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" is a 30.82 metric carat diamond. It is thought to be of either African or Indian origin. The original rough diamond was cut by Antanik Ekyanan of Neuilly, Paris in either 1909 or 1910. It's current dimensions are: 20mm x 19mm x 12mm.
An Argentinian woman named Mrs. Unzue sold the diamond to Cartier in 1910. She had set the diamond into a corsage, and it was in this setting when it was sold to Van Cleef and Arpels in 1953.
The next stop of this precious heart jewelry gem was an European family, who then sold it to a gentleman named Harry Winston. The year was 1959, and he placed this diamond into a ring, and subsequently sold it to Marjorie Merriweather Post. Marjorie Merriweather Post eventually donated it to the Smithsonian Institution located in Washington, D.C. It is here at the Smithsonian that this wonderful example of heart jewelry is currently on display. As a bit of nostalgic history and trivia, it's interesting to note that at one point the Blue Heart Diamond, the Hope Diamond, and the Heart of Eternity were all on display at the Smithsonian Institution.
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You can read more of Betsy Johnson's Heart-Shaped Jewelry Articles and see examples of some affordable Heart-Shaped Jewelry Items by following these links.
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