The Top 5 Movie Gems

Rack your brains and think back. Over the years a number of films have featured precious gemstones as the focus for their plots. Quite a few movies may spring to mind but here we’ll outline a few of our favourites!

The Pink Panther

Back in 1963 ‘The Pink Panther’ was released and soon became popular. As a result of the triumphs of this first movie a subsequent 10 more movies were made afterwards. Out of the 11 films, 6 featured the famous ‘Pink Panther’. Many people unfamiliar with the films may believe that the name refers to the famous bumbling police Inspector, Jacques Clouseau or the iconic cartoon image of a Pink Panther. In fact ‘Pink Panther’ actually refers to a very large pink diamond at the centre of the plot of the first film, and numerous sequels following. The diamond is not just named so because of its’ brilliant pink colour but also due to a panther-shaped flaw in the centre of the diamond.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Ok so this movie may not be a classic, yet, but the latest instalment in the Indiana Jones lineage does feature a pretty large gem as the focus of the plot! Crystal Skulls do actually exist, although none have been proved to unlock supernatural powers quite like the one in the film. It’s claimed that the ones in existence are pre-Columbian artefacts, but in reality they have been tested and found to be 19th Century European creations. The crystal that makes up the skull is a type of Quartz, certainly a semi-precious gemstone.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

The first of the Harry Potter books / films is the Philosopher’s Stone (Sorcerer’s Stone in the US!). Whilst a great deal of the film is made up of introducing the viewer to the magical world of Harry Potter, the real plot is set around Voldemort (the baddy!) trying to find the Philosopher’s Stone which is hidden somewhere inside the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry and friends are tasked with entering the hidden rooms below the school and making their way through 7 chambers, each containing defensive measures to stop them reaching the Stone. They need to stop Voldemort from getting to the Philosopher’s Stone first as it contains the Elixir of Life and can bring Voldemort back to full strength! The Philosopher’s Stone is at the centre of a modern classic and deserves to be among the top 5.

Titanic

Titanic was released back in 1997 and is a fictional story surrounding the events of the ill-fated real-life sinking of the passenger ship Titanic in 1912. Central to the plot is a fictional large blue heart-shaped diamond called “The Heart of the Ocean” owned by the wealthy heir to a large steel company. The heir was Caledon Hockley, and his fiancée Rose is one of the two main characters in the film. At the beginning of the film a Marine Salvage company is searching for the safe containing the diamond in a first-class bedroom on the wreck. The most expensive first class suite on the Titanic would have cost roughly £2,600 in 1912 and in today’s money that’s £46,000!

Men in Black – SPOILER ALERT

Ok Ok, so this may not be a gemstone as such but as I like the film, and the concept, it’s being included. At the centre of the intergalactic plot of Men is Black is an object simply known as the Galaxy. Two warring species, the Bugs and Arquillians are fighting for control of the Galaxy, an object that could tip the balance of war in favour of the Bugs if they were successful in gaining control. Agents J and K are tasked with retrieving the Galaxy from a Bug agent before he gets a chance to leave Earth. Here’s the best part, the Galaxy is tiny! It’s contained within a small gaming marble attached to the collar of a cat named Orion. The material of the marble remains unknown however it looks a lot like a piece of black costume jewellery.

Citations:

• Photograph taken by unknown
• Photograph by John Griffiths
• Photograph by Jcfrye
• Photograph taken by unknown
• Photograph by NASA

If you’re not a Rose or Indiana and the gemstones mentioned above seem a little out of reach then head over to iclikd, they have a great selection of black costume jewellery available.  Maybe you too can find the Galaxy!