Escudo imperial ruso

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En 1719, el Emperador Pedro I “el Grande” (reino de 1682 a1725), fundo la mas antigua version de lo que se conoce ahora como la State Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation. Pedro I habia visitado otras naciones europeas, e introdujo muchas innovaciones en Rusia, una de las cuales fue la creacion de una fundacion permanente de la coleccion de la joyas que pertenecian no a la familia Romanov , sino al Estado Ruso. Peter declaro que estas joyas eran del Estado ruso ,para su permanente gloria Pedro I lego todas las piezas usadas en la ceremonia de su coronacion a la Diamond Fund, asi como muchas piezas importantes de joyeria de los siglos XV, XVI y XVII . Las piezas estan guardadas en una habitacion especial del Palacio de Verano de St. Petersburgo, primero denominado el Renteria, y luego llamado Diamond Chamber o “Camara de los diamantes”. La Gran Corona Imperial . La Gran Corona Imperial realizada en 1762 para la coronacion de Catalina la Grande por el joyero de la Corte J.Pauzie representa un alto grado de imaginacion creativa, . Esta adornada con 500 diamantes montados en forma de una magnifica rama de laurel y roble. La parte superior de la corona esta recamada por dos filas de grandes perlas y esta coronada por una roja espinela , la segunda en tamaño del mundo, que pesa 400 quilates. En el Cetro esta montado el famoso “Diamante Orlov “, de 189 quilates. La coleccion Faberge Durante el siglo XIX llevaron a numerosos cambios en la joyeria y numerosos joyeros trabajaron en Rusia, y numerosos , como Faberge consiguieron una gran fama. Peter Carl Faberge, de una familia francoalemana , trabajo en el mundo de la joyeria durante 40 años antes de la I Guerra Mundial. La firma Faberge obtuvo fama mundial , introduciendo en el mercado figuritas hechas con piedras preciosas y semipreciosas, polveras, pitilleras y numerosas joyas. Faberge. Caja de tabaco,h. 1765, Hermitage Museum. Una caja de oro adornada con diamantes y esmalte de dos colores, diamentes y el escudo imperial y el monograma de zar Nicolas II Tiara de plata y oro con diamantes , firmada con las iniciales KF por Carl Faberge.La Casa Faberge fue distinguidaentre otras joyerias para fabricar los famosos “Huevos de Pascua con sorpresa”. Durante 11 años, la joyeria recibio el encargo de la Corte rusa para fabricar dichos huevos. El huevos denominado “Lirios del Valle” es una de las mejores piezas de estilo Art Nouveau . La miniatura del Tzar Nicolas II y sus dos hijas Olga y Tatiana estan pintadas y colocadas bajo la corona imperial, sobre el cuerpo del huevo esmaltado en rojo, adornado con perlas y hojas esmaltadas en verde sobre patas de oro. Solo seis de los Huevos imperiales contenian mecanismos. Uno de los mas famosos es el Huevo del gallo, que el zar, Nicolas II, presento a su madre el 9 de Abril de 1900. En la parte superior , al pulsar un boton, se abre la tapa y aparece un gallo moviendo las alas. El pequeño gallo se adorna con plumas verdaderas. En 1985 el huevo fue egg adquirido por la Forbes Magazine Collection por 1.76 millones de dolares US. El Huevo de la Coronacion es de oro esmaltado para reproducir la tomalidad del sol y cubierto por un enrejado del oro marcado por diamantes con las águilas imperiales en las intersecciones.- En su parte superior esta el monograma de la Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna rodeado de diamantes rosas y rubies. La fecha 1897, aparece en la parte superior del huevo. Cuandoe el huevo se abre, la sorpresa escondida en su interior aparece en un compartimento forrado de terciopelo es una reproducción desprendible de una carroza de oro, esmalte, diamantes y cristal de roca. Faberge: El Huevo de la Coronacion. Hoy, en el Museuo de f Faberge se pueden ver las mas famosas y exquisitas piezas de la firma Faberge y las reproducciones de los Huevos de Pascua imperiales - -www.tristarmedia.com/bestofrussia/jewels.html- Tiara Imperial de diamantes. La hija de Pedro I el Grande , Elizabeth I (reino de 1741 a 1761) tuvo una gran pasion por las joyas , y una gran cantidad de las mas bellas piezas de joyeria Rococo proceden de su reinado, como estos magnificos pendientes en forma de guirnaldas de flores y abejas. Elisabeth I Pretrovna de Rusia En 1914, debido a la posible invasion alemana, la coleccion fue empaquetada y enviada de St. Petersburg a Moscu,donde fueron guardadas en una boveda acorazada en el Kremlin por cuestiones de seguridad. Pero los vaivenes de la politica rusa, incluyendo la Revolucion de 1917 y la guerra civil rusa complicaron la historia de las joyas del Estado ruso. Military Decoration with a potrait of Peter The Great. Las joyas fueron olvidadas por un tiempo, y en 1926 fueron encontradas en el Kremlin,y fotografiadas y catalogadas en su totalidad. Una selección enorme de ellas fue vendida a un consorcio americano, y otras, un 70% de las colecciones originales, fueron vendidas en la Casa Christie ‘s de subastas en Londres en 1927. Las piezas vendidas se dispersaron por todas partes del mundo, y la localizacion de muchas es desconocida. La tiara del campo ruso hecha con diamantes y oro Las piezas restantes, que son histórica y artísticamente las más importantes de la coleccion incluye las joyas de la coronatos usados en las diferentes coronaciones y las coronas,tronos y cetros mismos de los diferentes zares y una espectacular colección de joyería de los siglos XVIII y XIX. Las piezas fueron exhibidas por primera vez en 1967 para conmemorar el 50 aniversario de la revolución, cuando fueron exhibidas en una camara especial bajo el Kremlin a los oficiales de alto rango y a los dignatarios extranjeros. Los tesoros del fondo del diamante son parte de la herencia nacional del Estado ruso. Desde la caída del comunismo, las piezas se exhiben al público,que puede visitar el fondo del diamantes en el Museo de la Armeria del Kremlin de Moscow. La historia de las joyas del Tesoro ruso tienen mas de mil años. Muchas de las piezas mas antiguas son muy similares en estilo a las piezas usadas en la corte del Imperio bizantino y han cambiado poco durante las epoca florecientes de la antigua Rusia y Kiev,manteniendose hasta la epoca de Pedro I el Grande, en que loas cambios se produjeron por influencia occidental. Durante la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII la colección imperial rusa de artículos de la joyería crecio continuamente a. Tales piezas, las tabaqueras incluidas, pudieron también ser utilizar como concesiones o regalos diplomáticos. Catalina II misma era una coleccionista apasionado de tabaqueras hechas de piedras raras y le gustaba rodearse de ellas. La colección de regalía del Estado (objetos reales) en la Camara del Tesoro del Arsenal de Kremlin es el orgullo nacional de Rusia. Consiste en las coronas, los cetros, los tronos, las espada de parada y la espada real , las cadenas y las cruces que jugaron la parte principal de el ceremonial cortesano desde los siglos XIII al XIX . Estas reliquias sagradas, símbolos del poder del Estado, fueron pasado de generación en generación, afirmando la continuidad y estabilidad de la autocracia suprema. Reflejan la historia entera del Estado ruso y son testigos de los acontecimientos políticos más significativos. Todos estos objetos tienen un gran valor artistico, historico y material y se usaron el a coronacion de los diferentes Zares hasta la de Nicolas II. El propósito de la coronación es establecer lazos de union entre la utoridad del Zar y la de la Iglesia. Es el mensaje de la Iglesia y el Estado y nombra alZar Padre, Cabeza y Gobernate de todo en pueblo ruso por la voluntad de Dios.” Corona del Tsar Momomaco,fines siglo XIII d.C. Aunque el capital rusa se habia cambiado a St Petersburgo, los Zares volvieron siempre a Moscú para su coronación en el Kremlin, en la catedral de la Dormition de la Virgen. Y cuando se acercaban lass festividades de la coronación , la corte entera viajaba de St Petersburgo a Moscú. Según la costumbre, la familia real se paraba en palacios de aldeas preparados especialmente para su entrada real en el antigua rusa. Su a entrada en Moscú era saludada con un saludo de armas, el sonido de campanas de la gran torre de Ivan ( Great Bell Tower) de Kremlin, y el sonido de trompetas y de tambores.Su llegada estaba precedida por una gran procesion que seguia un marcado protocolo en la que estaban representados todos los pueblos del vasto Imperio ruso.Para