A special thanks to Dr. Marc Dussault of Exponential Programs for providing us with this great find on Happily Ever Richer! With the royal wedding still abuzz around the globe, it was only a matter of time before the jewels became a highlight for us to talk about!
There probably isn’t much of Prince William’s and his new bride, Kate Middleton’s wedding left that hasn’t been viewed or talked about all over the world. This ‘It’ event of the year (or century) has people are talking about a Cinderella-ish wedding that girl’s only ever get to dream of!
While people are still buzzing about the wedding dresses (yes, that’s plural!) Kate wore during her big day, let’s talk about the royal wedding rings that are just as lavish and worth much, much more.
Engagement and Wedding Ring
In an era where coloured gemstones and diamonds are the new white diamond, the engagement ring that Prince William proposed to Kate with extravagantly fits right into that category. Previously, Princess Diana’s own engagement ring, this 18 carat oval blue sapphire surrounded by 14 small diamonds originally cost $45,000 USD.
The sapphire, alone, is now valued $300,000 USD. With the total price of the ring equalling a little over ha
lf a million USD, what many people may not know is that Princess Di’s sapphire engagement ring was originally given to Prince Harry while Prince William received her Cartier watch. When the older Prince became engaged, Prince Harry gave the ring to him for Kate Middleton. How’s that for brotherly love?
As for the wedding ring itself, the Prince has chosen not to wear a wedding ring but that doesn’t mean he skimped out on Kate’s ring! Going to their family jeweller at Wartski, a jewellery company founded in Bangor, the ring was made from a single, large nugg
et of Clogau gold only found in Wales.
What makes this gold even more valuable is the fact that this type of gold is extremely rare making this wedding ring, very possibly, the last piece of jewellery to ever be crafted from this particular type of Welsh gold.
Earrings
Princess Diana’s engagement ring wasn’t the only family heirloom passed on down to Kate. During their
honeymoon, Prince William also gifted his mother’s diamond and sapphire earrings to his new bride.
Using the great advantage of custom jewellery, Kate took Princess Diana’s favourite earrings and had them the remodelled to include a more modern look that s
uited her own personality. These exquisite earrings were originally designed as large, jewelled studs but are now a gorgeous pair of single tear drop earrings.
On her wedding day, Kate was given a pair of new diamond encrusted drop earrings designed by Robinson Pelham as a wedding gift from her parents. While these earrings were certainly jaw dropping in price, the simple yet elegant style suited Middleton perfectly
Tiara
Now, not many girls get the option to choose which historical, jewelled filled tiaras they’ll be wearing, Kate Middleton
certainly did – and choose she did!
The talk was that Middleton would perhaps wear the famous tiara that Queen Elizabeth wore on her wedding day but instead, she chose the 1936 diamond Cartier tiara that was originally purchased by the Duke of York who later became known as King George VI.
Set in platinum, the tiara is made from old, baguette-cut diamond with the upper part forming a range of lotus flowers and the lower ‘zig-zag’ part forming a removable piece that can be used as a bandeau. This royal tiara was give
n to Queen Elizabeth when she was still just a princess and has now been passed on to Kate Middleton.
A statement hasn’t been released yet as to whether or not Kate will keep this tiara as her own but for now, all clothing and jewellery is up on display at Buckingham palace.
So there you have it! Something old, something new, something borrowed and a lot of things blue!
While the total value of all these jewels can only be found in a royal bank account, the style and sentiment behind them are entirely priceless!
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