LOVE HEARTS
'I would have liked to have given her the Taj Mahal but it would have cost too much to transport,' remarked Richard Burton on the occasion of Elizabeth Taylor's 40th birthday. Taylor made do with a heart-shaped diamond pendant of sufficient size that Burton swore its multi carats qualified it as a turnip.
In fact the largest example of a heart-shaped stone is the 'Grand Coeur D'Afrique weighing in at 70.05 carats, set by Graff in a spectacular necklace of a further 70 carats of smaller heart-shaped stones. It was snapped up in 1983 by a billionaire as a gift for his wife, possibly as a magnificent Valentine's Day gesture.
In ancient Egypt the heart was a symbol of life and used as an amulet to frustrate forces of evil. From being a lucky amulet and bodyguard the heart symbol has shifted in modern times to become an expression of the loving attachment that one person feels for another. From being a symbol of life a diamond heart has become the most important glittering symbol of love recognised around the world.
by Carol Wootton
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