Daniel Eliason
Encyclopedia
Daniel Eliason was a London
diamond
merchant in the late 18th century and early 19th century. A blue diamond with the same shape, size, and color as the Hope Diamond
was recorded in his possession in September 1812, the earliest point when the history of the Hope Diamond can be definitively fixed. John Francillon
wrote a memorandum describing the large superfine blue diamond. It is often pointed out that this date was almost exactly 20 years after the theft of the French Blue, just as the statute of limitations
for the crime had expired.
Eliason's diamond may have been acquired by King George IV of the United Kingdom
, There is no record of the ownership in the Royal Archives at Windsor, but some secondary evidence exists in the form of contemporary writings and artwork, and George IV tended to commingle the state property of the Royal Jewels with family heirlooms and his own personal property.
It is thought that Francis Beaulieu, who came from Marseilles to London, arranged to sell the diamond to Eliason. Beaulieu fell terribly ill from jail fever and died in a poor humble lodging. When Eliason went round to pay over the money Beaulieu was dead and the money never changed hands. Eliason killed himself some months afterwards, but before he did so he sold the diamond (this was in about 1830) to Henry Thomas Hope
of Deepdene
, Surrey
.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
merchant in the late 18th century and early 19th century. A blue diamond with the same shape, size, and color as the Hope Diamond
Hope Diamond
The Hope Diamond, also known as "Le bleu de France" or "Le Bijou du Roi", is a large, , deep-blue diamond, now housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. It is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure, but exhibits red...
was recorded in his possession in September 1812, the earliest point when the history of the Hope Diamond can be definitively fixed. John Francillon
John Francillon
John Francillon was a jeweler and lapidary, an English naturalist and an entomologist of Huguenot descent.Francillon was a London jeweller who was also a dealer in natural history specimens and paintings. He was the agent for John Abbot selling his American bird and natural history illustrations....
wrote a memorandum describing the large superfine blue diamond. It is often pointed out that this date was almost exactly 20 years after the theft of the French Blue, just as the statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
for the crime had expired.
Eliason's diamond may have been acquired by King George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, There is no record of the ownership in the Royal Archives at Windsor, but some secondary evidence exists in the form of contemporary writings and artwork, and George IV tended to commingle the state property of the Royal Jewels with family heirlooms and his own personal property.
It is thought that Francis Beaulieu, who came from Marseilles to London, arranged to sell the diamond to Eliason. Beaulieu fell terribly ill from jail fever and died in a poor humble lodging. When Eliason went round to pay over the money Beaulieu was dead and the money never changed hands. Eliason killed himself some months afterwards, but before he did so he sold the diamond (this was in about 1830) to Henry Thomas Hope
Henry Thomas Hope
Henry Thomas Hope was a British MP and patron of the arts.-Biography:He was the eldest of Thomas Hope and Louisa de la Poer Beresford's three sons, but was estranged from his brothers when he inherited their father's art collections, wealth and property along with...
of Deepdene
Deepdene (garden)
Deepdene was an estate and country house, located in Dorking, Surrey, England.The estate was built by Thomas Hope, and his architect William Atkinson and occupied by his son, the MP Henry Thomas Hope....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.