dicha ceremoni se elevaban palcos, tribunas, estrados especiales y numerosos personajes llevaban presentes al Zar y su familia al tiempo que numerosos sacerdotes de todas las iglesias de Moscu llevando cruces recemoniales recibian al zar y su famila. Trono de la Tsarina Elizabeth, hija de Pedro el Grande, 1742. Asimismo, la antigua corona de los Zares rusos, el casquete de Monomaco, fue substituida por una corona de estilo de Europa occidental , hecha de dos hemisferios separados un arco. Al principio, las nuevas coronas fueron hechas generalmente para cada coronación. Corona de Catalina la Grande En 1762, sin embargo, el famoso joyero de St Petersburg, Ieremiia Poze, creó una corona magnífica de diamantes para Catalina la Grande. Esta obra maestra fue utilizado en todas las coronaciones posteriores, incluyendo la del ultimo miembro de la dinastía Romanov, Nicolas II. El Orbe Imperial fue realizado en oro rojo para la coronacion de la Emperatriz Catalina la Grande en 1762. Esta rodeado de una doble fila de grandes diamantes rodeados de flores de diamentes y lleva en lo alto una cruz de diamantes ybajo ella un zafiro de unos 47 kts. Corona y Orbe del Tsar Miguel Romanov, fines s.XVI. Trono de Ivan el Terrible. El Zar conceda amnistía a los presos, y era generoso con todos sus subditos: las multas se perdonaban y se daban facilidades para el pago de los impuestos Nicolas II en la Puerta Roja tras su coronacion , A. Edelfelt. Acuarela y gouache. 1896. El diamante Orlov famousdiamonds.tripod.com/russiancrownjewels.htm it measures 47.6 mm in height, 31.75 mm in width, and 34.92 mm in length. The clarity is typical of the finest Indian diamonds and its color possesses a slight bluish-green tint. The shape of the diamond has been described as resembling half a pigeon’s egg and its upper surface is marked by concentrated of triangular facets, with corresponding four-sided facets appearing on the lower surface. The total number of facets is roughly 180. On one side of the diamond there exists a slight indentation. The unusual shape of the Orlov, the pattern of its facets and the presence of this blemish intriguingly suggest that this diamond can be indentified with a long-lost legendary stone. Among the first Europeans who were permitted to examine the gems of the Mogul rulers of India was Jean Baptiste Tavernier, who provided illustrations of several stones he had seen in his work Six Voyages of Jean Baptiste Tavernier. Tavernier’s drawing of the diamond which has come to be known as the Great Mogul is of particular interest and importance, because it is the only one of this legendary stone known to have survived. According to all the available accountds of its history the Great Mogul was found about the middle of the 17th century in the Kollur diamond deposits situated by the Kristna (or Krishna) River in Hyderabad, and weighed no less than 787½ carats. In due course it found its way into the Mogul treasury and was shown to Tavernier by Aurangzeb (1658-1707), the third son of Shah Jahan, who had successfully fought off the challenge of his three brothers and usurped his father’s throne. The cutting of the Great Mogul was entrusted to an Italian, Hortensio Borgio, who reduced the weight of the stone to 279 and 9/16 carats. The results of the efforts of the cutter, however, so displeased Aurangzeb that instead if rewarding him for his services, he fined him 10,000 rupees and would have extracted more had the wretched man possessed it. Tavernier makes several references to the Great Mogul, which are included under that entry. A drawing of the Orlov Diamond from the book Precious Stones by Max Bauer, published in 1904. The stone’s outline is somewhat irregular, rather than the oval stone that Tom R. Barbour’s cutting instructions call for, which appeared in his famous diamond replica series in Lapidary Journal in the early-1960′s. The drawing of the diamond matches Ian Balfour’s description very closely, with triangular facets towards the top of the diamond and four-sided facets toward the bottom. The bottom of the diamond appears to have three large facets, one the middle one either curved off or horizontal, and a diagonal one on either side.It is clear that the Great Mogul was the leviathan of all old Indian diamonds and that it was appreciated as such. But the mystery remains: what fate could have befallen such a great gem of which all trace appears to have been lost. Some have suggested that it was cut into smaller gems. Others suggest that it does exist today in the guise of another diamond, and the names of three in particular have been put forward: the Darya-I-Nur, the Koh-I-Noor, and the Orlov. The contents of the Iranian Treasury were opened up in the 1960s for examination and cataloguing by three Canadian experts, among them V.B. Meen, who wrote a book about them titled The Crown Jewels of Iran. Their researches demonstrated that the Darya-I-Nur, the most important gem in the whole collection, bears no resemblance whatsoever to the Great Mogul. The Darya-I-Nur is light pink in color, while its flat, oblong shape has been demonstrably proved by the Candians to have been fashioned from the so-called Great Table Diamond which figured as No. 3 in Tavernier’s set of drawings. The evidence for indentifying the Koh-I-Noor with the Great Mogul is stronger. When the diamond was brought to England in 1850, drawings were made that showed its diameter approximated to that of the Great Mogul. The gem was considerably flatter but it showed the surfaces wence portions had been removed by cleavage. On the other hand, some authorities have always maintained that the existence of of the Koh-I-Noor had been known long before the advent of the Great Mogul and have identified it as the great diamond owned by Babur (1483-1530), the first of the Mogul dynasty. Babur reigned about a century and a half before Aurangzeb. It us unlikely that anyone will ever know for certain one way or the other the truth about the earliest history of the Koh-I-Noor. There remains the Orlov. When a comparison is made between Tavernier’s drawing of the Great Mogul and the photographs of the diamond in the Kremlin, it immediately becomes apparent there are similarities. The first lies in the shape. It will be recalled that the Orlov has been described as resembling half a pigeon’s egg and that Tavernier refered to the Great Mogul as presenting ‘the form of an egg cut in half.’ Throughout history there cannot have been many diamonds of such an unusual form. Secondly, the pattern of facets of the two stones is not disimilar. Thirdly, the previously-mentioned slight indentiation that exists in the Orlov must correspond to Tavernier’s note to that effect that ‘there is a slight crack and a little flaw in it.’ In addition, as will be shortly shown, the story of the Great Mogul would appear to have no known ending and that of the Orlov has no clear beginning - further historical evidence that they are probably one and the same diamond. On the other hand, there is the discrepancy between the weights of the two stones. After being cut by the Venetian, Borgio, the Great Mogul’s weight was reduced to around 280 carats, whereas the Orlov is estimated to be less than 200 carats. In this connection two points must be made. First, it has been shown by others that Tavernier may not always have recorded with accuracy the weights of the various stones he examined; for example, it is almost certain that he erred in the weight he gave for the Great Table Diamond. Secondly, it is not at all unlikely that at some point in its complicated history a further attempt may have been made to alter the state of the Orlov - to improve upon the efforts of Hortensio Borgio, by grinding away a portion of the top of Tavernier’s diamond to resemble the shape of the Orlov today. Finally, the Soviet authority on gems, Academician Alexander E. Fersman, who examined all the former Crown Jewels from a gemological point of view, was in no doubt that the Orlov was the same diamond as the Great Mogul. Personally, I also believe they are the same stone, recut. The Imperial Sceptre, viewed from straight-on. The Orlov is surrounded by a row of small Old Mine cut diamonds. The setting around the diamond is relatively simple and could very likely be replicated, but despite it, it is sadly unlikely the GIA will ever be able to fully examine the great diamond.According to one account, the earliest known fact about the Orlov is that it