On this episode of Our American Stories, The Hope Diamond has been blamed for madness, financial ruin, and untimely death. It’s also one of the most visited artifacts in the world. So what kept people chasing it? Richard Kurin, author of Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem, traces how this 45-carat blue diamond moved from European royalty to American catalogs and eventually into the Smithsonian’s glass case.

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