Hello and welcome! dear patrons, to another edition of research notes. This time it's all about a paranormal investigators best friend; diamonds.
I know we always say pledging on Patreon is the best way to support the 'cast. But, honestly diamonds are even better! and it's not just because of they are rare, valuable, and look great on us but they are also used as currency across different planet systems. Here's a diagram so you understand:
Aliens do not like cash. Aliens do like diamonds! This makes them very valuable for trading.
Especially when we set up our commune which, by the way, will absolutely be travelling to various planets.
And you might think I'm joking, but we already know aliens will want gold!
Think Ayesha from Guardians of the Galaxy but like, diamonds.
Back to the topic at hand!
Here's what the actual hope diamond looks like. Just so we know what we're dealing with here!
And here is Tavernier's original drawing of the diamond, before it was cut. From his actual journal!
Along with a reconstruction of what that might have looked like.
I guess it's one of those things, you kind of need to know how valuable they are, and the normal size, to understand why they were so sought after? To think this is worth around $250,000,000!
Personally, from playing Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time I know a powerful jewel when I see one!
Now I know Rory ragged on me for my story about the hindu temple which DOES sound slightly unbelievable, but there may be some (trace quantities) of truth in there...
Up to the 1600s almost every diamond in the world was from India. Then in the 1700s they discovered diamonds in Brazil and things dried up in India. But the point is, they have a deep history with the things. and on ancient statues diamonds were commonly used for eyes.
So it certainly could have been discovered from an artefact! But would it have escaped discovery for that long? Who's to know. People these days think it's more likely the diamond was mined from the Kollur mine in south west India. This is where a lot of world famous rocks were found back in the day, including some Britain's crown jewels.
You can read more about diamonds in India here!
https://www.bluestone.com/article/the-significance-of-diamonds-in-hindu-culture-19.html
And here's what our intrepid explorer, Tavernier looked like!
erm. I think this is an artists interpretation. It's a pity Tinder didn't exist back then because he would have cleaned up with this as a profile pic!
This more realistic portrait would have been his 2nd or 3rd pic, I bet.
Whilst we're on the topic of diamond handlers... here's the pooch who dared to disrespect the rock!
That dog is literally more stylish than I will ever be.
And here's the package the diamond was posted in, before it crushed the legs of the man that delivered it!
Too many stamps. I can see why the diamond unleashed it's wrath.
Just on a quick tangent: we talked about Rory coughing up scrapped emo lyrics, and well, I found his Tumblr. So here's some posts. Brace yourselves.
I mean.... bad. What does that even mean.
Given that we live in the same building I feel like this is just directed at me
OK this is so on the nose I don't think he's even trying.
What's weirder is he's insanely popular on here. Like a quarter million followers. What the hell.
Jesus. Anyway this is so besides the point.
I also spoke about sergios diamond which I couldn't pass up showing you.
Granted, it looks exactly like a lump of coal, but it's over 3000 carat and from outer space! and it's black, I mean, nothings more emo than that... Wait I mean cool. Nothings cooler than that.
Now if you want to read further on this hope diamond, here are some articles!
I'll start with a good one: I should have mentioned on the podcast, but the diamond has a...... blood glow. That's right, when you bathe it in UV light, it glows red. If that isn't proof of a curse, I don't know WHAT is. Read here! https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/3321174/Cursed-Hope-Diamond-blood-glow-explained.html
Others:
Victims of the curse http://mentalfloss.com/article/19579/quick-10-10-victims-hope-diamond-curse
http://www.documentarytube.com/articles/five-lesser-known-victims-of-the-hope-diamond-curse
Similarities to the Heart Of The Ocean in Titanic: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/09/05/the-hope-diamond-is-thought-to-carry-a-curse-from-louis-xiv-to-an-american-heiress/
Long read:
https://www.janeausten.co.uk/hope-diamond-famous-diamond-world/
I hope y'all enjoyed this week's episode! Now as always, if you got any other questions, drop them in a comment below! Otherwise we will see you on Tuesday for another brand new paranormal tale!
K&R