Famous engagement rings in history that have become iconic. Elizabeth II
Famous engagement rings. Prince Philip ordered an engagement ring for Queen Elizabeth II from the jeweler Philip Antrobus of Garrard. The jewelry is made of platinum and encrusted with vintage diamonds extracted from the tiara of Philip’s mother, Princess Alice of Denmark and Greece: the largest stone weighed 3 carats, another 5 – smaller. The sketch of the ring was designed by the future duke himself, and in the summer of 1946, Philip proposed to his Princess Elizabeth. According to eyewitnesses, at first the platinum ring given to them was large and fell off the finger. Nevertheless, the marriage was concluded and turned out to be strong, despite all the signs. Elizabeth II to this day does not part with this ring, and it is estimated at about 144,000 US dollars.
Jacqueline Kennedy
Van Cleef Ring & Arpels in yellow gold with a scattering of precious stones and two large baguette-cut stones: a 2.88-carat diamond and a 2.84-carat emerald – almost the most beautiful in the line of engagement legends. This ring was given to Jacqueline by John Fitzgerald Kennedy on June 24, 1953. After the wedding, Jacqueline exchanged baguette crystals for oval and round diamonds.
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn wore three engagement rings instead of one. Her future husband, Mel Feuerrer, was fascinated by Audrey’s impeccable style, so he made sure that she could wear an engagement ring from him with any of the outfits, combining the rings at her discretion. Elegant rings made of white, together made up “three in one”, one of the rings was decorated with diamonds with a total weight of 1.5 carats. In August 1954, Mel proposed to his chosen one, and instead of answering, Audrey sent him a platinum watch with the phrase “Mad About The Boy” engraved on it. Audrey’s rings are now valued at $ 10,000.
Marilyn Monroe
Baseball player Joe DiMaggio, the legendary center of the New York Yankees, gave the movie star, diva and icon of millions-Marilyn Monroe-a platinum ring with 35 baguette-cut diamonds. Marilyn wore this ring for the entire 9 months of her marriage to DiMaggio in 1954.
The jealous athlete demanded a quiet and quiet family life from Marilyn, while Marilyn’s career was going up, and the actress was not ready to give it up. But even after the divorce, DiMaggio continued to love Marilyn, support her in everything and pull her out of frequent depressions. After her death, he would bring a bouquet of red roses to Marilyn’s grave every week for the rest of his life, just as he had promised her on her wedding day.
Grace Kelly
Prince Rainier III of Monaco saw Grace Kelly for the first time in Cannes. After they met, they corresponded for a while, then Grace spent the Christmas holidays of 1955 visiting the prince. Just three days later, he, Rainier III, proposed to the American diva, presenting his future wife with a Cartier ring with rubies and diamonds.
A little later, after seeing what jewelry Hollywood stars wear, Rainier decided that the jewelry he gave them was not enough for a princess. So he ordered a new white gold ring for Grace with a 10.5-carat emerald-cut diamond surrounded by two baguettes. According to modern estimates, this ring is worth 4.3 million dollars.
Elizabeth Taylor
A 33.19 carat diamond adorns the most expensive wedding ring in history, owned by Elizabeth Taylor. It was gifted by British actor Richard Burton after filming Cleopatra in 1963. The actress almost never parted with this ring, even on the set, and the decoration can be seen in many films where she starred. The stone in Elizabeth Taylor’s ring was originally named the Krupp Diamond in honor of the first owner, actress Vera Krupp von Bohlen. When Elizabeth Taylor died, the diamond was renamed the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, and in 2012, the ring with it sold for $ 8.8 million.
Princess Diana and Kate Middleton
The white gold ring with a 12-carat Ceylon oval sapphire and 14 diamonds originally belonged to Diana Spencer. Prince Charles in 1981 offered her a choice of several engagement rings, and the future Princess Diana chose this, thus accepting the marriage proposal of Prince Charles.
In 2010, the son of Diana and Charles-William-presented this ring to Kate Middleton, the future Duchess of Cambridge. Kate’s engagement ring is now valued at $ 430,000, and its price has increased 10-fold since it was purchased in 1981. Famous engagement rings.