It goes without saying that Princess Diana’s engagement ring is one of the most iconic pieces of jewelry in history. Her ring, a 12-carat oval-cut blue sapphire, is surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds. It is set in 18-karat white gold and was sourced from Sri Lanka.
Back in 1981, Prince Charles had proposed to Diana with the ring. The then market value of the ring was somewhere between $37,500 and $60,000. Judging by today’s prices, the ring would now cost around $520,000.
However, as Vogue reported, despite its beauty and price, Diana’s choice was not appreciated by most of the royals. Since she had chosen the ring from Garrard’s catalog, it was open to be accessed by anyone with money.
The royals believed that a ring that was to be worn by a royal bride should be completely exclusive, and beyond the rich of the common people, regardless of how rich they were.
Queen Victoria’s sapphire brooch served as an inspiration behind the ring’s sapphire. A wedding gift from Prince Albert in 1840, Queen Victoria wore the brooch as her “something blue.”
This brooch continues to be a part of the royal heirloom and subsequent members of the family have also worn it. For instance, Queen Elizabeth was shown to be flaunting the brooch and recently, at the 2024 Royal Ascot, Queen Camilla wore the same.
Diana was never the one to follow royal conventions and her selection of the ring also went against what the royals considered to be appropriate. Therefore, she did not care about the ring being custom designed or not and only followed her heart.
Additionally, some critics felt the blue sapphire was not a distinct enough choice for royal jewelry. Diana, however, did not pay much heed to the critics or the royal family members. Throughout her marriage, she wore the ring and kept wearing it even after she got divorced.
Diana tragically passed away in 1997 and Prince Harry, her youngest son inherited it. Harry however, offered the ring to his elder brother, Prince William. He then used the same ring to propose to Kate Middleton in 2010.
Kate soon became the new custodian of the ring and occasionally swaps it out for ring stacks, possibly due to the careful maintenance the vintage heirloom requires. Ben Roberts, managing director of Clogau, commented to Hello! that “Kate and her team will need to employ careful maintenance with regular inspections and in-depth evaluations, gentle cleaning to restore sheen, and if necessary, expert repairs to ensure its longevity”.
In contrast to Diana’s experience, recent royal brides seem intent on avoiding such controversy over their rings. For example, another royal bride, Harry’s wife Meghan Markle’s engagement ring was designed by Cleave and Company. It was absolutely unique in its design and it was made sure that no replica of that ring would be available anywhere.
The ring also included small stones from Diana’s personal collection, symbolically connecting Meghan to the late princess while maintaining exclusivity not afforded to Diana’s catalog purchase.
Diana has always been noted for going against the royal rules and traditions and setting her own signature style. Her choice of engagement ring followed the same path as she did not go for a unique ring made especially for her. She liked a ring from a catalogue and chose that one only, which naturally makes the ring even more special, despite all the skepticism regarding her choice.
