The Hope Diamond is a 45.52-carat brilliant blue diamond that was once believed to have been extracted from the Kollur Mine in Guntur, India. However, new evidence suggests that it, along with other Golconda diamonds, may have originated from the Wajrakarur kimberlite field in Andhra Pradesh, located about 186 miles away from the mining location. The diamond has an estimated value of more than $250 million, according to the Chicago Diamond Buyer.
Since its discovery in the 17th century, the Hope Diamond has changed hands multiple times. It was purchased by French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who later sold it to royalty and jeweler Harry Winston. Winston eventually donated the diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. in 1958. Legend has it that the diamond is cursed, and its supposed victims include Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, among others.
The Hope Diamond is now housed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. It is displayed as a pendant ringed by 16 white diamonds on a chain adorned with 45 white diamonds. Despite its resemblance to the fictional Heart of the Ocean diamond from the movie “Titanic,” the Hope Diamond has its own unique history and mystique that continue to intrigue people worldwide.