Faux Heart, True Love
Ever since Kate Winslet appeared in “Titanic†wearing a huge, heart-shaped blue sapphire pendant and nothing else, fans of the movie have scrambled to get their own Heart of the Ocean necklace.
Whether they want the necklace so they, too, can recline on a couch wearing only this, or stand on the bow of the Queen Mary with their own would-be Leonardo, fans have been buying copies of the hot rock, spending anywhere from $19.99 for a cubic zirconia copy to a couple of million for a genuine sapphire-and-diamond model.
Roy Striegel, 57, of Orange has tried for months to find such heart necklaces for his wife, Darlene, and daughters, Kathleen, 29, and Shannon, 23.
“Shannon is a huge fan of ‘Titanic.’ She’s seen it at least six times. She’s a romantic like I am,†Striegel said.
Striegel, a facilities supervisor for the city of Orange and chief petty officer in the Naval Reserve, has yet to see the movie. Still, he’s read stories about the ill-fated ship since he was a child. “I know the outcome.â€
It’s the movie’s fictitious love story that captivated his daughters.
“Both girls were very touched by the movie,†Striegel said. “They know the whole story of the necklace. It means something to them because that’s what held the story together. I want to get them one each just because they’re my kids and I love them.â€
To buy a Heart of the Ocean necklace of precious stones would set Striegel back about $2.2 million. That’s how much a 170-carat diamond and sapphire necklace, modeled after the one in the movie, sold at auction in March. Celine Dion borrowed it on Oscar night to sing the “Titanic†theme.
Winslet’s movie necklace was a fake. Those who insist on an exact replica can get it for $198 at the J. Peterman Store at Fashion Island Newport Beach. The company, which also markets the pendant through its catalog, obtained the license from Twentieth Century Fox to carry “Titanic†merchandise before the movie became a monster hit. Now they’re ferociously guarding their prize, suing any comers who duplicate the Heart of the Ocean without modifying the design.
J. Peterman’s Heart of the Ocean comes with a certificate stating it’s identical to the one worn by Winslet. It features a necklace of 84 white Austrian crystals with a detachable pendant that has a faux 75-carat heart-shaped blue crystal surrounded by 48 smaller white stones.
The stones are “linked together in precious platinum-like rhodium-plate settings,†according to the Peterman catalog.
“Wear it to a coronation. . . . Wear it to the movie. . . . Wear it to bed,†continues the catalog description.
“People have been buying them left and right for their wives, daughters and fiancees. It was really popular for prom,†said Susy Lee, assistant manager of the local J. Peterman Store.
Retailers that specialize in copycat jewelry are scrambling to offer their own hearts. They’ve tweaked the design, but there’s no mistaking ol’ blue.
False Pretenses, a faux-jewelry store in San Juan Capistrano, has a version of Austrian crystals for $150. The store has sold 36 since April.
“Customers are moms buying them for their 12- and 13-year-old daughters who are crazy over the movie and, of course, [star Leonardo DiCaprio],†said Sharon Voorhees, store manager. “But we also have older ladies buying them for themselves as a keepsake.â€
Store owner Mary Ross has seen the James Cameron movie 12 times and identified strongly with Winslet’s character, Rose. The 44-year-old Capistrano Beach resident bought a heart necklace for herself and gave one to her mother on Mother’s Day.
“To me, it’s a necklace of strength and beauty,†Ross said.
Subtle it’s not. Ross, who wears her necklace even while running errands, is stopped by people who ask, “ ‘Oh my gosh, is that that necklace?’
“It draws so much attention, it’s embarrassing,†she said.
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Striegel’s ship, gaudy or not, may have come in. The Orange city official is on a waiting list for one of the necklaces at Impostors, a chain of faux-jewelry stores, which expects a shipment of the hearts any day.
Impostors, caught off guard by demand for the pendants, is introducing its version. Its cubic zirconia--slightly smaller than the original heart necklace--will sell for $55.
“I could have sold that necklace a hundred times,†said Jana Walker, manager of Impostors at MainPlace Santa Ana. “When the movie first came out, people called every day. It’s been frustrating for us.†When the necklace arrives, she says, it will go fast: Customers still ask for it.
Not everyone is enamored with the bauble, which some consider ostentatious.
“It looks like a big blue piece of glass,†says Bruce Blackman, owner of Blackman Ltd., a fine-jewelry store in Newport Beach. “It’s a big, honkin’ thing. In this area, people are fairly conservative, and they don’t flash things like that.â€
Still, the “Titanic†necklace has triggered a wave of demand for bigger, bolder jewelry of all kinds, such as nugget-sized diamond rings and huge drop pendants with precious or imitation stones.
“We’re carrying big-jeweled pieces that have the look and feel inspired by ‘Titanic,’ †Walker said. To her surprise, she sold out of a 5-carat pear-shaped cubic zirconia pendant inspired by one worn by Marilyn Monroe. Among other pendant with big CZ drops is one that’s laser-dyed to resemble a ruby, $40.
Buyers don’t mind that their crown jewels are too big to be believed.
“You’re not going to be a young girl in your 20s wearing a 3-carat diamond,†Walker said.
Young women are simply too caught up in the film’s romance to care. They figure, if Rose can do it, then they too can wear a gem as big as an ocean liner.
