Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles >> ROWE: The Hope Diamond-- a 45 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?