Intermediates
Gallantry and accessories
The drama-romance film, Titanic, which is probably known to everyone, is a story based on authentic events, when the huge ship sank in 1912, hitting an iceberg. Fans of the details of the iconic production have been asking themselves - did the famous diamond sapphire necklace worn by the film's Rose even exist?
The plot of the famous film, directed by James Cameron, begins when a group of treasure hunters tries to find and retrieve a diamond, dubbed the "Heart of the Ocean," from the Titanic shipwreck. As the legends said, the gem sank along with the ship. The searchers, during subsequent submersions, pulled the safe from Cal Hockley's cabin out of the water. It was suspected that it was there that the precious, sparkling treasure was hidden. Unfortunately, instead of the necklace, they found.... A drawing with a sketched girl, who was the alleged owner of this jewelry.
Immediately, the artwork was shown on television. By happy coincidence, the broadcast was watched by Rose Calvert, an old widow. She recognized herself in the drawing and informed the search team in question of this fact. These, invited her right away to their ship. Rose told everyone about the voyage, the disaster, the sketch and... the Mystery Diamond.
At this point, fans of the famous production will frown a bit. Well, the movie version of the jewel actually... never existed. However, there is a great similarity between its story and the fate of the diamond, called Hope. It was a piece of jewelry that belonged to Louis XIV - he wore the jewel as a royal necklace. Cal Hockley, who gifted Rose with the mysterious diamond, made it clear to his chosen one that the sparkler used to be called La Coeur De La Mer. That is, quite the same as the Hope diamond once was.
So, is the necklace the Heart of the Ocean or Hope?
The Hope diamond was the largest colored diamond, with a sapphire-blue color. It weighed as much as 112 carats! It was brought to France by a merchant named Tavernier. Later, he sold the jewel to Louis XIV. However, the latter wished them to grind it into the shape of a triangular pear. The weight of the diamond was thus reduced to about 68 carats. Hope, however, was stolen from the king's vault when the French Revolution broke out. By some miracle, it was only found in London, around 1830. Its shape, however, had managed to undergo further deformation, and its weight was reduced to about 46 carats.
The next figure to buy the diamond was a well-known English banker, Henry Hope. It was from this time that the gem was called, simply, Hope. However, the history of the diamond was quite turbulent - as the jewel constantly changed owners. The last buyer was America's most famous jeweler, Harry Winston. Today, the Hope diamond is the largest dark blue diamond in the entire world, as well as the fourth largest size when it comes to blue diamonds.
So what kind of diamond was in the film?
The movie Heart of the Ocean is not made of diamond. The jewelry was designed by London jewelers, crafting it from zirconium oxide, Edwardian style. Interestingly, as many as three versions of the famous gem were created for the film. We could spot the first piece in the film. The necklace had a polished large blue stone in the shape of a heart. To make it, cubic zirconia was used, surrounded by zircons in white gold. Today it is owned by a collector, George Holmes. Sometimes it is loaned out by James Cameron, the director of Titanic, displaying it in his office building.
Another version of movie jewelry was a design made of blue zirconia, also cut in the shape of a heart. The main stone was surrounded by round zircons. It made a brief appearance in the film, at the moment when Caledon took the necklace from its safe place, namely the safe.
The last version of the diamond did not take part in the film production. It was created after the film's roaring success. A necklace with a 171 carat Ceylon sapphire was then created, obviously in the shape of a heart. The design boasted a large gray-blue sapphire, and the chain contained round and marquise white diamonds. The necklace was decided to be donated to a Beverly Hills auction, where it sold for $1.4 million. What was the condition for finalizing the deal? Well, Celine Dion in 1998 was to wear the necklace to the Academy Awards ceremony. Unfortunately, this version of Heart of the Ocean ended up in a private collection and we are unlikely to ever see it again.
It is interesting to note that the famous jeweler, Harry Winston, made a replica of the Heart of the Ocean after the success of Titanic. However, he decided to use a real blue diamond. It weighed 15 carats (!), and its value reached... $20 million! Guess who wore it to the Academy Awards gala? Well, none other than Gloria Stuart herself - who played the role of 100-year-old Rose.
So, Heart of the Ocean was invented exclusively for the film. However, the jewelry was created, inspired by a real diamond named Hope. Fortunately, the biggest fans of the production can find a lot of jewelry on the web, inspired by the story of Titanic. And it may not be made of diamonds, but it can certainly add charm to any woman!