was set as one of the eyes of an idol in a sacred temple in the south of India. This temple is stated to have been situated at a site alternatively spelled by past authors as ‘Srirangen’, ‘Sherigan’, ‘Scheringham’, and ‘ Sheringham’. But its true location is Srirangam, a town in the Tiruchirapalli (Trichinopoly) district of Madras which stands on an island formed by the tranching of the Cauvery River, about 3.2 km north of Tiruchirapalli city. The island, measuring 27 km long and 1.5 to 2 km wide, was strategically important as a base during the struggle between the English and French forces for Trichinopoly in the 18th century. The great temple at Srirangem, dating from the 17th century, is dedicated to Vishnu and is reguarded as one of the most sacred shrines in southern India. It is composed of seven rectangular enclosures, one within another, the outermost having a perimeter exceeding 11.25 km in length. A remarkable feature is the Hall of a Thousand Pillars, with its colonnade of rearing horses. A French soldier, who deserted and found employment in the neighborhood of Srirangem, learned that the temple contained the celebrated idol of a Hindu god, the eyes of which formed by two large diamonds of inestimable value. Thereupon he made a plan to seize the gems, a feat which necessitated years rather than months of planning, since no Christian was ever admitted beyond the fourth of the seven enclosures. So in order to effect his evil purpose, he embraced the Hindu faith and eventually obtained employment within the walls of the temple. By degrees he gained the confidence of the unsuspecting Brahmins and was allowed in as a frequent worshipper at the inner shrine, because of his apparent veneration for this particular divinity. Ultimately, he secured the appointment of guardian to the innermost shrine within which lay the object of his attention. Then came the moment for which the Frenchman had waited so long, a stormy night that masked the idol in fitful shadows. He laid his sacrilegious hands upon the diety entrusted to his care and prized one of the diamond eyes out of its socket. Losing courage, he then fled the scene leaving the other diamond behind. He scaled the walls of the temple, swam the river and escaped into the surrounding jungle to the comparative safety of the English army encamped at Trichinopoly, and all the while the tempest raged. Finally, he made his way to Madras, where he sold the diamond for £2000 to an English sea captain who brought it to London and sold it to a Jewish merchant for £12,000. The merchant, in turn, is said to have sold it to an Armenian by the name of Khojeh Raphael, who had left Persia as a young man, sailed to Surat and then travelled by sea to England and then to Russia, passing through Amsterdam. Apparently, his travels had taken him to most European countries before he decided to settle as a merchant in the Italian port of Leghorn. According to a Persian traveller, Khojeh was ‘a complete old scoundral, who had seen a great deal of this world and understood a number of languages.’ This colorful account of the Orlov cannot be relied upon as authorative. The real point of interest concerns the identity of the second diamond in the idol. Which diamond could possibly have been set as the eye? The candidates are few, with the Koh-I-Noor being foremost amongst them, but we know that this historic gem had been taken from Delhi in 1739 by the Persian Nadir Shah. Perhaps the second eye of the idol had filled by some other precious stone or had the idol itself at some time suffered the same fate as Nelson at Calvi? Another version of the Orlov’s journey to Europe is even more lurid. This account begins with the diamond belonging to the Mogul rulers and being amongst the loot carried off from Delhi by the Persians under Nadir Shah. Shortly after Nadir Shah had been murdered in 1747, an Afghan soldier, formerly in his service, appeared in Bassorah, a large town situated on the Shatt-el-Arab, some 112 km north of the Persian Gulf. The original city of Bassorah, of Thousand and One Nights fame, was founded by Caliph Omar I in AD 636, some 13 km from the modern city of Basra, which, like its predecessor, is an important port and trading center for produce from the east. As well as the diamond, the Afghan brought with him many other expensive jewels, all of which he offered to an Armenian merchant named Grigori Safras, then residing with his two brothers in Bassorah. Safras was astonished at such a valuable hoard in the hands of a poor soldier who was obviously unaware of its true value. He was obliged to postpone the chance of doing business with the soldier in order to find sufficient funds. In the mean time, the Afghan became suspicious of the merchant’s delay and, believing that a trap was being laid for him, disappeared from the city as mysteriously as he had entered. The soldier made his way to Baghdad where he met a Jewish trader to whom he sold his treasures for 65,000 piastres (then about £500) and two fine Arab horses. But instead of returning home, he proceeded to squander his newly acquired riches in a bout of dissipation. Unfortunately, in the middle of his revels he met up again with Safras who this time determined not to lose site of the man. Disappointed to learn that the Afghan had sold his treasure, however, he was able to learn the whereabouts of the trader’s residence, and lost no time in calling on him. Safras offered the merchant twice the amount he had paid for the diamond but the trader was unwilling to part with it. Thereupon Safras had consulted his two brothers who had joined him in Baghdad; they decided to acquire the diamond by foul means. Having successfully accomplished this, it became obvious that the Afghan would also need to be disposed of, because his evidence would incriminate the brothers. So, taking advantage of his liking for riotous living, they induced him to join them the next day for a bout of drinking during the course of which they administered poison. The bodies of the Jewish trader and Afghan soldier were placed together in a sack and thrown by night into the River Tigris. The slaughter had not yet finished. Events had run smoothly for the murderers up to that point, but when it came time to the distribution of the plunder, each of the three brothers insisted on having the diamond. As it was impossible to divide the gem into three equal parts, and as neither of his brothers was prepared to waive his claim, the wily Safras treated them in exactly the same way that they had treated their unfortunate victims. So Safras perpetuated a double fratricide and another sack was dumped into the Tigris. After such a spate of killings, the Armenian wisely considered it prudent to move on; accordingly he made his way to Constantinople, then through Hungary to Silesia, before arriving in Amsterdam. Here he set himself up as a dealer in precious stones. One can only hope that the city’s pre-eminence as a trading center was what attracted him, rather than its aqueous situation. Now according to Edwin Streeter’s book The Great Diamonds of the World, this second version of the history of the Orlov Diamond does not refer to the Orlov at all, but to a totally different diamond called the Moon of the Mountains, which weighed 120 carats. However, no trace of such a diamond exists today, least of all in the Russian Diamond Fund. In addition the Russian authorities have brought to light records which indicate that around 1768 their great diamond had indeed passed into the hands of an individual named Safras. Moreover they have also refered to the city of Astrakhan in their account of Orlov, a reference which is possibly explained by Streeter. He states that after setting up in Amsterdam as a dealer, Safras drew the attention of certain European rulers, among them Catherine the Great of Russia, to his jewels. The Empress was apparently much taken by the description of the Armenian’s great diamond, and invited Safras to her capital, St. Petersburg, where she put him in touch with the Court jeweler, I.L. Lazarev. Negotiations broke down over an agreed price for the gem, the amount being requested by Safras considered exorbitant. However, Count Panin, the favorite minister of the Empress at the time, proved equal to the occasion and ultimately showed himself more than a match for the astute Armenian. The demands of Safras were neither agreed to nor rejected; instead he was gradually led into a