噩运之钻“希望之星”

开篇：润墨网以专业的文秘视角，为您筛选了一篇噩运之钻“希望之星”范文，如需获取更多写作素材，在线客服老师一对一协助。欢迎您的阅读与分享！

“希望之星”（因其主人亨利・菲利普・霍普的姓氏意为“希望”而得此译名）是世间罕有的蓝色钻石，几个世纪以来辗转于各大皇室贵族之手。据说拥有者都会被诅咒，不得善终。不管你是否相信诅咒之说，这颗传世名钻总会引起人们的无限遐想。这个诅咒是真的吗？希望之星魔力何在？为什么这样一颗钻石最终会成为博物馆的展品？请看―

This blue diamond is perhaps the most notorious[臭名远扬的] gem[宝石] in history. It has left behind it a trail of so many unlucky owners that it has been popularly supposed to be cursed.

Taken from the Forehead of an Idol

The legend is said to begin with a theft.

Several centuries ago, a man named Tavernier made a trip to India. There, he stole a large blue diamond from the forehead (or eye) of a statue of the Hindu[印度教的]

goddess. For this transgression[违背道德], Tavernier was torn apart by wild dogs on a trip to Russia. This was the first horrible death attributed to[归因于] the curse.

How much of this is true? In 1642, a man by the name of Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a French jeweler,

visited India and bought a 112carat blue diamond. (This diamond was much larger than the present weight of the Hope Diamond, because it has been cut down at least twice in the past three centuries.)

Tavernier continued to travel and arrived back in France in 1668. From Tavernier, Louis XIV bought the blue diamond as well as 44 large diamonds and 1,122 smaller diamonds. Tavernier was made a noble and died at the age of 84 in Russia.

In 1673, King Louis XIV decided to re-cut the

diamond. The newly cut gem was 67carats. Louis XIV named it the “Blue Diamond of the Crown,” and would often wear the diamond on a long ribbon around his neck.

In 1749, Louis XIV’s great-grandson, Louis XV, was king and ordered the crown jeweler to make a decoration for the Order of the Golden Fleece, using the blue diamond. The resulting decoration was extremely

ornate[华丽的] and large.

Stolen

When Louis XV died, his grandson, Louis XVI,

became king with Marie Antoinette注1 as his queen.

According to the legend, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were beheaded during the French Revolution because of the blue diamond’s curse.

Though it is true that Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were beheaded, it seems that it had much more to do with their extravagance[奢侈] and the French

Revolution than a curse on the diamond. Plus, these two royals were certainly not the only ones beheaded during the Reign of Terror注2.

During this period, the crown jewels[御宝], including the blue diamond, were stolen. Though most of them were soon recovered, the blue diamond was not.

The Hope Diamond

There is some evidence that the blue diamond appeared in London by 1813. No one is sure that the blue diamond in London was the same one stolen from the crown jewels, because the one in London was of a different cut. Yet, most people believe that someone

re-cut the French blue diamond in order to hide its

origin[由来]. This diamond was estimated[评估] at 44 carats.

By 1939, possibly earlier, the blue diamond was in the possession[拥有] of Henry Philip Hope, from whom the Hope Diamond has taken its name.

The Hope family is said to have been tainted[玷污（名誉）]

with the diamond’s curse. Some believe that the once-rich Hopes went bankrupt[破产] because of the Hope Diamond.

Is this true? Henry Philip Hope was one of the

heirs[继承人] of the banking firm Hope & Co. Henry Philip Hope became a collector of fine art and gems. Since he had never married, Henry Philip Hope left his estate[财产]

to his three nephews when he died in 1839. The Hope Diamond went to the oldest of the nephews, Henry

Thomas Hope.

The diamond was finally passed down to Henry Thomas Hope’s grandson Lord Francis Hope.

Because of gambling and high spending, Francis Hope requested from the court注3 for him to sell the Hope Diamond. His request was denied[拒绝]. After several appeals[上诉], he was finally granted permission to sell the diamond.

Three generations of Hopes went untainted by the curse. It was most likely Francis Hope’s gambling, rather than the curse, that caused his bankruptcy.

The Hope Diamond as a Good Luck Charm

It was Simon Frankel, an American jeweler, who bought the Hope Diamond in 1901 and who brought the diamond to the United States. The diamond changed hands several times during the next several years, ending with Pierre Cartier注4.

