Yes, Marie Antoinette did wear the Hope Diamond. It was part of France’s collection of crown jewels.
After the revolution, they were looted, and the diamond disappeared.
When it reappeared twenty years later, it had been cut from 67 carats down to 45 to disguise its origins.
What happened to the missing piece or pieces nobody seems to know, but what’s left of the Hope Diamond is now in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
The curse of the Hope Diamond started with sensational stories in the press, most of which had little truth.
This included one story in The New York Times on November 17, 1909, which wrongly reported that the diamond’s former owner, Selim Habib, had drowned in a shipwreck near Singapore.
As the years went by, more drama and tragedy ensued. If you really think about it, it’s really not too surprising for a diamond this huge.
