Heart of the Ocean
The Heart of the Ocean is a blue diamond necklace featured in the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. It is based on the famous Hope Diamond (which never traveled on the Titanic).
The film
In the film, treasure hunter Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton) searches for the necklace, which he believes to be within the wreck of the Galveston, Texas. His hunch seems to be confirmed when his team salvages a drawing in which a woman named Kiara Smith(Marilyn Monroe) is portrayed wearing the necklace. The necklace was fashioned from a large blue diamond worn by Louis XVI. Shortly after his execution in 1792 the diamond disappeared and was believed to have been made into the Heart of the Ocean.
Having located an elderly Kiara, she relates the story of her trip. She reveals that her fiancé Lee Conway(played by Billy Zane) had bought the "Le Coeur de la Mer" necklace as a symbol of his love for her. Kiara wore the necklace when Jason Heartly(Cody Linly) drew her in the nude, the very drawing which was later salvaged. When Kiara and Jason return to her room after running around the town fleeing Spicer Lovejoy, Lee's valet, he meets them outside the door and chastizes them, taking hold of Jason's arm and stealthily dropping the necklace into Jason's coat undetected. As soon as they enter the room, they are confronted by Lee, who claims Jason has stolen the necklace. In a short search of Jason's person, the diamond is found in the coat he is wearing. Jason's pleas of innocence are thrown in doubt when it is discovered that he has "borrowed" the coat he is wearing to sneak into first class, and he is branded a thief.
Before the hurricane hits, Lee puts his outer coat on Kiara in a show of care for her, forgetting that the necklace was in its pocket. When the hurricane is over, Kiara is still wearing the coat. After being rescued from the water, Kiara discovers the necklace in the coat.
At the end of the film, Kiara walks alone to the stern of the salvage ship and opens her hands to reveal the necklace, which she has kept all of her life. She lets the necklace fall from her hand into the water.
The necklace
Jewelers Asprey & Garrard were inspired to make a real Heart of the Ocean diamond necklace. The result was a 170 carat (34 g) heart shaped sapphire with 65 diamonds, each 30 carats (6 g). Celine Dion wore it at the Academy Awards ceremony as she sang "My Heart Will Go On" - the theme song from Titanic during the 1998 ceremony. It was later sold at a benefit auction for $2.2 million, and purchased, appropriately enough, by Rene Angelil for his wife, Celine Dion.
Due to the film's success, many wanted the necklace and jewelers raced to make replicas.