The Heart of the Ocean is a fictional necklace from the movie Titanic, originally owned by the character Rose DeWitt Bukater, who received it from her fiancé, Cal. After surviving the sinking, the elderly Rose kept it for decades before dramatically throwing it into the Atlantic Ocean at the end of the film, returning it to the sea.
The Heart of the Ocean, also known as La Coeur de la Mer, is a necklace gifted from Caledon Hockley to Rose DeWitt Bukater.
It is said to originally be owned by Louis XVI and shortly after his execution in 1793, the diamond disappeared and was recut into a heart-like shape, known as "The Heart of the Ocean." Caledon Hockley purchased the diamond for his fiancée, Rose and presented it to her.
Then, it traded hands several times until it was bought in 1912 by Evalyn Walsh McLean, a Washington, D.C, socialite, who owned it until her death in 1947. Jeweler Harry Winston owned it for the next eleven years until he donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958.
Is the Heart of the Ocean real? While the Heart of the Ocean is a creation of cinematic imagination and does not really exist, its conception is in fact rooted in reality.
No, Captain Edward Smith's body was never recovered after the Titanic sank, and his final moments remain a mystery, with numerous conflicting eyewitness accounts describing heroic acts, him going down with the ship, or even swimming away. While he perished with over 1500 others, his body was lost in the North Atlantic, with many believing he was not wearing a life jacket and sank quickly, preventing recovery.
Most of the ocean remains unexplored (around 80-95%) due to its immense size, extreme darkness, near-freezing temperatures, crushing pressure (over 1,000 times surface pressure in the deep), and the high cost and technological challenges of developing specialized equipment to withstand these harsh, hostile conditions. Sunlight can't penetrate far, visibility is near zero, and deep-sea life is adapted to pressure that would crush most vessels, making direct human study difficult and expensive.
The 69-carat Taylor-Burton Diamond, famously owned by Elizabeth Taylor, is now part of the private collection of Lebanese jeweler Robert Mouawad, who purchased it in 1979 after Taylor sold it to fund a hospital in Botswana. Mouawad had the famous pear-shaped gem recut, reducing its weight to around 68 carats, and it remains in his family's extensive collection of rare jewels.
According to legend, French merchant Jean Baptiste Tavernier stole the Hope Diamond from a temple in India and sold it to the French crown in the 17th century.
A necklace found deep in the Atlantic Ocean is now at home in Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, the Orlando attraction devoted to the story of the luxury liner. The attraction, which operates on International Drive, features the newly conserved item that was taken from the debris field of Titanic in 2000.
The Moussaieff Red Diamond
Weighing 5.11 carats, this is the largest known red diamond, making it exceptionally rare. Red is the rarest color classification for diamonds, and stones of this size and purity are virtually unheard of.
Lost to the Depths, Recovered by Time
In 1987, one of the most astonishing discoveries was a leather bag filled with a collection of diamond and sapphire rings, necklaces, and brooches—perfectly preserved despite decades under the sea.
Such a diamond can be valued at anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000 or more. However, it's important to note that this is a ballpark estimate, and the actual blue diamond price per carat will vary significantly based on specific attributes. Each blue diamond is unique, and its value is assessed case-by-case.
The Titanic's final wireless messages, sent by operator Jack Phillips as the ship sank around 2:17 AM on April 15, 1912, became increasingly desperate, including "CQD CQD SOS" and fragmented pleas like "Come quick, old man, engine room filling up to boilers," and "We are all going down," before the signals ceased abruptly as the ship's power failed and water flooded the wireless room. The last understandable transmission was to the SS Virginian, with the final signals cutting off as the ship submerged.
The Curse of the Hope Diamond in a New Century
King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette who owned the diamond were beheaded, but that had everything to do with their rule and the economic turmoil that spurred the French Revolution.
So we know Rose still has the diamond and she never sold it because she wanted to make it without Cal's money (either implied or explicitly stated, depending on which ending you watch). But there was really no way for her to sell the diamond.
The Hope Diamond is renowned for its rare color and rich history. Learn more about this remarkable stone at the Smithsonian's Hope Diamond website.
Meghan Markle's jewelry collection includes several heirloom pieces from the late Princess of Wales. The Duchess of Sussex wore Diana's iconic "divorce ring" to her 2018 wedding reception, for example. She has since stepped out in earrings, bracelets, and necklaces that once belonged to her late mother-in-law.
When she passed away in 2011, she was estimated to be worth around $600 million and $1 billion, thanks to her portfolio of jewelry, real estate, and perfume empire.
Taylor Swift's engagement ring from Travis Kelce, featuring a large, antique cushion-cut diamond (likely 8-10 carats) in a vintage-style setting, is estimated by experts to cost anywhere from $500,000 to over $1 million, with many placing it around the $1 million mark, due to its size, quality (high color/clarity), and rare cut. The ring, designed by Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine Jewelry, has an estimated value reflecting the rare, antique nature of the central stone.
The 7 biggest ocean mysteries scientists can't explain
We have a great deal more to learn about our ocean and what resides within it, but progress IS being made. We learn more and more each year. We continue to discover new features and creatures, clues to our past, and resources that can improve our future. But the ocean will never be fully explored.
Psalm 104:25-26 – “There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number-living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.” Psalm 95:5 – “The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.”