style of living with proved beyond his means, with the result that he ran heavily into debt. When his means were exhausted, Panin abruptly terminated the negotiations and informed Safras that he could not leave Russia, or even St. Petersburg, until all his creditors had been paid. Safras was thus at the mercy of the minister; nevertheless he was determined not to sacrifice his diamondand he succeded in raising enough money to settle his outstanding debts by selling other gems among the Armenian community in St. Petersburg. Thereupon he withdrew from the Russian capital. A few years later the Russian Court learned that Safras was residing in Astrakhan and negotiations were reopened for the sale of the diamond, which he was induced to part with, apparently on the original terms. However, at this point in the diamond’s history there is yet more confusion. It has always been thought that the diamond’s much travelled purchaser bought the gem in Amsterdam; there were reports in the London press to that effect. So the conclusion to be drawn is that the business was not successfully completed in Astrakhan - Count Orlov had to travel to Amsterdam to finalize the arrangements. By this time the gem had become known as the Amsterdam Diamond. Count Grigorievich Orlov (1723-83) was a Russian nobleman and an army officer of great distinction. He was wounded no less than three times during the various campaigns of the Seven Years War. On one occasion he was detailed to escort an important Prussian officer as a prisoner-of-war to St. Petersburg where in 1759 he was presented to the Grand Duke Peter and his consort, Catherine. Leading a riotous life in the capital, he caught the fancy of the Grand Duchess and became her lover. After the accession of Catherine’s husband to the throne as Peter III, Orlov and his younger brother, Count Aleksei Grigorievich, organized the coup of July, 1762 whereby the weak Peter III was dethroned in favor of Catherine and then murdered. Alexei Petrovich Antropov’s portrait of Catherine the Great.Catherine appointed her lover adjutant-general, director-general of engineers and general-in-chief, but Count Panin, who was her political mentor, frustrated the intention of the Empress to marry Orlov. Continuing to serve Catherine in various capacities, Orlov became deeply resently when she took Aleksander Vassilchikov, then Grigori Potemkin, as lovers in his place. He left Russia in 1775. Two years earlier Orlov had visited Amsterdam where he came to learn of the existence of Safras’ great diamond. He bought it for a sum reputed to have been 1,400,000 florins, equivalent to 400,000 roubles. Such a purchase, doubtless, would have been made both to remind Catherine of the role which Orlov had played in her accession to the throne and hopefully to restore himself in her favor. This possibility appeared even stronger at the time, because Catherine herself had refused to accept Safras’ original asking price for the diamond to the Empress on her Saint’s Day; she accepted it and had it set in the Imperial Sceptre, designed by Troitnoki, immediately beneath the golden eagle. The Empress gave Orlov a marble palace at St. Petersburg, but she never rewarded him with his former position as her favorite. In 1777 Count Orlov married his cousin, but following her death in Lausanne in 1782, he became mentally deranged and returned to Russia to die the following year. Interestingly, there is supposed to exist a document signed by both Orlov and Lazarev, the court jeweler at St. Petersburg, which places an entirely different interpretation upon the circumstances surrounding the former’s purchase of the diamond. The Russian author suggest that the role of Count Orlov was merely that of a go-between in the transaction and that it was Catherine the Great who purchased the diamond. The Empress employed intermediaries for two reason: first, she wished to contrast her own alleged ‘German frugality’ (she had been born a German princess) with the reckless spending habits of her predecessors, and secondly, she considered that it would not have been proper for a monarch to bargain over the purchase price - something which Orlov himself could do. And it was for this service to the Empress that Orlov earned the honor of giving his name to the diamond. There is a legend concerning the diamond, dating from the time of Napoleon. As the Emperor of France’s forces were approaching Moscow during the campaign of 1812, the Orlov was secreted in the tomb of a priest in the Kremlin. When Napoleon entered Moscow he gave orders that the gem be sought. After he learned of its whereabouts, Napoleon in person, accompanied by his bodyguards, proceeded to the Kremlin to secure the diamond. The tomb was opened to reveal the great gem. One of the bodyguards stretched out a hand to take the diamond, but before he had touched it the ghost of the priest rose up and cursed the invaders. Napoleon and his bodyguards are then suppose to have fled empty-handed from the Kremlin. Now, on almost all counts this would appear to be nothing more than legend, but it adds yet one more detail to this already complex and most colorful story. Sources: Famous Diamonds by Ian Balfour, The Nature of Diamonds by George E. Harlow, Precious Stones by Max Bauer, Diamonds - Myth, Magic, and Reality by Ronne Peltsman, Neil Grant and about 22 contributing specialists/authors. El diamante Shah The Shah is an 88.70-carat, bar-shaped, partially polished diamond bearing three engraved markings. It was probably found in Golconda, India. The first engraving reads “Bourhan-Nizam-Shah-II, 1000″ (Mohammedan calender), which places the stone in the hands of the ruler of the Indian province of Achmednager in 1591. The next one reads, “Son of Jehangir Shah-Jehan Shah, 1051.” This refers to Shah Jehan, who completed the bejeweled Peacock Throne and built the Taj Mahal (meaning “Elect of the Palace”) for his beloved Queen, Mumtaz Mahal; the date corresponds to 1641. He and Mumtaz had a beautiful romance. They met while the Emperor was still young Prince Khurrum. Mumtaz was the daughter of a high-ranking palace official and was of Persian extraction. She had white skin and curling black hair that fell on her shoulders. Persian miniatures show her wearing a flaring crownlike headdress, thickly jeweled, and earrings that fell to her shoulders. She was married to the Prince in 1615 and shared all his campaigns throughout India, meanwhile bearing fourteen children. The Shah’s shape, similar to a quartz crystal, is one of the most unusual in the world of famous diamonds.Jehan ascended the throne in 1627 and was proclaimed Shah of Agra, near Delhi, the following year. The coronation festivities are said to have cost more than seven million dollars. The Shah was weighed and a like amount of gold, silver and gems distributed to the people. But poor Mumtaz lived only a short time after. She died in 1631 in the Deccan, the region of Golconda, while on another expidition with her husband. Jehan then made the construction of the edifice, requiring fourteen years, a major effort of his life. The Shah is believed to be the stone that Tavernier, the French jeweler and traveler, saw dangling before the throne at the Court of Aurungzeb, Jehan’s son, in 1665. (Before the completion of Shah Jehan’s reign, Aurungzeb rose against his father, imprisoned him and usurped his throne.) How the gem was later carried to Persia is not definately known; it is possible, however, that Nadir Shah, the Persian conqueror of India, took it in 1739 when he seized the Great Mogul’s treasures during the sack of Delhi. It was during this time that the great diamond was in the possession of the Persian rulers that the third inscription, “Kadjar Fath Ali Shah,” who was the Shah of Persia in 1824, was engraved on it. A tiny furrow was also cut on the diamond, possibly to take the cord on which it was suspended. In 1829, the Shah was given to Czar Nicholas I of Russia by the Persian Government in appeasement for the assassination of the Russian Ambassador, Alexander Griboyedoff, in Teheren; thus, it became part of the Crown Jewels of that country. In 1914, when World War I broke out, the diamond was sent to St. Petersburg to Moscow for safekeeping. After the Revolution, when the strong boxes were opened in 1922 by the new regime, the Shah was amoung the treasures. It is now one of the prize possessions in the Russian Treasury of Diamonds & Precious Stones in the Kremlin.

