In 1958, jeweller Harry Winston donated the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian museum and sent it through the US mail in a plain brown package, paying postage and insurance of about $145
A priceless gemstone travelling across the country in an ordinary-looking parcel might sound like the plot of a film. But that is precisely how one of the world’s most famous diamonds reached the Smithsonian Institution in 1958. Rather than arranging an elaborate security operation, American jeweller Harry Winston entrusted the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond to the…
