By Lita Wilson CSA
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06 Oct, 2023
With Halloween right around the corner, everyone is starting to shift their focus to all things scary. Home and yard decor, horror movies and ghost stories are out of their seasonal boxes and now an aspect of everyone’s day-to-day life. The jewelry world, despite the glamorous image we put on, has its own fair share of ghost stories and grisly tales of curses. There are simplistic, broad superstitions around jewelry. I’ve been told numerous times to not wear opals, as they are bad luck if it isn’t your birthstone. Little things like that are fairly common superstitions on par with not walking under a ladder or opening an umbrella indoors. However, the real curses of the jewelry world are more specific to particular gemstones— often crown jewels— and send chills down the spine when the stories are shared. With crystals, there’s a commonly shared idea about energy being put off by the stone itself and absorbed by the stone. Some of these “curses” have been proven to be marketing tactics with fabricated characters being the stars of these tales, but there is also legitimacy to the misfortune of the wearers, owners and even couriers who had the misfortune of coming into contact with these spectacular gemstones. The most infamous of these gemstones is the Hope Diamond, a 45.52ct fancy color diamond that was once in the possession of the French royal family. The diamond was thought to have been mined in India before being purchased in the 1600s by a French merchant by the name of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. It was then sold to King Louis XIV and stayed in the family until the executions of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, but still left tragedy in its wake as both Louis XIV and Louis XV died of painful diseases. The Hope Diamond changed hands many times, selling privately and at auctions whenever the current owner needed money before it was sold to Pierre Cartier. Cartier later sold it to socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean in 1911 after resetting it specifically for her since she didn’t like how it had been set before. McLean’s ownership of the diamond was no exception to the alleged curse with the untimely and tragic deaths of two of her four children, though there is some speculation that Evalyn and her husband were some of the people to fabricate some of the stories as a means of getting attention. Though I believe wearing the diamond should have been enough to garner attention for the family without making up stories about curses and bad luck befalling others. After McLean’s death, Harry Winston acquired the Hope Diamond and it was under his care until 1958 when it was donated to the Smithsonian Institute. Despite the Winston family’s fortune while having the diamond in their possession, the mail carrier who delivered the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian was struck by multiple tragedies including two separate car accidents where he suffered head injuries and a crushed leg, the death of his wife and dog (separate events) and the partial destruction of his home in a fire. The story is actually detailed in an article published in 2012 by the Smithsonian Institute’s Postal Museum. Although the Hope Diamond is the most famous “cursed” gem, there are a few others as well. Black is often a color associated with sadness and bad luck. Superstitions about wearing black to a wedding, black cats and birds like crows are often considered harbingers of bad luck and misfortune. One of the other most famous diamonds that happens to bear the story of a curse is the Black Orloff (alternately spelled as Orlov). This magnificent black diamond weighs in at 67.50ct and has allegedly claimed three lives with its associated curse. These three owners all died in the same way, each one jumping off buildings to their respective deaths. Allegedly, this gemstone was stolen from its original location, which was the eye in a statue of the Hindu god Brahma, the god of creation. After these three tragic suicides, a gem dealer by the name of Charles F. Winson had the gemstone recut to break its curse. Since the recutting, no further incidents have been reported and it is now set in a brooch that doubles as a pendant. Perhaps the recutting was the cure for the curse or perhaps the curse is just waiting for its next victim… Pearls are a gem that have typically been a symbol of purity, but there is one pearl that symbolizes quite the opposite. La Peregrina has a bloody, violent past. This marvelous gem is a pear shaped pearl that weighs in at 50.56ct and has been the centerpiece of necklaces belonging to some famous (or infamous) women. After being found off the coast of Panama, this gem was gifted to Queen Mary I of England, perhaps better known as Bloody Mary. Queen Mary favored pearls in her jewelry and was rarely seen without them. La Peregrina is said to have been worn to the executions of Protestants that were ordered and overseen by Mary herself. The pearl is said to have absorbed the negative energy from these executions and of Mary’s tumultuous marriage to King Philip II of Spain. La Peregrina’s other most famous owner is none other than Elizabeth Taylor, also notorious for her less than ideal romantic history. However, there haven’t been any tales from this pearl’s latest owner about a wrecked love life. Curses, particularly on jewelry, are often shown in movies to be grandiose and apocalyptic. The best example that comes to mind is the cursed “Bracelet of Anubis” in The Mummy Returns, which was shown to raise an army of the dead and kill its wearer after a very short amount of time. Curses like this are often played up for the dramatics and to make a better story. The curses and misfortune that follow items in reality are up to the individuals who hear them and then determined as fact or fiction. Older jewelry, often those in crown jewels, can have violent pasts of being won in war or stolen in the pursuit of colonization. Perhaps these curses are legitimate and the gems are holding onto the remnants of their violent pasts and origins, carrying the pain and anger of their original owners. Perhaps they’re all coincidences. That’s not up to me to tell you, that’s up to your feelings on the matter. If you’re interested in knowing more about cursed gemstones, The National Jeweler has an interesting insight on the legends of the gems above and others. The Smithsonian Institute is also a wealth of knowledge on the Hope Diamond.
2. Jewellery connects us to other people
Since jewellery is quite often given as a gift to commemorate a special time in life or an event, it can conjure up an everlasting connection to the people surrounding that event.
Whether it is a connection to your mother for a piece she gave you for your birthday or your matching graduation ring from high school reminds you of your best friend at the time, perhaps it is a ring that you inherited from your grandmother when she passed or even how a wedding band will always keep you connected to your spouse.
In this way, jewellery can help us feel connected to the ones we love and bring up feelings of love and care towards them. Having a piece of jewellery that is connected to someone special in your life can also help you to keep connected with them and continue to nurture that relationship.
Every time you wear, see or touch a special piece connected to someone you love, you will think of them! And they will feel it.
FAMILY CIRCLE SILVER NECKLACE