The Heart of the Ocean, also known as La Coeur de la Mer, is a necklace gifted from Caledon Hockley to Rose DeWitt Bukater. In the story, the diamond was originally owned by Louis XVI and cut into a heart shape after the French Revolution. It is of considerable value.
History
Titanic
The necklace was gifted to Caledon Hockley to give to his to-be wife, the terms settled under absolute secrecy.
Rose received the necklace from Cal on the first night onboard the Titanic. After it was gifted, the necklace was stored in Cal's safe until Rose removed it and asked Jack to draw her wearing it, and only it. When the drawing was complete, Rose asked Jack to return it to the safe for her, which he did, although this was not witnessed by her.
Later, the necklace was planted on Jack by Spicer Lovejoy and "discovered" when Cal had Jack searched, resulting in Jack's arrest. Cal then pocketed the necklace as he left the suite. When he later gave Rose his coat, he had forgotten that the diamond was in the pocket, and only realised after he had started shooting at Jack and Rose in fury and they had fled.
The necklace was discovered by Rose once she had reached New York and changed her name. She kept it all her life, although she never used it to gain profit, until 1996.
Search for the necklace
The recovery of the necklace was the main aim of Brock Lovett's 1996 mission of discovery amongst the wreckage of the Titanic. It was expected to be found in the safe in Cal's suite; however, upon recovery of the safe, only a drawing of a woman wearing the necklace was found. An elderly Rose recognises the drawing as it is shown on television and contacts the crew of the Keldysh. She is flown out to the ship due to her possible knowledge of its whereabouts and tells her story to the crew.
Once finished, Rose enabled the Keldysh crew to believe it had been lost and then threw it into the sea later that night, although in the alternate ending Brock did briefly get to hold it. And to this day, we still don't know the whereabouts of the necklace.
Cal putting the Heart of the Ocean on Rose.
Behind the scenes
Origin and inspiration
The original inspiration for the history given this jewel is likely the French Blue,a large and rare blue diamond from India sold to Louis XIV of France in 1668 and thereafter among the crown jewels until it was stolen and disappeared in September 1792.Decades later a smaller blue diamond was sold by a jeweller and became known as the Hope Diamond (named after one of its owners),allegedly bringing bad luck to its owners until it wound up in the Smithsonian Institution,where in 2005 scientists verified the rumors that it had been cut from the long-lost French Blue in order to disguise its origins.
Historically, there was a blue sapphire pendant on the ship. It was given to RMS Titanic passenger Kate Florence Phillips by her married lover, Samuel Morley, as the pair fled to America to make a new life for themselves. Morley perished in the sinking, and it is believed that this tragic love story was the inspiration for James Cameron's film. The necklace has recently been featured in many Titanic exhibits.
The idea of a blue diamond is also in the 1943 film version of the Titanic where a blue diamond plays an important role in a love affair as well. In the film, the diamond was stolen and creates a dramatic break in a romantic relationship, this being a primary factor in the drama of the movie...
Original and Reproductions
London based jewelers Asprey & Garrard created the necklace used during some of the filming with a blue cubic zirconium set in white gold. The cost of the necklace was approximately $10,000. This version of the necklace was used on only 2 of the scenes, because of the monetary value. Today, it resides in Twentieth Century Fox's archives. They were also commissioned during the release in 1997 to make a real "Heart of the Ocean" necklace using the original design. The result was a platinum-set, 170-carat (34 g) heart-shaped Ceylon sapphire surrounded by a row of 65 round diamonds, totaling 36 carats (7.2 g). It was sold at a benefit auction for the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Funds and Southern California's Aid For AIDS. There were a total of 3 necklaces used during the course of filming; one used in the ship's interior scenes, one in the exterior, and a separate one for the ending, when Rose drops it into the ocean, which was auctioned at a museum in Florida sometime in 2003. Celine Dion wore one while she sang the film's theme song "My Heart Will Go On." The third necklace now belongs to the Granddaughter (given to her as a birthday gift) of the women who bought the necklace in Florida; their names have been kept anonymous. During the same period, jeweler Harry Winston used a 15-carat (3.0 g) blue diamond in his interpretation of the "Heart of the Ocean" necklace. This $20 million necklace was worn by Gloria Stuart to the 1998 Academy Awards. Less expensive reproductions have also been available since the release of the film. Nouveau Treasures makes reproductions consisting of 1½" or 1" heart-cut blue cubic zirconia. Price Range $249-299.