For the first time, the famed and feared Hope Diamond is on display without its ornate setting.
The doors were locked, security guards took their positions and in rolled a cart, a white cloth covering its contents.
Smithsonian Institution officials lifted the cloth. “The Hope Diamond naked,” proclaimed Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem Collection.
The world’s largest blue diamond went on public display last week, for the first time without its ornate setting.
Perched atop a light gray display post, the 45.5-carat, walnut-size diamond will be on view by itself for several months while a new setting is prepared.
Called “Embracing Hope,” the new setting will surround the star gem in a ribbon of white diamonds. It was chosen from three proposals in an online vote, winning 45,000 out of a total 110,000 votes cast, said Cristian Samper, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
The new display is part of a celebration of the Hope Diamond’s half-century at the museum. It was donated in 1958 by jeweler Harry Winston, whose firm is preparing the new setting.
Despite being rumored to carry a curse, Post says fortune has smiled on the museum since the diamond was added to its collection, noting that it inspired many other gifts and forms the basis of the National Gem Collection.
That was Winston’s plan, he added, noting that the jeweler once commented that even though the US doesn’t have a king or queen, it should have crown jewels.
Previously the Hope Diamond has been shown in a platinum setting, surrounded by 16 white pear-shaped and cushion-cut diamonds, suspended from a chain containing forty-five diamonds. The Hope will return to this original setting in late 2010.
Formed more than a billion years ago, the diamond was mined in India and later is believed to have been part of the French crown jewels, having been stolen during the French Revolution. It later came into the possession of Henry Philip Hope, whose name it carries.
Its blue color comes from the element boron included in the stone itself. Exposed to ultraviolet light, the Hope Diamond glows red-orange.(AP)
著名又令人畏懼的「希望鑽石」首次以未加豪華鑲台的方式對外展出。
這天大門深鎖，保全人員各自就位，一台用白布覆蓋的小推車被推了出來。
美國史密斯索尼安博物館人員揭開布幕。全國寶石展策展人傑佛瑞．帕斯特宣佈：「希望鑽石裸鑽」。
這顆全世界最大的藍寶石上週起，首度以未飾華麗鑲台的裸鑽型態對外展示。
放置在淺灰色展台上的這顆四十五點五克拉、胡桃般大小的鑽石，在其新鑲台完成前，將單獨對外展出數個月。
這個新鑲台被命名為「懷抱希望」，將以一圈圈白色鑽石包鑲這顆主鑽。史密斯索尼安國家自然歷史博物館館長克里斯坦．桑帕表示，這個設計經網路票選，從三個設計提案中脫穎而出，在總計十一萬的票數中，以四萬五千票勝出。
該博物館為了慶祝典藏希望鑽石半世紀，特別舉辦了一系列慶祝活動，裸鑽展覽便是其中之一。一九五八年，珠寶商哈里．溫斯頓將希望鑽石捐贈給博物館，而溫斯頓的公司目前正在準備它的新鑲台。
帕斯特說，儘管坊間流傳著這顆鑽石被詛咒的傳聞，但自希望鑽石展出以來，博物館就好運連連，他指出許多人因此捐贈寶石給博物館，進而促成這場國家寶石展。
他說，這是溫斯頓的計劃，這位珠寶商曾表示，雖然美國沒有國王或女王，但也應該有自己的御寶。
在此之前，希望鑽石一直都鑲嵌在鉑金鑲台上，周圍還鑲了十六顆梨狀枕型車工的白鑽，而其墜鍊上共有四十五顆鑽石。希望鑽石將於二Ｏ一Ｏ年底裝回原始的鑲台。
這顆鑽石於十多億年前成形，在印度被開採見世，據信後來曾被鑲在法國王冠上，法國大革命期間又被偷走。其後被亨利．菲利普．霍普（意思是希望）納入收藏，於是被命名為希望鑽石。
它的藍色來自石中的硼元素。在紫外線的照射下，希望鑽石會發出紅橙色的光芒。 （美聯社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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