World Famous Heart-Shaped Jewelry
When we think of the “heart shape” we more often than not think of romance and love. It has managed to work its way into our treasured holidays such as St. Valentine’s Day, into our greeting cards and gifts, and into our designs of jewelry as well. This jewelry is often made out of precious metals (such as gold and silver) and gems (such as diamonds and rubies), and when we incorporate the “heart shape” we are creating an object that portrays the eternal ideas of not only romance and love, but caring and belonging as well. We will now explore the origins of the “heart shape symbol”, heart jewelry, and learn about the world’s most famous heart-shaped diamond.
For years and years the heart symbol has been used to refer to not only the spiritual and emotional, but also the moral and intellectual core of a human being. It is usually colored “red” as this suggests not only blood (which the heart is responsible for pumping thorough the body), but strong emotions like passion and what emotion can possibly be stronger than that of true love?
One of the most rare gems in nature is the “heart-shaped” diamond. I said rare…but they do exist. Perhaps the most famous example of this type of gem is the “Blue Heart” Diamond. Also called the “Eugenie Blue”, many people consider it to be the best example of a blue diamond that the world has ever seen. It’s debatable whether the Hope Diamond is more famous, but it’s the unique heart shape of the “Blue Heart” that really makes it stand out from the crowd. When you are looking for an object that exemplifies pure elegance and simplicity, its hard look farther than the “Blue Heart”.
The “Blue Heart” diamond is 30.82 metric carats, and it’s debatable whether it is of either African or Indian origin. The rough diamond was cut in Neuilly, Paris by Antanik Ekyanan in either 1909 or 1910. Currently it’s dimensions are: 20mm x 19mm x 12mm.
The diamond wound up in the possession of an Argentinian woman named Mrs. Unzue, who had it set into a corsage. It was sold to Cartier in 1910. When it was sold to Van Cleef and Arpels in 1953 it was still in the corsage setting.
Next stop…an European family. They then sold this heart jewelry gem to a gentleman named Harry Winston in 1959. He put the diamond into a ring, and then sold it to Marjorie Merriweather Post, who eventually donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. This wonderful example of heart jewelry is currently on display at this institution today. Want a bit of trivia? At one point the “Blue Heart” Diamond, the Hope Diamond, and the Heart of Eternity were all on display at the Smithsonian.
Betsy Johnson has two great blogs: heart jewelry and open heart jewelry if you would like to learn more.
categories: heart jewelry,jewelry,diamonds,gifts,presents,for her,holidays
