carat violet-blue gem--

alluringly entices visitors from

its display case at the

Smithsonian institute.

But, what a long, strange trip

it took to get there.

Since the 1600s, the diamond

has seen kingdoms topple,

fortunes squandered, and

families torn asunder.

But according to legend, this

dazzling rock may have actually

caused these disastrous events.

>> JOE NICKELL: The earliest

record of it is somewhere in,

say, the 1640's when it

apparently graced the forehead

of a Hindu idol.

And someone stole it from the

idol and therefore, the occult

forces are out to get whoever

has it.

>> ROWE: Heedless of the curse,

French trader Jean Baptiste

Tavernier bought the stone, and,

in turn, sold it to King Louis

the 14th in 1668.

As the story goes, on

Tavernier's next trip to India,

he was torn apart by wild dogs.

Louis ordered the gem to be cut

into an oval-shaped stone that

he dubbed "the Blue Diamond of

the Crown."

The sun king would die a painful

death from gangrene... or was it

the curse?

The diamond passes on to Louis

the 15th, but he dies early on

from small pox.

The next Louis, the 16th, is

also the next owner of the

diamond.

He and his wife, Marie

Antoinette, literally lose their

heads while in possession of the

gem.

In September 1792, the crown

jewels are looted and the

diamond is stolen.

The stone officially resurfaces

in 1839, when it is listed in

the gem catalogue of Henry

Phillip Hope.

The Hope Diamond-- as it is

thereafter known-- is sold in

1902 by Henry's descendant, Lord

Francis Hope.

Seems Lord Francis had frightful

gambling debts to pay off.

Eventually, The diamond is

purchased by Mrs. Evalyn Walsh

McLean in 1911 for almost

$184,000, or the equivalent of

over $3.5 million today.

Mrs. Mclean, a wealthy American

socialite, sets the diamond in a

necklace and frequently wears it

for formal functions.

She holds onto the stone until

her death, but seems to have

paid a heavy price.

>> NICKELL: A son is killed

being run over by a car.

A daughter dies of a drug

overdose.

So, this is all good fodder for

the idea that there's something

wrong with the diamond.

>> ROWE: The Harry Winston

jewelry company acquires the

diamond from McClean's estate

and donates it to the

Smithsonian Institute.

Technically, the Hope Diamond

now belongs to the American

people.

So, the question arises: are we

now all at risk of falling

victim to the world's most

cursed stone?