Most People Haven’t Heard The Real Story Behind Princess Diana’s Iconic Engagement Ring

In most pictures of Princess Diana, she’s wearing her gorgeous sapphire engagement ring. That’s even after she’d fallen out of love with Prince Charles, the man with whom the ring was meant to symbolize a lifelong union. But what’s the story behind it — and why did it initially annoy the Queen so much?

Diamonds

Diana’s ring is unsurprisingly a piece fit for a queen: it’s a 12-carat Ceylon sapphire — they’re still called that, even though the country they’re from is known as Sri Lanka these days. The stone sits in the center of 14 smaller diamonds all set in 18-karat white gold, and it’s worth a small fortune. When Diana first received it, the value was thought to be around $60,000. But now that price has shot up, and its current value has been conservatively estimated at well in excess of $500,000.

Trend-setting

Predictably, everyone wanted their own versions of Diana’s beautiful ring. In the ’80s it was one of the most desirable pieces of jewelry around, and many engaged women wore a replica of the sapphire before and after they got married. Yet to the irritation of some royals, it was actually entirely possible for people to wear the ring rather than an imitation.

Catalogues and commoners

You see, Diana broke royal tradition when she received her ring because it was a catalog piece that anyone could buy if they had the money. Sure, not that many people would have had $60,000 spare, but the fact remained that a princess-to-be was walking around with a ring that any “commoner” could have bought.

The Commoner’s Sapphire

Apparently, some people in royal circles were downright mean about the ring, and dubbed it the “Commoner’s Sapphire.” Still, it did actually have a royal connection right from the beginning. The ring-maker was Garrard, jeweler to the Crown, and it had based the piece’s design on Prince Albert’s wedding present to Queen Victoria.