Of all the cursed items in the world, cursed gemstones are among the most rare and beautiful. These jewels are some of the rarest in the world, rendering them near priceless and very recognizable. While many are now on display in museums, used as exhibition pieces in galas, or set in crowns that are rarely worn, their notoriety is permanently entangled with mysterious deaths and tragic accidents.
The Hope Diamond
Perhaps the most famous diamond in the world, the Hope diamond has a long and shrouded history. First emerging in 1668 when a French merchant, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, purchased a 113 carat violet-blue rough cut diamond from India, some believe it was stolen from a statue of an Indian idol (unconfirmed). If anyone has watched a horror movie, then you know that’s not the best way to obtain any kind of treasure. Sold to the French monarchy, the diamond’s first victim is possibly King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. During the French Revolution, they were beheaded while the diamond was stolen and disappeared from history until 1812, recut into a 44.25 carat antique cushion diamond. It was sold to Harry Philip Hope in 1839 and then to Mrs. Evelyn Walsh McLean in 1910.
In 1908, The Washington Post published an article titled “Hope Diamond Has Brought Trouble To All Who Have Owned It”. In 1911, The New York Times published a list of previous Hope diamond owners and the unfortunate accidents that befell them while owning it, including a prince who was killed by Russian revolutionaries, a merchant whose family was killed, and a princess who was murdered by a mob. Not all these stories have confirmed sources. But Evalyn McLean’s tragedies are confirmed. Her seven-year-old son died in a car accident 8 years after she purchased the diamond. Then, her husband was declared legally insane then died in a psychiatric hospital in 1941 and her daughter passed from suicide in 1946. While she tried to sell the diamond back to its original owners (Cartier), they refused and the diamond remained in her possession until her death in 1947. Harry Winston purchased the diamond and then donated the gemstone to the Smithsonian in 1958 where it remains on display today.
The Delhi Purple Sapphire
The least scary part of this gemstone is that it’s not a sapphire - this large, oval, deep purple gemstone is actually an amethyst. But, its misnomer is the most mild of troubles to befall the owners of this recently unearthed jewel. In 1857, during an Indian rebellion against the British, the amethyst was stolen from a Hindu temple dedicated to Indra, the god of war and weather. It was transported to England by Colonel W. Ferris, who believed that it would bring him wealth. Instead, he and his family only experienced serious health issues and financial misfortune. Ferris’s son tried to pass the stone onto a friend, who suddenly committed suicide. Eventually, in 1890, Edward Heron-Allen acquired the gemstone and he experienced a similar fate. Famously, after giving the stone to a friend of his who was a singer, she suddenly lost her voice and never sang again.
Allen became convinced the stone was truly cursed when, in an effort to rid himself of the amethyst, he threw it into London’s Regent’s Canal. But only three months later, a river-dredger found it, gave it to a dealer who returned the stone to Allen. Terrified to pass the curse to his young daughter, Allen had the amethyst set into a silver ring with a double-headed snake, two scarab beetle beads and the twelve zodiac symbols to neutralize the curse, locked inside seven sealed boxes, and sealed in his bank vault. He left a note detailing the misfortunes linked to the jewel and instructed that the boxes not be opened until three years after his death.
Eventually, Allan’s daughter opened the boxes and decided to donate the amethyst to the Museum of Natural History in London. It remained stored in a vault until 2007, when it was first unveiled to the public. The curse was once again noted when curator Richard Savin and his wife took the amethyst to a symposium for the Heron-Allen Society and encountered a vicious storm. Savin has yet to attend another meeting for the society as every attempt has resulted in him getting violently ill. While he states that it could be a coincidence, his wife has encouraged him to “throw that damn jewel away!”.
The Regent Diamond
On October 19, 2025, a group of thieves broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris, France and sold eight priceless pieces of jewelry from France’s Crown Jewels collection. Left behind was the Regent Diamond, a 141 carat cushion-cut diamond valued at over $60 million. Some believe it was left on purpose because the thieves didn’t want to invoke the diamond’s curse. Indeed, the Regent Diamond’s history is bloody. Legend states that it was originally found as a 410 carat rough by an enslaved person working in the mines of India. He smuggled the diamond out by hiding it in a wound in his leg during the 1687 siege of Golconda. Upon meeting an English sea captain, they made a deal to share the profits equally - but the captain killed the slave and kept the profits for himself, forever marring the history of the diamond.
Later, the Governor of Fort St. George, Thomas Pitt, acquired the diamond and had it cut into the 141 carat stone it is today. In 1717, it was purchased by French Regent Philippe II, for the French Crown. The diamond was set into Louis XV’s crown for his coronation in 1722 and reset into Louis XVI for his coronation in 1775. Marie Antoinette also had a hat that the diamond was set into. During the French Revolution in 1792, the diamond was stolen but found again by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801. Napoleon had the diamond set into the guard of his sword. After his exile, the diamond was taken to the Austrian Empire before being returned to the French monarchy. It was set into the crowns of several monarchs before being sent to the Louvre for display in the French Royal Treasury in 1887. Its affiliation with war and turmoil have given it a reception for bringing misfortune, enough that even some jewelry thieves deemed it not worth the risk.
These gemstones are just the tip of the cursed-jewelry iceberg. More storied jewelry sits in museums and private collections across the world, and while their stories may just be cautionary tales of greed and violence, who’s to say they’re not truly cursed? Who knows what other gemstones are waiting to be discovered, or perhaps, should stay hidden? The world may never stop searching for the next Hope diamond, but we at Vanscoy, Maurer and Bash Diamond Jewelers can promise to not sell you any cursed jewelry!