El diamante es la forma alotrópica del carbono, que debe su brillo al poder refractor de la luz. Es irrayable, pero frágil. Es mal conductor de la electricidad, pero transmite bien el calor, por lo que al tacto ha de ser frío. Es insoluble en disolventes comunes. No se funde pero sí se quema a 700 grados.

La medida del peso de un diamante se expresa en quilates. Mientras que en el oro los quilates se refieren a la pureza (entre 0 y 24, siendo el 0 ausencia de oro, y 24 el oro puro), en los diamantes los quilates expresan el peso. Por tanto y a fin de tener un criterio, 1 quilate equivale a unos 200 miligramos (0,2 gramos). Obviamente cuanto más pese un diamante, mejor. Por último tened en cuenta que un diamante de 2 quilates vales 2,5 veces más que un diamante de 1 quilate.

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El diamante Hope en el Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Hope Diamond
The world’s largest deep blue diamond

http://mineralsciences.si.edu/hope.htm

The Story of the Hope Diamond

WEIGHT: 45.52 carats
CLARITY: VS1. Whitish graining is present.
COLOR: Natural fancy deep grayish-blue
CUT: Cushion antique brilliant with a faceted girdle and extra facets on the pavilion.
DIMENSIONS:
Length: 25.60 mm
Width: 21.78 mm
Depth: 12.00 mm

GIA grading report

The history of the stone that was eventually named the Hope diamond began when the French merchant traveller, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, purchased a 112 3/16-carat diamond. This diamond, which was most likely from the Kollur mine in Golconda, India, was somewhat triangular in shape and crudely cut. Its color was described by Tavernier as a “beautiful violet.”

Tavernier sold the diamond to King Louis XIV of France in 1668 with 14 other large diamonds and several smaller ones. In 1673 the stone was recut by Sieur Pitau, the court jeweler, resulting in a 67 1/8-carat stone. In the royal inventories, its color was described as an intense steely-blue and the stone became known as the “Blue Diamond of the Crown,” or the “French Blue.” It was set in gold and suspended on a neck ribbon that the king wore on ceremonial occasions.

King Louis XV, in 1749, had the stone reset by court jeweler Andre Jacquemin, in a piece of ceremonial jewelry for the Order of the Golden Fleece (Toison D’Or). In 1791, after an attempt by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to flee France, the jewels of the French Royal Treasury were turned over to the government. During a week-long looting of the crown jewels in September of 1792, the French Blue diamond was stolen.

In 1812 a deep blue diamond described by John Francillion as weighing 177 grains (4 grains = 1 carat) was documented as being in the possession of London diamond merchant, Daniel Eliason. Strong evidence indicates that the stone was acquired by King George IV of England. At his death, in 1830, the king’s debts were so enormous that the blue diamond was likely sold through private channels.

The first reference to the diamond’s next owner is found in the 1839 entry of the gem collection catalog of the well-known Henry Philip Hope, the man from whom the diamond takes its name. Unfortunately, the catalog does not reveal where or from whom Hope acquired the diamond or how much he paid for it.

Following the death of Henry Philip Hope in 1839, and after much litigation, the diamond passed to his nephew Henry Thomas Hope and ultimately to the nephew’s grandson Lord Francis Hope.

In 1902 Lord Francis Hope obtained permission from the Court of Chancery and his sisters to sell the stone to help pay off his debts. It was sold to a London dealer who quickly sold it to Joseph Frankels and Sons of New York City, who retained the stone in New York until they, in turn, needed cash.

The diamond was next sold to Selim Habib who put it up for auction in Paris in 1909. It did not sell at the auction but was sold soon after to C.H. Rosenau and then resold to Pierre Cartier that same year.

In 1910 the Hope diamond was shown to Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean, of Washington D.C., at Cartier’s while on her honeymoon in Paris, but she did not like the setting. Cartier had the diamond reset and took it to the U.S. where he left it with Mrs. McLean for a weekend. This strategy was successful. The sale was made in 1912 with the diamond mounted as a headpiece on a three-tiered circlet of large white diamonds. Sometime later it became the pendant on a diamond necklace as we know it today. Mrs. McLean’s flamboyant ownership of the stone lasted until her death in 1947.

Harry Winston Inc. of New York City purchased Mrs. McLean’s entire jewelry collection, including the Hope diamond, from her estate in 1949. This collection also included the 94.8-carat Star of the East diamond, the 15-carat Star of the South diamond, a 9-carat green diamond, and a 31-carat diamond that is now called the McLean diamond.

For the next 10 years the Hope diamond was shown at many exhibits and charitable events world wide by Harry Winston Inc., including as the central attraction of their Court of Jewels exhibition. On November 10, 1958, they donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, and almost immediately the great blue stone became its premier attraction.

The Hope diamond has left the Smithsonian only four times since it was donated. In 1962 it was exhibited for a month at the Louvre in Paris, France, as part of an exhibit entitled Ten Centuries of French Jewelry. In 1965 the Hope diamond traveled to South Africa where it was exhibited at the Rand Easter Show in Johannesburg. In 1984 the diamond was lent to Harry Winston Inc., in New York, as part of the firm’s 50th anniversary celebration. In 1996 the Hope diamond was again sent to Harry Winston Inc., in New York, this time for cleaning and some minor restoration work.

