The Hope Diamond is one of the most well-known and expensive diamonds in the world. At 45.52 carats, this deep-blue diamond is estimated to be worth around $350 million USD! One of the things that makes this diamond so well known is the alleged curse that follows the diamond and its owners. Evalyn Walsh McLean, one of the early owners of the diamond, fell prey to this curse. After her husband purchased the diamond for her in 1911, McLean’s husband, son, and daughter all suffered tragic deaths. Despite its curse McLean would not sell the diamond, hoping to prevent anyone else from suffering from its curse. Upon her death, the Hope Diamond was found in a shoebox under her bed. In 1949, Harry Winston purchased the diamond from Mrs. McLean’s estate and in 1958, donated it to the Smithsonian Institution. Despite its $350 million value, Winston chose to send the diamond via registered mail. It was placed in a box and wrapped in brown paper. The package, which was insured for what is now equivalent to roughly $1 million today, arrived safely to its destination.
The Hope Diamond, now on display at the Smithsonian Institute.
This is the packaging that shipped the Hope Diamond registered mail.
Henry “Harry” Winston has shipped jewelry all over the world using registered mail and claims to have never had an issue. While using this method has worked for Mr. Winston, it can be quite risky. At Crown & Caliber, we use pre-paid, pre-insured packaging to securely ship watches. We send our packages and watches via FedEx, which provides more security than normal registered mail. Also, we insure our package for the amount of our offered quote. Learn more about our process!
Information from National Postal Museum.
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