In our earlier post, we discussed how most of the rare gems are supposedly cursed. Be it the temptation or the attitude to challenge the existing myths; people do in fact turn greedy when it comes to rare gems and treasures.
In this post we will discuss the curses of the Delhi Sapphire and the Star of India.
The Delhi Sapphire:
It so goes, that during the Indian Mutiny of 1857 in Cawnpore (Kanpur) the purple amethyst was stolen from the temple of Lord Indra, which was then taken by a British soldier, Colonel W. Ferris. The utter coincidence of him taking the jewel and his health going downhill was not something one could miss Also, the other thing that seemed too true to be a coincidence is that his son, who inherited the jewel also lost both his health and money.
Another owner of the Delhi Sapphire, Heron-Allen believed that the stone was cursed and “stained with the blood, and the dis-honor of everyone who has ever owned it.” He locked the gem within 7 boxes and spread it between various lucky charms but the curse didn’t seem to diminish. He then sent the stone to his banker instructing him to lock it away until after his death and never to let his daughter hold it. After his death, his daughter donated the stone to the Natural History Museum along with a written warning and a brief history.
The Star of India:
The Star of India, a 563-carat gem is the world’s largest known blue star sapphire with the “star” being the milky appearance formed by fibers from the mineral. The gem was believed to have been mined in Sri Lanka. On October 29, 1964, 3 thieves broke into the American Museum of Natural History and stole about $410,000 jewels (about $3 million today), including the Star of India, which was miraculously recovered in a Miami bus station locker several months later.
By: Archa Dave