Pierre Cartier believed he had found a buyer in the rich Evalyn Walsh McLean. Evalyn first saw the Hope Diamond in 1910 while visiting Paris with her husband. Since Mrs. McLean had told Pierre Cartier that objects usually considered bad luck turned into good luck for her, Cartier made sure to emphasize[强调] the Hope Diamond’s negative[消极的] history. Yet, since Mrs. McLean did not like the diamond in its current mounting[座托], she didn’t buy it.

A few months later, Pierre Cartier arrived in the U.S. and asked Mrs. McLean to keep the Hope Diamond for the weekend. Having reset the Hope Diamond into a new mounting, Cartier hoped she would grow attached to[喜欢] it. He was right, and Evalyn McLean bought the Hope Diamond.

Susanne Patch, in her book on the Hope Diamond, wonders if perhaps Pierre Cartier didn’t start the concept of a curse. According to Patch’s research, the legend and concept of a curse attached to[与……有关] the diamond did not appear in print until the 20th century.

Though Evalyn McLean wore the Hope Diamond as a good luck charm, others saw the curse strike her too. McLean’s first born son died in a car accident when he was only nine. McLean suffered another major loss when her daughter committed suicide[自杀] at 25. Her husband was declared insane[精神病的] and died in 1941.

Whether this was part of a curse is hard to say, though it does seem like a lot for one person to suffer.

Though Evalyn McLean had wanted her jewelry to go to her grandchildren, her jewelry was put on sale in 1949, two years after her death, in order to settle her debts.

The Hope Diamond Donated

In 1949, New York jeweler Harry Winston purchased Evalyn’s collection and sent the Hope Diamond on a nine year goodwill tour around the United States to raise money for charity[慈善]. In 1958, Winston donated the gem to the Smithsonian Institution注5.

Though some believe that Winston donated the Hope Diamond to rid himself of the curse, Winston donated the diamond because he had long believed in creating a national jewel collection. He hoped that the Hope Diamond would become the focal point of a newly established gem collection as well as to inspire others to donate.

这颗蓝色钻石可能是历史上最臭名昭著的珍宝。它给众多拥有者带来厄运，因而一直被认为是一枚受诅咒的

宝石。

来自神像额头的宝石

这个传说始于一桩偷窃案。

几个世纪以前，一个名叫塔韦尼耶的男子前往印度。在那里，他从一尊印度教女神神像的前额上（或眼睛）偷取了一枚硕大的蓝色钻石。这一触犯禁忌的行为令塔韦尼耶在前往俄国的途中被野狗咬死。这是诅咒带来的首宗恐怖死亡事件。

这个传说的真实性到底有多高？1642年，一个名叫让・巴蒂斯特・塔韦尼耶的法国珠宝商到印度买了一枚重112 克拉的蓝钻石。（这枚钻石比现在的希望之星要重得多，因为在过去三个世纪里，希望之星被切割了至少两次。）

塔韦尼耶继续他的旅程，于1668年回到法国。路易十四从塔韦尼耶手中买得这枚蓝钻石，一起购入的还有44颗大钻石和1122颗小钻石。塔韦尼耶被封为贵族，后来在俄国去世，终年84岁。

1673年，路易十四决定重新切割钻石。新宝石被重新切割后重67克拉。路易十四把它命名为“王冠蓝钻石”，镶嵌在一条长丝带上，经常把它挂在脖子上。

1749年，当时的国王、路易十四的曾孙路易十五命令王冠宝石匠用这枚蓝钻石为其“金羊毛勋章”作装饰。完成后的整个挂件非常华丽，硕大无比。

钻石被盗

路易十五去世后，他的孙子路易十六当上了国王，玛丽・安托瓦内特成为王后。根据传说，正是因为蓝钻石的诅咒，玛丽・安托瓦内特和路易十六才会在法国大革命期间双双死于断头台。

尽管玛丽・安托瓦内特和路易十六被斩首是事实，但这似乎与钻石之咒没什么关系，反而更可能是和他们两人奢侈成性及法国大革命的氛围有关。另外，这两位王室成员肯定不是恐怖统治时期唯一被斩首的人。

在此期间，皇家珠宝（其中包括蓝钻石）都被盗走了。虽然大部分珠宝很快被追回，但蓝钻石却无影无踪。

希望之星

有证据显示蓝钻石于1813年前在伦敦出现。没有人能肯定这枚在伦敦出现的蓝钻石就是当年被盗的御宝，因为这枚钻石的切割方式完全不同。然而，很多人相信有人对法国蓝钻石进行重新切割，以隐藏其身世。经估计，这枚钻石重44克拉。

