With their endlessly lavish lifestyles, the
Royals never fail to choose simply stunning engagement rings. But who’s carrying around the heaviest price
tag? Keep watching to find out. Although it is difficult to estimate the true
value of their engagement rings, the eldest Royal brides are definitely blinged-out to
the nines. The diamonds from Queen Elizabeth's engagement
ring, given to her by Prince Philip, were taken from a tiara that belonged to his mother,
Princess Alice of Greece.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles proposed to Camilla
Parker Bowles with an Art Deco ring from his grandmother's collection. And, wouldn’t you know it, Prince Charles
is also responsible for the most valuable engagement ring in the family. It is a 12-carat oval-cut Ceylon sapphire
surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds, which originally belonged to the late Princess Diana. “It reminds me of my mother’s engagement
ring.
And, it’s the same color as my eyes.” In 2010, Prince William popped the question
to Kate Middleton with his mother’s sapphire ring. Although the ring technically belonged to
Prince Harry after Diana’s passing, Harry reportedly wanted his future sister-in-law
to have it. Princess Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell,
got emotional over the gesture, telling the New Zealand Herald: "His one thing he kept from his mother, he
gave to his brother. That's selfless, kind, and exactly who Diana
was." While every royal engagement ring is gorgeous,
this one definitely has the highest physical value. Maxwell Stone, creative director of Steven
Stone Jewellers, told OK! Magazine: "Kate Middleton's ring has the highest estimated
value due to the huge 12ct Ceylon sapphire it features, not to mention the legacy of
the ring which once belonged to Princess Diana.” And, in their publication Crisscut, Steven
Stone Jewellers added: "The sapphire is a deep, royal blue, of AAAA
quality, making it amongst the most valuable of its kind." According to The Knot, the ring is worth about
$500,000.
Of course, the sentimental value of the ring
makes it priceless to Kate and William. In his engagement interview with Kate, William
explained: "[…] obviously she's not going to be around
to share any of the, um, the fun and excitement of all this. So, this was my way of keeping her sort of
close to it all." And there is more than enough sentiment to
go around, as evidenced by engagement ring trends following royal proposals. Stone Jewellers adds that all of the royal
engagement rings have been a hit with brides-to-be around the world: "While Kate Middleton's ring definitely sparked
a huge trend for sapphire engagement rings, we've had requests for replicas of all these
royal rings over the years, which just shows how much influence the royal ladies have on
our style.” Which brings us to the second most valuable
royal engagement band.
To exactly no one’s surprise, Prince Harry
shelled out quite a bit for his bride. Seven years after giving away his mother’s
engagement ring to his brother and sister-in-law, Harry commissioned a gorgeous three-diamond
ring to pop the question to Meghan Markle. He was very hands-on in the design process,
adding some sentimental touches as well. The ring features a three-carat cushion-cut
center diamond from Botswana with two side stones that once belonged to Princess Diana. According to Harper's Bazaar, the ring reportedly
costs between $300,000 and $350,000 — about $200,000 less than Middleton's. Grant Mobley, a gemologist and director at
Pluczenik Diamond Company, told Bustle: "[…] we would estimate that the value of
the center stone would be around $95,000 to $155,000, while the side stones would have
an intrinsic value of around $5,000 each." Of course, the value skyrockets because of
the very fact that it has belonged to Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle. It's a piece of history now, which makes it
essentially priceless.
But it's not just the duchesses who are sporting
small fortunes on their fingers. While she might not have an official royal
title, Zara Tindall's engagement ring is next in line for most expensive. Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter's ring reportedly
cost around $200,000 — and it has the sweetest story to its design. Besides being Princess Anne’s daughter,
Tindall is a British equestrian and Olympic silver medalist.
Her engagement ring from Mike Tindall was
designed with a special low-setting diamond, so the athlete wouldn't have to take the ring
off while she competed — thoughtful and absolutely stunning. Mike Fried, CEO of The Diamond Pro, told Hello! Magazine: "Zara's ring is a beautiful mix of old-world
tradition with a twist of modern design. Going with the round diamond and adding a
split shank setting was a great way to add a touch of modern style to a royal engagement
ring." Any royal engagement ring is bound to come
with a hefty price tag.
But, it’s nice to know that the quality
and thought that went into all of these pieces make them well worth the price. Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more List videos about royal life
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