Heart of the Ocean

Titanic was famously brought to the big screen by James Cameron in 1997. This epic film is about the sinking of the RMS Titanic, told a story of a tragic whirlwind romance between Rose played by Kate Winslet and Jack played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

The stunning necklace, ‘The Heart of the Ocean’ is the framing agent of the movie, as divers go searching for a necklace, a blue diamond pendant that is said to have originally have formed part of Louis XVI crown jewels and that after the French Revolution it was cut into a heart shape diamond. Their search for this necklace leads to them meeting Gloria Stuart who plays an older Rose, who reflects on her time on the Titanic. The story unravels, with the necklace once being presented to Rose DeWitt Bukater by her fiancée Caledon Hockley played by Billy Zane.

The necklace is what leads the storyline of the film and, is the focal point in the memorable drawing scene, it quickly became the icon that represented the film, and this article is going to discuss the necklace in further detail.

The necklace was made by London jewellers Asprey & Garrad, they used a blue cubic zirconium and set it in white gold but for fear of losing the necklace, GF Roberts Jewellery were asked to re-design the ‘Heart Of The Ocean’ Pendant, and create three lookalikes to prevent losing the original at sea whilst filming, some of the scenes.

‘The Heart of the Ocean’ was inspired by the Hope Diamond and Sapphire and diamond necklace that 2nd class passenger Kate Florence Phillips wore on the Titanic, given to her by her married lover Samuel Morley, 40. Kate was an assistant working for Morley in London, and the two were secretly sailing on the Titanic as second class passengers to begin a new life together in America. On 15th April 1912, the Titanic Sank, Kate was able to get onto a life boat but Samuel did not, and drowned with the ship.

When the film became a success, Asprey and Garrad were asked to commission a necklace based on the original, they made platinum-set, 171-carat (34 g) heart-shaped Ceylon sapphire surrounded by 103 diamonds, necklace. Ceylon sapphires are mined primarily in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). Gems from Sri Lankan are believed to have been mined, set into jewellery, and traded since 500 B.C. Greeks, and Romans found these sapphires very desirable, and many cultures referred to Sri Lanka the ‘Island of Gems’. Ceylon sapphires occur naturally and are known for their unique colour. The colours range from very pale blue to a vibrant electric blue, which was used in the heart pendant. This necklace was valued £2.5 million! It raised £1.4 million in auction for charity, after it was worn by Celine Dion at the Academy Awards in 2008, where she sang the Titanic’s theme song, ‘My Heart Will Go On’.

Jeweller Harry Winston also designed a necklace based on the original, he used a 15-carat (3g) blue diamond in his interpretation of the necklace, valued at £12 million and this was worn by Gloria Stuart at the same Academy Awards, truly showing how important the necklace was to the film. The beautiful necklace took the main role, and has become an iconic symbol of a tragic love story.

To find out more about sapphires visit our sapphire engagement rings page.