Image courtesy timesofindia.indiatimes.com
| System ID: | jl-3a004cc9164f26fe4ac4857a9b2b7e83 |
|---|---|
| Title: | In 1958, jeweller Harry Winston donated the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian museum and sent it through the US mail in a plain brown package, paying postage and insurance of about $145 |
| Link: | Original article on timesofindia.indiatimes.com |
| Region: | global |
| Topics: | smithsonian; postal; diamonds; sent; diamond; postage; unusual; mail; stone; paying; plain; museum; royal; jeweller; package; hope; history; national; winston |
| Datetime: | |
| Summary: | But that is precisely how one of the world's most famous diamonds reached the Smithsonian Institution in 1958. Rather than arranging an elaborate security operation, American jeweller Harry Winston entrusted the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond to the US postal service, sending it from New York to Washington, DC, through registered mail. According to records from the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum and Smithsonian Institution Archives, the shipment cost $145.29, including insurance covering the diamond's estimated $1 million value. The package contained a gemstone with a history spanning centuries, royal ownership, extraordinary wealth and persistent rumours of a curse. Jeweller Harry Winston acquired the diamond from McLean's estate in 1949, several years after her death.... |