The weight of the Hope diamond for many years was reported to be 44.5 carats. In 1974 it was removed from its setting and found actually to weigh 45.52 carats. It is classified as a type IIb diamond, which are semiconductive and usually phosphoresce. The Hope diamond phosphoresces a strong red color, which will last for several seconds after exposure to short wave ultra-violet light. The diamond’s blue coloration is attributed to trace amounts of boron in the stone.

In the pendant surrounding the Hope diamond are 16 white diamonds, both pear-shapes and cushion cuts. A bail is soldered to the pendant where Mrs. McLean would often attach other diamonds including the McLean diamond and the Star of the East. The necklace chain contains 45 white diamonds.

In December of 1988, a team from the Gemological Institute of America visited the Smithsonian to grade the great blue stone according to present day techniques. They observed that the gem shows evidence of wear, has a remarkably strong phosphorescence, and that its clarity is slightly affected by a whitish graining that is common to blue diamonds. They described the color as fancy dark grayish-blue. In 1996, after another examination they described the color as fancy deep grayish-blue. An examination on the same day in 1988 by another gemologist using a very sensitive colorimeter revealed that there is a very slight violet component to the deep blue color which is imperceptible to the naked eye. Still, one can only wonder that the original 112 3/16-carat stone bought by Tavernier was described as “un beau violet” (a beautiful violet).

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SUGGESTED READING

Balfour, I. (1987) Famous Diamonds. Collins, London.

Carlyle, T. (1900) The French Revolution. 2 vol. Reprinted by Arden Library, Darby, PA.

Crowningshield, R. (1989) Grading the Hope Diamond.Gem & Gemology, vol. 25, no. 2.

Gates, H.L. (1921) The Mystery of the Hope Diamond. International Copywrite Bureau, N.Y.

Krashes, L. (1988) Harry Winston, The Ultimate Jeweler,3rd ed. Harry Winston Inc., N.Y., & Gemological Institute of America, Santa Monica, CA.

McLean, E.W., & Sparkes, B. (1936) Father Struck it Rich. Reprinted by Arno Press, N.Y.

Mitford, N. (1966) The Sun King. Harper and Row, N.Y.

Patch, S.S. (1976) Blue Mystery: The Story of the Hope Diamond. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, DC.

Twinning, E. F.& Twinning B. (1960) History of the Crown Jewels of Europe. B.T. Batsford, London.

Winters, M.T., & White, J.S.(1991) George IV’s Blue Diamond. Lapidary Journal, vol. 45, nos. 9 & 10.

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Originally prepared by the Department of Mineral Sciences in cooperation with the Public Inquiry Mail Service, Smithsonian Institution, for their Frequently Asked Questions web site.

El Diamante de la Esperanza tiene su origen en el diamante Tavernier Azul, que inicialmente se encontraba en la mina Kollur, ubicada en Golconda, India. El diamante se caracterizaba por tener una forma triangular y un peso de 115 quilates (equivalente a 22,44 gramos).

Este diamante fue conocido primitivamente como el “Diamante Azul”. Se dice que podría provenir de las minas de Kollur (India), donde fue robado y vendido al Gran Mongol. Actualmente se guarda en el Instituto Smithsonian de Washington, aunque no faltan expertos que dicen que el Hope naufragó con el Titanic y reposa ahora entre bosques de corales en el fondo del mar.

¿Este el Hope en el fondo del mar?

Se considera uno de los diamantes más bellos del mundo. Estudios recientes dicen que tenía un peso inicial de 112 quilates y que una vez tallado se quedó en 44,52 quilates. Su precio ronda los 200 millones de euros. Se diría que sus destellos azules emanan de un corazón frío como el hielo. Parece inofensivo, pero esta joya fría y brillante posee tales antecedentes de sangre y pasión que ha sido culpada de más de 20 muertes por su impasible belleza.
Durante tres siglos, reyes y mendigos, ladrones y cortesanos, han contemplado su aspecto…y han perdido la razón.

El Hope y su tamaño original

LA PRIMERA VICTIMA DEL DIAMANTE HOPE

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Según la leyenda, la primera de sus víctimas fue un sacerdote hindú que sucumbió ante su embrujo hace 500 años, poco después de extraerse la gema del río Kistnsi, al sudoeste de la India. Se atrevió a robarla de la frente del ídolo de la diosa hindú Sita, situada en el centro de su templo, pero fue descubierto y torturado hasta morir.

LA JOYA EN EUROPA

El diamante apareció en Europa en 1642, en manos de un contrabandista francés llamado Jean Baptiste Tavernier, quien lo trajo de la India.

Jean Baptiste Tevernier

Con su venta al rey Luís XVI por 220.000 libras, Tavernier obtuvo dinero suficiente para comprarse un título nobiliario y una propiedad que vino a sumarse al de barón, recién concedido por un cliente satisfecho: el Elector de Brandemburgo. La maldición no tardó en cumplirse en Tavernier.

Se cuenta que se arruinó a causa de una extraña conjura en la que intervino un familiar. Tuvo que huír a Rusia, donde hay gente que dice que contrajo una enfermedad contagiosa y murió en medio de fuertes convulsiones, y hay otra gente que dice que fue hallado muerto de frío, devorado a medias su cuerpo por las ratas.

Otros cuentan que su hijo contrajo tantas deudas en el juego que tuvo que vender todo lo que tenía y que, arruinado, volvió a la India para rehacer su fortuna y murió al ser atacado por una jauría de perros salvajes en 1669.
Tavernier, el primer propietario del Diamante de la Esperanza

Se asegura incluso, que Catalina la Grande de Rusia llevó puesta la joya antes de morir de apoplejía.

FOUQUET

Fouquet (1680), el cual se la vendió al rey Luís XIV de Francia (el rey Sol),mandó tallarla de nuevo. De este modo de transformó en una pieza de 67,5 quilates, en lugar de los 112,5 que tenía anteriormente. Este superintendente de finanzas de Luís XIV lo usó una sola vez para asistir a un baile oficial y entonces, el ministro Colbert, considerando que el rey de Francia había sido ofendido por semejante ostentación, hizo detener a Fouquet, acusándolo en 1665 de robar los dineros del Estado y lo condenó -en condiciones miserables- a prisión perpetua en la fortaleza Pignerol, donde obviamente, murió.

MADAME DE MONTESPAN

El joyero real de la corte, Sieur Pitau, lo corta para originar una nueva piedra de 67 1/8 quilates (13,4 gramos). Dicho trozo de mineral comenzó a ser conocido como el “Diamante Azul de la Corona” (aunque también se conocía como el “Azul Francés”). Durante algunas ceremonias, el rey solía llevarlo al cuello incrustado en un colgante de oro hasta que lo guardó el diamante en un cofre.

