The Smithsonian in Washington D.C. is celebrating a 50th anniversary of the gem by giving it a new setting in a popular contest.

The celebrated ‘deep blue’ Hope Diamond was donated to the Smithsonian by jewellery Harry Winston in 1958, and to mark its half-century with the museum the diamond will be shown ‘naked’ – without any setting – for a while before it is given a temporary new setting which will be determined by a public vote.

The 45.52 carat gem is currently set in a necklace made up of a chain housing 45 diamonds, with the Hope Diamond itself surrounded by 16 cushion-cut white pear shape diamonds. It will be shown unset from September and will be housed in a new setting from May 2010 before being returned to its current housing later next year.

The American public are being invited to vote on the setting in which the diamond should be housed – see the image below. The three options have been designed by Harry Winston.

Hope Diamond settings - Image credit: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

The Hope Diamond weighs 45.52 carats and has been classified by the G.I.A. (Gemological Institute of America) as a ‘fancy deep grayish blue’, of VS1 clarity, and its cut was described as being ‘cushion antique brilliant with a faceted girdle and extra facets on the pavilion’.

Its length & width are both about an inch and it has the unusual property of exhibiting an intense coloured luminescence: after exposure to long-wave ultraviolet light it glows with a brilliant red phosphorescence (‘glow-in-the-dark’ effect) that persists for some time after the light has been switched off.

The Hope Diamond has quite a history. It was brought to Europe from India in the mid-17th century by French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier and at the time is was known as the Tavenier Blue, weighing 115 carats.

Its origin is not known for sure but it’s likely that the original gem came from the Kollur mine in Andhra Pradesh, India, then part of the Golconda kingdom.

It came to be known as the French Blue after it was sold by Tavernier to King Louis XIV in 1669 and recut by the crown jeweller into a smaller stone of a little over 67 carats.

The French Blue disappeared during the French Revolution, but reappeared 20 years later in London in 1812, now recut to a size which matches up with the Hope Diamond. In 1839, the diamond appeared in a published catalogue of the gem collection of Henry Philip Hope, from whom it took its name.

The Hope Diamond is famously said to be cursed because of a number of unfortunate incidents that have allegedly befallen those who have had anything to do with it through the centuries.

But no such incidents have occured during the 50 years in which the diamond has been the property of the Smithsonian. On the contrary – the diamond is a star attraction at the museum and crowds have flocked to see it.

Additional material from Wikipedia