<Tr> <Td> 1958 </Td> <Td> Smithsonian Museum </Td> <Td> Settings, mountings, scientific study; weight found to be 45.52 modern metric carats in 1974 </Td> <Td> $200--$250 million (if sold in 2011) </Td> <Td> Insured for $250 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The diamond has been surrounded by a mythology of a reputed curse to the effect that it brings misfortune and tragedy to persons who own it or wear it, but there are strong indications that such stories were fabricated to enhance the stone's mystery and appeal, since increased publicity usually raised the gem's value and newsworthiness . </P> <P> According to specious accounts in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the original form of the Hope Diamond was stolen from an eye of a sculpted statue of the goddess Sita, the wife of Rama, the seventh Avatar of Vishnu . However, much like the "curse of Tutankhamun", this general type of "legend" was most likely the invention of Western authors during the Victorian era, and the specific legends about the Hope Diamond's "cursed origin" were invented in the early 20th century to add mystique to the stone and increase its sales appeal as well as increase newspaper sales . It fueled speculation that humans possessing the gemstone were fated to have bad luck with varying reports of undetermined veracity . A report in 2006 in The New York Times, however, suggested that "any hard evidence linking it to tragedy has yet to be officially proven ." </P> <P> There is evidence of several newspaper accounts which helped spread the curse story . A New Zealand newspaper article in 1888 described the supposedly lurid history of the Hope Diamond, including a claim that it was "said once to have formed the single eye of a great idol", as part of a confused description that also claimed that its namesake owner had personally "brought it from India", and that the diamond's true color was "white, (although) when held to the light, it emits the most superb and dazzling blue rays ." An article entitled "Hope Diamond Has Brought Trouble To All Who Have Owned It" appeared in the Washington Post in 1908 . An additional account of the Hope Diamond's "cursed origins" was a fanciful and anonymously written newspaper article in 1909 . It was followed by another New York Times article in 1911 which gave a list of supposed cases of ill - fortune, but with few confirmations from other sources: </P>

Which famous gem was said to have been stolen from a hindu statue