The origin of heart jewelry

The universal symbol of love : the shape of a heart. It’s not the same shape as a human heart so where did it come from?  Tons … literally tons of metal is turned into heart jewelry each year. How did the graphic shape of the heart develop?

There are two popular histories of the depiction of a heart. The first and most widely supported is that it comes from the round curves of a woman’s body. Intimately associating it with love, passion and romance.

The second history stems from the silphium plant.  This plant was used medicinally by the North African city state of Cyrene in the 5th century. Their coins depicted the heart shaped seed pod of the plant. This is the earliest record of the shape we know as the heart.

There are several mathematical descriptions that result in heart shaped curves supporting the plant theory.  The best known of these is the cardioid, which is an epicycloid with one cusp. However the implicit curve (x²+y²−1)³−x²y³=0, may produce a better approximation of the heart shape.  Several plants grow leaves or seed pods in these shapes, such as the silphium.

Today hearts are most commonly associated with love and romance.  It seems that the shape of a heart occurred in nature before it was adopted by humans to be a symbol of romantic love.  The theory of the shape being inspired by the curves of the body is romantic.  Artists definitely have been inspired by the round figure of a woman and used a heart shape to depict it, but the shape existed in nature before humans used it as a symbol.

On days such as today (Valentines day!) it is interesting to think about the symbols and shapes we use as icons on a daily basis.

Enjoy your heart jewelry!