Whatever Happened to the Infamous Hope Diamond?
by Karl Needan
http://www.flavadiamond.com
When Evalyn Walsh MacLean, the last private owner of the
Hope Diamond, passed away at the age of 60 in 1947, she
left behind what was, perhaps, the most well-known diamond
in the history of the world. Known for its massive size,
exquisite beauty, unthinkable value and tragic history, the
Hope Diamond was the object of public interest for many
years. Today, however, it appears to lead a rather
uneventful existence.
As a result of its history and value, Ms. MacLean's staff
members didn't quite know what to do with the Hope Diamond
after her passing. Turning to the only person that they
could think of who happened to be a friend, as well as a
member of the legal community, they notified Frank Murphy,
an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and
long-time friend of the MacLeans.
Upon his arrival at the house that same night, he quickly
secured the jewels in the MacLean collection and left by
way of a cab. Since it was nearly midnight, he had no idea
where to take such valuable cargo and, rather than taking
it to his home, made the decision to ride around in the cab
until morning, when the banks opened.
When he approached the Riggs National Bank the following
morning, Murphy asked to have the collection deposited.
Quite naturally, bank officials wanted to know what was in
the sack, at which point he mentioned that one of the items
was the notorious Hope Diamond. Not believing him at
first, these same officials wanted proof that the diamond
was, in fact, among the other pieces in the collection.
They soon conceded, though, when they decided that if a
U.S. Supreme Court official had gone to pick up the package
in the middle of the night from the MacLean mansion, then
it must surely be the Hope Diamond.
Finally accepting the responsibility of securing such a
gem, the bankers agreed to store the diamond, which was
soon procured by Murphy, himself, in a sealed bid to
purchase it, since no-one else wanted to take it into their
possession. There it sat for several years, until he
decided to donate it to the Smithsonian Museum in
Washington, D.C. How did he transport it to its new home?
By placing it in a regular mailing package with a number
of other gems which were of low quality and sending it by
way of the U.S. Postal Service.
The beautiful Hope Diamond rests in its case of velvet at
the Smithsonian to this day. Any tourist who strolls into
the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. can have a glimpse of
the most beautiful diamond in the world, which seems an
ignoble ending for a gem whose history is steeped in greed,
corruption, tragedy and insanity. Even Ms. MacClean died an
untimely death at only 60 years of age. The mail carrier
who was responsible for its delivery was in two separate
car accidents, both resulting in serious injury. The stone
had its final revenge.
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