A Brief Review of Titanic History

The RMS Titanic, known as the “Ship of Dreams” was the largest, most luxurious ship of its time. The White Star Line British passenger liner began its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City on April 10, 1912. Four days after launch, somewhere in the North Atlantic, Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. She sank less than three hours later. Of the 2,435 passengers and 892 crew members, more than 1,500 people died. More would have likely survived had there been more lifeboats on deck, but thinking Titanic was unsinkable, there were only 20 lifeboats—enough for half of Titanic’s passengers and crew. After hearing a distress call from Titanic just after 12:00 a.m., the RMS Carpathia arrived at 4:00 a.m. and took the 705 surviving passengers onboard, and returned them safely to New York City three days later.

Jewelry Television’s Titanic Jewelry Collection

In mid-April, The Jewelry Television channel set sales records with its Titanic Jewelry Collection. The collection sold out in its entirety in less than one hour. Created in partnership with Titanic Museum Attractions, the proprietary Titanic Jewelry Collection offers pieces in the Art Nouveau and Edwardian styles typical of that era, with prices ranging from $20 to $200.

Some of the collection’s pieces were inspired by real passengers of the Titanic. One young woman called Alice Fortune was told by a fortune teller prior to the trip that she would lose everything but her life while traveling at sea. Her piece is a cascading silver tone chandelier necklace and matching earrings.

Another passenger, Marian Thayer, the wife of Pennsylvania Railroad vice president John Thayer, inspired the Edwardian style antique silver tone round white crystal medallion necklace.

And the well-known “Unsinkable” Molly Brown’s outgoing personality was the inspiration for several pieces in the collection, including the socialite chandelier earrings and necklace featuring blue crystal with round and marquise white crystal and faux pearls.

QVC’s Titanic Collection 100th Anniversary Line

QVC has teamed up with RMS Titanic, the company that searches for and salvages artifacts from the sunken ship. The Titanic Collection 100th Anniversary Line, which debuted April 6 on QVC, is a collection of fine jewelry, tableware, and even a fragrance, inspired by real items recovered from the remains of the ship.

Some of the pieces include a diamond filigree sterling cuff whose design is inspired by an evening bag found among the wreckage. Other pieces include a sterling and 14-karat-gold-clad first class key pendant, a white topaz and diamond sterling ring, vintage-style diamond drop earrings, and a themed charm bracelet.

Also offered in the collection is replica dining flatware, and a fragrance inspired by real-life passenger and survivor, Adolphe Saalfeld. On the way to America to realize his dream, Saalfeld was a chemist whose perfume vials went down with the ship. Later recovered from the ocean floor, QVC’s Legacy 1912 Titanic perfume is a re-creation, based on the oils and essences found in Saalfeld’s surviving vials.

The “Heart of the Ocean” Diamond Necklace

Who can forget the iconic “Heart of the Ocean” necklace in the James Cameron’s loving film tribute, Titanic? While the necklace in the film was fictional, it had a lore all its own. According to the film’s storyline, the large blue diamond was originally owned by King Louis XIV, and was later cut into a heart shape ala the real Hope Diamond, and surrounded by smaller, white diamonds. The possessive Caledon Hockley, played by Billy Zane, planned on giving the “Heart of the Ocean” to his fiancée, Rose, played by Kate Winslet.

Rose fell in love with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack Dawson, of course, and wore the “Heart of the Ocean” when Jack drew her. The drawing was later recovered by Brock Lovett, played by Bill Paxton, who was searching for Titanic, and the “Heart of the Ocean,” which he thought went down with the ship. The discovery of the drawing led to Lovett’s meeting the now-elderly Rose, beautifully played by Gloria Stuart. At the end of the film, while on Lovett’s salvage ship, Rose lets the necklace fall from her hand into the ocean above the wreckage of the Titanic.

Following the worldwide popularity of Cameron’s Titanic, jewelry company Garrard & Co. created a real “Heart of the Ocean” made with a 170-carat heart-shaped sapphire, surrounded by 65 30-carat diamonds. There are many replicas of the “Heart of the Ocean” on the market. Many are made with a cubic zirconia sapphire replacing the blue diamond heart and Swarovski Crystals replacing the surrounding diamonds.