Titanic True Story: The Real Diamond Rose’s Heart Of The Ocean Necklace Is Based On

The Heart of the Ocean necklace, also known as the Titanic diamond, is one of the most memorable features of Titanic. Bill Pullman’s Brock Lovett’s search for the Heart of the Ocean necklace is the catalyst for the three-hour epic Titanic, as it’s this search that leads him to the elderly Rose Dawson Calvert and her unforgettable story. Given that Rose’s blue diamond necklace frames the entire movie, it’s an understatement to call the Titanic diamond important, and the key question many viewers leave Titanic with is whether or not The Heart of the Ocean is real.

With the possible exception of The One Ring from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Titanic diamond is arguably the most replicated piece of cinema jewelry in history, and the thought that there’s a real blue diamond of the kind seen in Titanic out there is a tantalizing prospect. Unfortunately, much like Jack and Rose’s timeless romance, the Heart of the Ocean necklace is fictional. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any blue diamonds out there, and one diamond in particular — The Hope Diamond — is thought to have directly inspired Rose’s necklace in Titanic.

The Heart Of The Ocean Diamond Wasn’t Real

Titanic’s Heart of the Ocean diamond was invented for the movie as a narrative device. There isn’t a real Titanic diamond, although its story does seem plausible. Based on the accounts of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, Titanic tells the (fictional) story of Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) and Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), two passengers from opposite social classes who fall in love aboard the ship during its ill-fated first voyage. Rose’s fiancé, Cal Hockley (Billy Zane), serves as the main antagonist, and it’s through him that an important object is introduced: the Heart of the Ocean.

The Heart of the Ocean necklace was given to Rose on board the Titanic by Cal as a symbol of his love and commitment to her. As the story developed, it became very clear that Cal’s intentions weren’t as sincere as he wanted everyone to think. The Titanic diamond was the only thing Rose was wearing when Jack sketched her, which she used to let Cal know that she was running away with Jack. The final scenes reveal that Titanic’s Rose had had the necklace all along and finally got rid of it by throwing it into the ocean.

While this is an incredible love story, the story of Rose and Jack is entirely fictitious, and so is the Heart of the Ocean. There was never a Cal Hockley either, although he’s thought to have been based on several real-life high-profile passengers of the H.M.S. Titanic (notably a Pittsburgh steel industry tycoon). However, there’s no record of surviving passengers that survived losing a piece of jewelry as valuable as the Titanic blue diamond.

While the Titanic is considered one of the most valuable shipwrecks in the accessible ocean, it’s purely historical value and not because of any sunken riches like the Heart of the Ocean. Titanic hinged many elements of its plot around two possible real-life inspirations — one from a tragic tale of two passengers who didn’t survive the sinking of the Titanic, and another well-known diamond that still exists today.

The Inspiration Behind The Heart Of The Ocean In Titanic

While the story of Rose and Jack is fictional, many elements in Titanic were based on real-life people, events, and more, and the Heart of the Ocean might have been inspired by two different diamonds. There are anecdotal reports of a sapphire necklace on board the Titanic, though it wasn’t a part of any of the types of activities Rose and Jack got up to in crafting her final farewell to Caledon Hockley).

This possible inspiration for the Heart of the Ocean necklace was reportedly owned by Kate Florence Phillips and was given to her by her lover, Henry Samuel Morley. The pair were secretly sailing on the Titanic with the purpose of starting a new life together in America after Morley sold two of his shops and gave the money to his wife and daughter. Kate was wearing the necklace when the Titanic sank, and she made it to Lifeboat No. 11 while Morley, who couldn’t swim, died in the ocean.
While this first inspiration is a somber tale as tragic as Titanic itself, the second inspiration for the Heart of the Ocean necklace is a relatively well-known jewel, one that’s the closest equivalent to the Titanic diamond in terms of coloration, size, and value. It’s believed that the Heart of the Ocean is based on the Hope Diamond, a blue diamond of exceptional size. The Hope Diamond is said to be cursed, as it supposedly brought unhappy fates to those who wore it, and it’s now on exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History in the United States.