10 November: The Hope Diamond

On this date in 1958 The Hope Diamond was sent to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, USA, by registered mail.

10 facts about the Hope Diamond:

1. It weighs 9.1 grams and contains 45.52 carats.
2. It’s Pear shaped and bluish-grey in colour. The colour is caused by traces of boron and nitrogen within the stone. Eerily, these chemicals also make it glow red under ultraviolet light.
3. It’s believed to have originated in India, in the Kollur mine in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh to be exact.
4. It used to be called the Tavernier Blue after Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a French Gem merchant who bought it in 1666. He sold it on to King Louis XIV. It was stolen from him in 1792, and somehow ended up in the possession of a London banking family called Hope – hence it was re-named the Hope Diamond after they had it re-cut in the 1830s.
5. Other names it has been known by include Le Bijou du Roi ("the King's Jewel") and Le bleu de France ("France's Blue").
6. Its previous owners include Evalyn Walsh McLean, who used to wear it to parties and even used to hang it around the neck of her Great Dane, Mike. She would also often lose it, accidentally on purpose, hiding it somewhere on her estate for children to find as part of a game. Amazingly, it was never stolen from her and was eventually left to her grandchildren.
7. It once appeared on a TV show called The Name’s the Same, along with a teenage girl whose name was Hope Diamond.
8. The Diamond is said to be cursed, because the Victorians spread a story that it had been stolen from the eye of a statue of the goddess Sita. This story was probably fabricated to sell newspapers and raise awareness of the diamond to increase its value.
9. That said, some of its owners have come to sticky ends, including Louis XIV who was guillotined. Jacques Colet and William Fals' son Hendrik, who stole the jewel from his father, both died by suicide. Prince Ivan Kanitovski bought it from Colet and was killed by Russian revolutionists. Simon Mencharides, who sold it to the Turkish sultan, was thrown from a precipice along with his wife and young child. Tavernier, who brought the stone from India to Paris was allegedly "torn to pieces by wild dogs in Constantinople. You didn't even have to own the diamond to be affected by the curse. Simply guarding it could be the death of you, too, as in the case of Stone guardian Kulub Bey, who was hanged by a mob in Turkey. Borrowing it, even with permission, could also bring dire consequences. Princess de Lamballe was "torn to pieces by a French mob." after being allowed to wear it, and Kanitovski loaned it to Mlle Ladue who was "murdered by her sweetheart."
10. However, the diamond has had so many owners some of them were bound to come to sticky ends. Proponents of the curse no doubt conveniently forget to mention that Pierre Cartier lived to the age of 86 and US jeweller Harry Winston made it to 83. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, despite the tale that he was torn apart by wild dogs, died at the age of 84. The American museum where it has been for several years seems to have suffered no ill effects, either.

Who's That Girl?

Matt Webster lives in a tower block and attends a failing school. He dreams of being a spy like James Bond. Little does he know that he is being watched by someone who can make him into even more than that – a superhero.

His first solo mission is to attend a ball at the Decembrian Embassy and discover who is planning to steal a priceless diamond. While there, he meets the mysterious Lady Antonia du Cane, and is powerfully drawn to her. It soon becomes clear, however, that Lady du Cane is not what she seems. Matt’s quest to discover who she really is almost costs him his career.

A modern day Guy Fawkes gathers a coterie around him with the aim of blowing up Parliament with a nuclear bomb. To achieve this, they need money. Lots of it. Selling the Heart of Decembria Diamond will provide more than enough. All that stands in their way is the Freedom League – but the League is beset by internal disagreements. Can the heroes put their differences aside in time to save the day?

Prime Minister Richard Miller and his wife Fiona grieve for their daughter, Yasmin, who has been missing for three years, and is presumed to be dead. Viper agent Violet Parker could hold the key to what happened to Yasmin, but Violet is accused of giving away the organisation’s secrets. She is to be executed without trial. Will she take her knowledge of what happened to Yasmin with her to her grave?

Available on Amazon:

Paperback

E-Book