During the French Revolution, the Blue Tavernier diamond was stolen and in 1830, Henry Thomas Hope bought a slightly smaller stone of the same color and beauty. It is suspected that the gem known as the Hope Diamond was cut from the Blue Tavernier sometime after the revolution. After Hope died, the diamond passed through a few other hands and each person who owned it lost his or her fortune, including the stone itself. As a result, no one would touch it by the time it went on sale in New York City. It now resides in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
Diamonds come in a variety of colors, from the transparent diamonds that we think of as engagement rings to startling blues to luminescent pinks. They are treasured stones in industry and in jewelry. Fortunately, modern technology can now manufacture sufficient quality diamonds for most necessary industrial uses, but it remains to be seen if it will ever catch up in making gem quality stones. If it does, it’s anyone’s guess whether the diamonds will lose value just as they become widely available.
Delicate butterflies designed with Schlumberger’s signature attention to detail. Clip with oval pink tourmalines, pear-shaped amethysts and round brilliant diamonds in platinum with 18k gold. Oval pink tourmalines, carat total weight 6.30; pear-shaped amethysts, carat total weight 6.74; round brilliant diamonds, carat total weight 1.53. $30,000