Evening star., 1909-06-25
HOPE DIAMOND IS SOLD.
Believed to Have Been Prop
erty of Abdul Hamid.
The STONE BRINGS $4,000
Cost Deposed Sultan $175,0O0, Is
Generally Credited.
TRAIL OF RUIN FOLLOWS IT
Regent, Rose and Nossoe Gems Also
Disposed of at This
Auction

LONDON, June o5.-The great Hope
blue diamond was sold yesterday in Paris
at an auction held at the Hotel Drouout
1t was bought for four Hundred thousand
francs (SsO,O0O).
The last owner of the celebrated dia-
mond is reputed to be Abdul Hamid, de-
posed Sultan of Turkey The advertised
owner at the sale. however, is Mr.. Habid,
a Turkish gentleman residing in Paris
Whether Habid is an agent of the sultan
or not is a matter of much discussion.
The purchaser is M. Rosbaum, a dealer
in gems.
Among other diamonds credited to the
same owner and sold at this auction was
the Regent. an immense and wonderfully
beautiful stone resembling the Regent
diamond in the crown of France. The
Regent weighs ffty-eight karats and
brought $4,000 francs C$37, 400.
Another celebrated stone, known as the
Rose diamond. sold for $500 francs, and
another, similar to the Nossac, belong
ing to the crown of England, sold for
10000 francs.
Belief in Sultan's Ownership.
1t is stated positively in the catalogue
that Mr.. Habid is the owner of all these
$1,000
lively stated by many wise loungers in
auction rooms that the real owner is
the deposed Sultan of Turkey, and that
these wonderful stones had been hidden
by him and are now sold for his benefit
The price paid for the Hope diamond
when the sultan bought Is said to have
been 10000 francs sl5O.OOO The
forced sale may have been responsible
for the decrease in price, or the wide
0f
which the Hope diamond has gained may
have been the cause
The various owners of this celebrat ed
stone have met with such overwhelming
disaster that any one might well be ex-
cused for hesitating to assume the con-
sequences of its possession.
The total receipts Of the sale are over
million francs Cs200,000), and whether
Mr. Habid or the sultan is the richer
by that amount will remain a mystery
Baleful Jewel Ruins Owners.
The story of the i'll luck that has be-
fallen almost every possessor of the So
called Hope diamond since it first ap-
peared in history Is well-nigh uncanny
The wonderful gem was brought from
the east to Paris in the reign of Louis
XIV, and the king wore 1t in his
crown. The two succeeding kings did
likewise.
was not until the reign of Louis
XVI that It's seemingly baleful influence
developed. The fate of that monarch,
sealed by the guillotine. was the first
disaster that the superstitious have laid
to the marvellous crown jewel
Then for a time 1t disappeared. 1t
was not until 1890 that a London dealer,
purchasing 1t from a stranger. sold 1t to
the famous banker, Henry Thomas
Hope. 1t was rumored that the price
was $4,000
AS the Hope diamond the blue stone
daughter married the Duke of Newcastle
she took the jewel with her as part of
her dowry.
Misfortune Follows Stone.
OF her two sons. one became duke, the
other got the diamond. The latter was
Lord Henry Francis Hope, and misfor-
tune .beset him early.
His marriage 10 May Yohe caused a
sensation in England. and the actress
was soon wearing the wonderful Jewel
on the stage.
Lord Hope came into financial straits
and tried 10 sell the diamond in 1899.
but his family prevented it,
At that time he gem was estimated
to be worth s125.000.
Then came his divorce from May
Yohe, and he was finally permitted to
sell the stone.
Simon Frankel bought it for $14S,000.
4 To CHI To Xnrk