El 10 de septiembre de 1661, mientras se realizaba un inventario del tesoro real, apareció el diamante de nuevo. Supo de su existencia madame de Montespan, la amante de turno del rey, y quiso que éste se la regalara. Poco después caía en desgracia y moría olvidada en 1707. La historia cuenta que fue acusada de faltas ligadas a la posesión del Hope y, repudiada por su marido oficial y por su regio amante, debió retirarse (sin la gema azul, claro, que entregó al Tesoro Real) a orar a un convento. No contento con su nefasta labor, envió plagas y epidemias al reino de Francia. La población sufrió hambre y miseria y se produjeron casos de canibalismo. El 7 de febrero de 1715, con ocasión de recibir al embajador de Sha de Persia, el rey de Francia le mostró el diamante para que viera que el objeto no podía hacerle ningún mal. Luís XIV murió aquel mismo año inesperadamente. El vanidoso e infiel monarca murió poco después de una nada glamurosa viruela.

Luis XIV de Francia, uno de los propietarios del Hope

Comenzó entonces a correr la noticia entre el pueblo de que el diamante azul venido de la India el siglo anterior causaba desgracias a su poseedor. Al parecer, de aquí el diamante Hope fue a parar al collar ceremonial de la orden del Toisón de Oro (España).

Luís XVI subio al trono y nada quiso saber de la piedra. Ordenó conservarla en un cofre. Después se dedicó a la diversión y parece que no le fue mal, pero no pudo decir lo mismo su hijo, quien se convertiría en rey de Francia.
María Antonieta, esposa de Luís XVI, se apodero en 1974 del diamante, y en alguna ocasión se lo prestó a su amiga la princesa de Lamballe. La Revolución Francesa estaba ya al caer, lista para acabar con la dinastía de los Capeto. Quién sabe si fue en parte culpa del diamante , tanto Luís como María Antonieta y su amiga la princesa perdieron la cabeza en la guillotina poco después, en 1796. Después de esto, al parecer el diamante fue a parar a un depósito de muebles.
Maria Antonieta de Francia, una reina desgraciada por culpa del Hope
Catalina la Grande en 1796 se dice que murió de apoplejía/infarto a causa de haber estado en contacto con el diamante.
También fallecieron en circunstancias trágicas tres miembros más de la familia real rusa en contacto con el diamante.

Más tarde, en 1820, un desconocido sans-culotte lo sustrajo y lo llevó a Amsterdam, donde el tallador holandés Willem Fals volvió a tallarlo para que la joya se dividiera en dos y no fuera reconocida. La primera fue adquirida por Carlos Federico Guillermo, duque de Brunswick. Más le valiera no haberla comprado, porque aunque lo llegó a vender, se quedó en la calle antes de que transcurrieran dos meses y murió en medio de grandes sufrimientos después de haber recibido un balazo en un ojo en medio de una batalla. La segunda la conservó el holandés.

El hijo del Papa Fals se enamoró del diamante y se lo llevó prestado para vendérselo a un francés llamado Beaulieu y, para cerrar el círculo, cuando el joven Fals se enteró de que su padre había muerto en medio de un gran dolor, cuenta la leyenda que pudo suicidarse o que murió de tristeza. Se dice también que fue su propio hijo el que mató al padre (1830). De aquí el Hope pasó a Londres.

EL DUQUE DE BRUNSWICK

Y en Londres le toca el turno al duque de Brunswick, que perdió todos sus bienes y cedió el French Blue (como se conoció en Inglaterra) a Jorge IV de Inglaterra. En 1830 enloqueció al incrustar el diamante en la corona y murió ocho años después.
El Hope pasó entonces a España, donde deslumbró a la reina María Luisa, quien lo lució para uno de los retratos que le hizo Goya.

En 1830, la gema apareció a la venta en Londres por 90000 libras esterlinas.
Sir Henry Hope tenía mucho dinero y no sabía qué hacer con él. Adquirió la piedra por sólo 30.000 libras en 1839 pero listo él, no quiso correr riesgos con el diamante y contrató a unas personas para exorcizar la joya. Fue entonces cuando le dio su nombre a la piedra.

Durante la Revolución Francesa, en 1792, el colgante habia sido robado. Uno de los responsables, el cadete Guillot, lo llevó a la ciudad El Havre. Después, lo transportó a Londres con el fin de comercializarlo. Cuatro años después del hurto del mismo, en 1796, Guillot fue encarcelado cuando intentaba venderlo en Lancry de la Loyelle. En 1812, el diamante fue ofrecido en Londres por un joyero a un traficante de diamantes llamado Daniel Eliason, quien cortó el diamante. El rumor de las desgracias atribuidas a la supuesta maldición, concluyó en que lo vendiese rápidamente al rey Jorge IV de Inglaterra. La muerte del rey se atribuye también al uso del diamante, que había sido incrustado en su corona. El diamante permaneció oculto hasta 1820, cuando el holandés Wilhelm Fals lo compra a unos ladrones para cortar la joya en dos. La primera fue adquirida por Carlos Federico Guillermo, duque de Brunswick. Más tarde, el duque cayó en quiebra. La segunda la conservó el holandés. El hijo de Fals optó por robarle la joya a su padre y venderla al francés Beaulieu. Se atribuye al hurto de la joya, la muerte de Fals y su hijo, quien se suicidó tiempo después.

En 1824, el diamante reapareció en el contexto histórico, al formar parte de la colección de gemas de Henry Phillip Hope. En ocasiones, Hope solía portarlo en una fíbula ó se lo enviaba a Louisa Beresford, esposa de su hermano Henry Thomas Hope, quien lo usaba para algunos bailes formales. Tras la muerte de Phillip Hope, acaecida en el año 1839, sus tres sobrinos intentaron obtener la herencia de la colección de gemas de su tío hasta que, diez años después, Thomas Hope la adquirió, incluyendo al diamante Hope. Tiempo después, la colección fue exhibida durante la Gran Exposición de Londres, en 1851, así como en la Exposición Universal de París, en 1855. Sucesivamente, la colección de gemas pasó a ser heredada por cada uno de los descendientes de la familia Hope. Cuando Henry murió, en el año 1862, su esposa Adele heredó las gemas. Tras la muerte de ésta, en el año 1884, la herencia recayó en su hija, Henrietta, quien contrajó matrimonio con el duque Henry Pelham-Clinton. Cuando ambos murieron, le tocó el turno a su hijo Henry Francis Pelham-Clinton Hope, quien recibió su herencia hasta el año 1887. Sin embargo, debido a que sólo estaba interesado en una sola persona para su herencia, estuvo obligado a no vender la colección, sin previo permiso de la Corte. El 27 de noviembre de 1894, Francis Hope contrajó matrimonio con su amante, la actriz estadounidense May Yohe. Yohe expresó que ella únicamente había portado el diamante durante algunas reuniones literarias (incluso, decidió crear una réplica exacta para dichas reuniones), aún cuando Hope lo desconocía. En el año 1896, Hope se declaró en quiebra y, como era incapaz de vender el diamante Hope sin el permiso de la Corte, su esposa lo apoyó económicamente. Fue en el año 1901 cuando, finalmente, Hope pudo vender la gema, mientras que Yohe y él se divorciaron al año siguiente.

