorian era in England. Often times, jewelers and diamond sellers would fabricate myths and stories about their gems to surround them with mystery and allure.

And although these are two well-known versions, there are many more. Many gems, particularly those with long histories, develop a reputation of mysticism and strange importance.

So, perhaps the stories of the gems’ curses are real. Perhaps these stones are in someway bringing misfortune to their owners. Or perhaps, they are simply the result of creative marketing aimed at a superstitious population.

In either case, the stories of the stones themselves are cemented in history as important artifacts across the world to this day.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of Through the Veil. I hope you enjoyed. I encourage you to subscribe to receive new episodes weekly wherever you listen as we continue our exploration of superstition, folklore, and magic.

If you are enjoying the show, and have subjects you would like to hear covered, please email me at throughtheveilpodcast@gmail.com or reach out on Twitter, you can find me @ThroughVeil.

As always, thank you, for listening.