到了1939年，可能更早，蓝钻石为亨利・菲利普・霍普所拥有，也因而得名“希望之星”。

据说霍普家族的名誉因钻石之咒被玷污。有人相信曾经富甲一方的霍普家族因希望之星而破产。

这是真的吗？亨利・菲利普・霍普是霍普银行的继承人之一。他是一位艺术品和宝石的收藏家。由于他终生未娶，1839年临终之际，他把自己的财产留给了三个侄子。希望之星落到了年纪最大的侄子亨利・托马斯・霍普的手里。

钻石最终传给了亨利・托马斯・霍普的外孙弗朗西斯・霍普勋爵。

由于弗朗西斯・霍普沉迷赌博，挥霍无度，于是他向法庭申请出卖希望之星。其申请被法庭驳回。经过几番上诉，他终于如愿以偿，被允许出卖钻石。

霍普家族三代人都没有受到钻石的诅咒。导致弗朗西斯・霍普破产的最大可能是他的赌博成性，而不是

诅咒。

成为幸运符的希望之星

1901年，美国珠宝商西蒙・法兰克尔购得希望之星，正是他把这枚钻石带到美国。在随后的几年里，钻石几经转手，最后落到皮埃尔・卡地亚手上。

皮埃尔・卡地亚相信他已找到了买家―富有的艾沃琳・沃尔什・麦克莱恩。艾沃琳于1910年与丈夫游访巴黎时首次看到希望之星。由于她曾经告诉皮埃尔・卡地亚，人们认为不祥的物件到她手里会给她带来好运，所以卡地亚自然向她强调希望之星的厄运历史。然而，由于麦克莱恩夫人不喜欢当时镶嵌钻石的座托，她没有买下钻石。

几个月后，皮埃尔・卡地亚到了美国，让麦克莱恩夫人在周末保管希望之星。卡地亚把希望之星镶嵌在新的座 托上，希望麦克莱恩夫人会喜欢它。不出他所料，艾沃琳・麦克莱恩买下了希望之星。

苏珊・帕奇在她关于希望之星的书中提出，皮埃尔・卡地亚可能就是首先引发“诅咒”这一概念的人。根据帕奇的调查，与钻石相关的传说和诅咒之说直到20世纪才出现在文献资料中。

尽管艾沃琳・麦克莱恩把希望之星当作幸运符佩戴，人们依然看到诅咒在她身上应验了。麦克莱恩的第一个儿子死于交通意外，当时他只有9岁。麦克莱恩还遭受了另外一次惨重损失―她的女儿在25岁那年自杀身亡。她的丈夫被诊断出患上精神病，于1941年去世。

这是不是诅咒的一部分还很难说，但要一个人承受这些，的确太不幸了。

尽管艾沃琳・麦克莱恩想把她的珠宝留给孙辈，但在她去世两年后，即1949年，她的珠宝被变卖，以还清

债务。

希望之星被捐赠

1949年，纽约珠宝商哈里・温斯顿买下了艾沃琳的收藏品，并将希望之星在美国进行9年的公益巡回展出，为慈善团体筹款。1958年，温斯顿将这颗宝石捐给了史密森尼博物院。

尽管有人认为温斯顿捐赠希望之星是为了给自己解除诅咒，但他捐赠钻石的目的是筹建一个国家珠宝收藏展。他期望希望之星能够成为新建的珠宝收藏馆的焦点，同时也鼓励其他人参与

捐赠。

注1：玛丽・安托瓦内特（1755-1793），1774至1792年间的法国王后，路易十六之妻，因对贫苦大众缺乏关怀而不得民心。法国大革命期间她和路易十六被投入监狱，后来被一起送上断头台斩首。

注2：恐怖统治时期（1793-1794）指法国大革命时期由罗伯斯庇尔领导的雅各宾派统治法国的时期。

注3：根据遗嘱，弗朗西斯・霍普不能出卖钻石。

注4：皮埃尔・卡地亚（1878-1964）是卡地亚家族的一员，其家族在19世纪中叶已是闻名遐尔的法国珠宝金银首饰制造名家。

注5：史密森尼博物院于1846年成立，资金源于英国科学家詹姆斯・史密森尼（James Smithson）对美国的遗赠，其目的是积累和传播知识。