Hope vendió el diamante por £29,000 a Adolf Weil, un joyero inglés. Más tarde, éste la vendió al coleccionista de diamantes estadounidense Simon Frankel, quien lo llevó consigo a Nueva York.

Durante esa época, en Estados Unidos, el diamante Hope estaba valorado en $141,032 (equivalente a £28,206). En el año 1908, Frankel vendió la gema al francés Salomon Habib por $400,000. Sin embargo, el diamante fue revendido en una subasta, llevada a cabo el 24 de junio de 1909, junto con otras posesiones materiales de Habib. De esta manera, el siguiente poseedor fue el comerciante francés Rosenau, quien lo compró por $80,000. Al año siguiente, Rosenau vendió finalmente el diamante Hope al joyero Pierre Cartier por un monto de 550,000 francos.

El siguiente poseedor del diamante (ya había sido cortado por la familia Hope) fue el príncipe Iván Kanitowski. Kanitowski obsequió el diamante a una vedette, a quien días después asesinaron. Los siguientes propietarios de la joya (el griego Simón Montarides, Abdul Hamid II y la familia MacLean) también tuvieron muertes trágicas, la mayoría de ellas aún atribuidas al uso del diamante Hope.

Mrs Evalyn Mac Lean con el diamante Hope

En el año 1911, Cartier decidió comercializar la joya y venderla a la rica estadounidense Evalyn Walsh McLean, quien inicialmente negó haberla comprado. A pesar de sus declaraciones, la gema fue vista en algunas reuniones que McLean organizó. A su muerte, en el año 1947, el diamante recayó, de acuerdo a su testamento, en sus nietos. Sin embargo, éste tuvo que ser apropiado por otros beneficiarios, puesto que la herencia sólo podría efectuarse hasta que el mayor de ellos cumpliera sus 25 años de edad. Lo anterior significaría una espera de 20 años más. Los beneficiarios obtuvieron el permiso de la cCrte para venderlo y saldar sus deudas económicas pendientes. En el año 1949, el comerciante estadounidense Harry Winston compró la joya.

-Evalyn Walsh McLean-

Winston exhibió el diamante Hope en su “Corte de Joyas”, una colección de gemas expuesta en diferentes museos e institutos de Estados Unidos. A mediados de 1958, Winston optó por realizar algunos cortes geométricos en el diamante, con el fin de incrementar su brillo. Más tarde, lo donó al Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de la Institución Smithsoniana, el 10 de noviembre de 1958.A partir de entonces, se ha vuelto legendario por la supuesta maldición que alcanza a sus respectivos poseedores. Desde el año 1958, es una de las joyas más visitadas en el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de la Institución Smithsoniana.

gabinetedcuriosidades.blogspot.com/2009/04/el..

When exposed to ultraviolet light, the Hope Diamond exhibits fiery red phosphorescence that continues for more than a minute. The mysterious phenomenon added to the Hope Diamond’s mystique and allure. However, the mystery has now been solved. A recent study by Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem Collection and mineralogist, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and six other researchers probed the phosphorescence of the Hope Diamond and other natural blue diamonds and discovered a way to “fingerprint” individual blue diamonds.

Natural History Highlight

UV Rays Shed New Light on the Hope Diamond’s Mysterious Red Glow

By Amanda Thornburg

The 45.52 carat Hope Diamond is in a platinum setting surrounded by sixteen white pear-shaped and cushion-cut diamonds designed by Pierre Cartier in about 1910. Photograph by Chip Clark.

Hundreds of rare precious gemstones are on display in the Gems and Minerals Galleries at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. According to Dr. Jeff Post, curator of the United States National Gem and Mineral Collection and avid mineralogist, few of those gems garner more attention than the world famous and Smithsonian’s own, Hope Diamond. With its breathtaking beauty and mysterious past, the Hope Diamond intrigues millions of museum visitors each year; but beyond its rumored curse, the world’s largest blue diamond is proving to be a unique scientific specimen.

The 45.52-carat blue diamond puzzles scientists because of the fiery red glow it gives off for several minutes after being exposed to ultra-violet light. Scientists refer to this phenomenon as phosphorescence. “It looks like a glowing orange coal in your barbeque grill,” explains Post. “It has been described as one of the unique properties of this unique diamond, something special to the Hope Diamond.” No comprehensive studies on the nature of the phosphorescence exist, which has made Dr. Jeff Post question the impressive glow for years. “There didn’t seem to be a lot of consistency, or certainly no quantification of the nature of the phosphorescence,” Post says. Thus, he and a team of researchers took on the challenge to dispel the deep dark secrets of the Hope Diamond.
In a curious effort, Post and colleagues from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Ocean Optics Instrument Company, and Penn State University eagerly snagged the Hope Diamond from its glass enclosure, along with the world’s second largest deep-blue diamond, the Blue Heart Diamond, and blue diamonds from the Aurora Butterfly of Peace, a temporary collection of 240 colored gemstones. They hand carried the gems to the Smithsonian’s highly secure blue room vault, where hundreds of the museum’s most expensive and rare gems are located. Using a portable instrument that measures wavelengths of light, known as a spectrometer, the researchers exposed each diamond to ultra-violet light in order to measure the intensity of light given off, and the rate at which it faded. As reported in the January 2008 issue of the journal Geology, the researchers developed a better understanding of phosphorescence behavior, and to their pleasant surprise, discovered a way to essentially “fingerprint” blue diamonds.

The intense orange phosphorescence of the Hope Diamond is only visible in a dark room after exposure to ultraviolet light. One of the diamonds surrounding the Hope is phosphorescing blue. Photograph by John Nels Hatleberg.

Post and his team of researchers concluded that red phosphorescence is not just specific to the Hope Diamond, but indeed a property of all natural blue diamonds. Trace impurities of the element boron give rise to a diamond’s deep blue color. Presumably, the boron interacts with trace amounts of nitrogen to give each diamond its unique phosphorescence behavior. Hoping to see a trend among the diamonds tested, researchers found just the opposite. “The plot just scattered, indicating that each of these diamonds had its own set of these characteristics,” said Post. “That gave us a way of fingerprinting a particular blue diamond.” In addition, the researchers tested synthetic diamonds doped with boron and natural heat-treated blue diamonds. The artificially treated blue diamonds had a completely different phosphorescence spectrum than the natural blue diamonds, which could be useful to gemologists when identifying the real from the fake.
Dr. Post’s passion and natural affinity for crystals inspires him to probe for new questions regarding the Hope Diamond. “There is always more to learn, and as new ideas, new techniques, new questions come up, we will continue to learn from it,” says Post, “Usually, one study raises as many questions as it answers, and so it always opens up new lines of potential research that will hopefully lead to a more in-depth understanding of the diamond itself.” This study has also been a nice change for Dr. Post who is used to studying materials that most people have never even heard of. “Much of my day to day research is on mud and muck and clays that are critically interesting to our environment, but yet there is no aesthetic pleasure whatsoever,” he says. “Then on the other side of the research coin is working on things like the Hope Diamond, so it’s an interesting stretch, but also a fun balance to have.”

Reference:

http://www.gsajournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1130%2FG24170A.1