Mary of Burgundy is the first known woman to receive a formal engagement ring, when the Archduke Maximilian presented her with a diamond in 1477. From that time on the public has been fascinated and inspired by famous people and their choice in wedding jewelry. Whether the wedding day ever comes or not, we remain obsessed by their choices in engagement rings and other jewelry.
For example, the stunning pink diamond engagement ring given to Jennifer Lopez by Ben Affleck has started a world wide trend for colored diamond jewelry. Though the famous pair never took their turn walking down the aisle, their taste in jewelry attracted a great deal of attention and inspired thousands of people to explore the remarkable beauty of colored diamonds.
Though the world has long known about colored diamonds, with such famous examples as the “Hope Diamond” and the “pumpkin” diamond ring worn by Halle Berry at the 2002 Oscar ceremonies, there had not been a great deal of consumer demand for it. Today however colored diamond jewelry is one of the hottest items sought out by fashionable people around the world. Because of this, colored diamonds are seeing their highest auction prices ever, and jewelry pieces are available only from a limited number of manufacturers and artisans.
Another star notorious for incredible jewelry is Elizabeth Taylor, who along with several husbands is also noted for her love affair with diamonds. Her twice husband, actor Richard Burton presented her with many love tokens and one of the most well-known was the 69 carat diamond which received the name of the Taylor-Burton diamond. After their second divorce, and the actor’s death, Elizabeth Taylor auctioned the diamond and used the proceeds to establish a a charitable hospital in Africa.
Many other celebrity engagement rings have created trends or inspired imitation, and among the most notable are the famous sapphire and diamond ring given by Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. The elegant blue oval stone, surrounded by fourteen brilliant cut diamonds is now in the hands of their son Prince William, but the hundreds of photographs of the late Princess wearing her engagement band inspired millions of women to begin seeking out and choosing less traditional diamond engagement rings. Even today many jewelers are asked for rings that are still inspired by the one worn by the beloved Diana.
Mariah Carey also served to attract a great deal of attention with her new, and much younger, husband and the whopping seventeen carat light pink diamond engagement ring he presented to her. The huge central stone is set with a pave border of fifty eight smaller pink diamonds and two half-moon shaped diamonds. Interestingly enough the groom, Nick Cannon, also sports a fully encrusted diamond band of his own. Perhaps more couples will begin following this trend with diamond bands for both parties becoming the standard.
Another pop princess with a knock out engagement ring is Christina Aguilera, whose 2006 engagement to Jordan Bratman was celebrated with a vintage inspired 5 carat round diamond. Because her recent style and fashion sense has been deeply inspired by the glamour of the 1940s and 50s, Christina’s ring also presents a strong sense of the era as well. The round center diamond is bezel set in a cathedral mount that has elaborate scrolled latticework to give the stone significant height. It is surrounded by eight channel set diamonds on each side of the band to give the ring even more sparkle and glamour.
Madonna and Guy Ritchie celebrated their pending nuptials with an Edwardian era, platinum ring. The three diamond engagement band weighs in at a hefty five carats, and was presented to the multifaceted star on her birthday. For her wedding day she wore complimentary pieces in the same Edwardian styles and made of platinum as well.
The musical star’s choice in jewelry reinforces the popularity of vintage and vintage inspired jewelry and fashions. The trend can be seen everywhere from inexpensive reproduction pieces, to the extremely valuable pieces such as Madonna’s now famous ring.
There have been many other well known pieces that have inspired the public to seek similar rings for themselves, though many of these can only be fantasized about as the value and costs are not in the normal range of affordable or everyday jewelry. For example, William Powell presented the platinum blonde Jean Harlow with a staggering one hundred and fifty carat engagement ring, while the ever lovely Grace Kelly was given an twelve carat diamond upon her engagement to Prince Rainier of Monaco.
Though celebrities can often afford extravagant pieces of jewelry, they have begun to choose their engagement bands based more on personal style than staggering price tag. Their often elegant and simple selections make it easier to find celebrity style and inspiration in a much wider range of availability.
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