Royal engagement rings


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Mirabel

Heir Apparent
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The Daily Mail is just blowing up the story with theoretical suggestions. They can never say that the engagement ring has been increased in value simply because it was never offered for sale (and most likely will never ever be offered for sale). So any guess is as good as it gets...

I think it was a lovely gesture by Prince William to give his fiancée a heirloom ring which was cherished by his mother. When the future fiancée of Prince George will receive the same ring, then a nice tradition has born...

:flowers:
 
I have never been a fan of Diana's ring but I am sure it is to some tastes. I didn't like Sarah's ring either but that is because I much prefer plain diamonds as opposed to rubies and sapphires. I loved the Queen's ring and Sophie's ring, though Sophie doesn't wear hers anymore. She wears a band with 10 diamonds in it and her wedding band.
 
That's odd; why doesn't Sophie wear it? I thought Edward designed it for her?
 
That's odd; why doesn't Sophie wear it? I thought Edward designed it for her?

The one she wears appears to have been an anniversary gift as she wasn't wearing it before her anniversary in 2012 and after her anniversary she was seen wearing it. She hasn't worn her engagement ring since. It's a beautiful ring and worth a few bob too!
 
The Daily Mail is just blowing up the story with theoretical suggestions. They can never say that the engagement ring has been increased in value simply because it was never offered for sale (and most likely will never ever be offered for sale). So any guess is as good as it gets...

I think it was a lovely gesture by Prince William to give his fiancée a heirloom ring which was cherished by his mother. When the future fiancée of Prince George will receive the same ring, then a nice tradition has born...

:flowers:

I have a beautiful diamond ring that even though I do not want to sell recently had it appraised and the value went up tremendously since the time it was purchased, late 80's. Jewelry does go up in value even though one has not intention of selling it.
 
I think it was a lovely gesture by Prince William to give his fiancée a heirloom ring which was cherished by his mother. When the future fiancée of Prince George will receive the same ring, then a nice tradition has born...

It may happen but I'd be willing to be that if Kate is still alive and still wearing the ring on a daily basis as she is now, I don't think it'd be George's to give to a fiancee. Then again, in time, Kate may decide to wear a different ring with meaning such as Sophie has done and pass the sapphire engagement ring onto George. Only time will tell.
 
George could use the Queen's engagement ring. Charles used one of the Queen Mum's rings for Camilla's ring.
 
George could use the Queen's engagement ring. Charles used one of the Queen Mum's rings for Camilla's ring.

Now that is a perfect scenario to imagine. What better engagement ring for a future Queen Consort than one that was worn for 60+ years by a Queen? I really like this.
 
I have a beautiful diamond ring that even though I do not want to sell recently had it appraised and the value went up tremendously since the time it was purchased, late 80's. Jewelry does go up in value even though one has not intention of selling it.

I had a diamond ring that kept appraising for more and more. But such appraisals are generally for insurance purposes and are supposed to cover the cost of replacing the stone with a new one of equal quality. If you actually go to sell such a stone it will not sell for anything near the appraised value. The center stone of my old engagement ring cost a little over 5k almost 15 years ago. The last appraisal was for almost 10k. It sold for less than 2k and I shopped it around and couldn't get any higher offer.

Of course jewelry owned by royalty will always increase in value because of it's connections to the owners.
 
Now that is a perfect scenario to imagine. What better engagement ring for a future Queen Consort than one that was worn for 60+ years by a Queen? I really like this.

I wouldn't be surprised if The Queen leaves her engagement ring to one of her granddaughters with Louise a strong possibility as she won't know her grandmother for as long as the others and probably won't have The Queen at her wedding so having her engagement ring on her finger could be link to her.
 
She (the Queen) may well leave it to Harry.


LaRae
 
I had a diamond ring that kept appraising for more and more. But such appraisals are generally for insurance purposes and are supposed to cover the cost of replacing the stone with a new one of equal quality. If you actually go to sell such a stone it will not sell for anything near the appraised value. The center stone of my old engagement ring cost a little over 5k almost 15 years ago. The last appraisal was for almost 10k. It sold for less than 2k and I shopped it around and couldn't get any higher offer.

Of course jewelry owned by royalty will always increase in value because of it's connections to the owners.

Having once been in a relationship with a goldsmith/jeweler, I can remember well what he told me. As a rule of thumb, as far as resale, its the norm to expect to get 10 cents on the dollar. Insurance wise, you would get what the appraised value would be.

Royal pieces and historical jewelry have that added oomph to up its value.
 
IMO, it would be a bad move for the Queen to leave her jewelry to other people than the next monarch. If its monarch to monarch, there isn't any death duties on it. It keeps the jewelry from Victoria, Alexandria, Mary, and the 2 Elizabeths together. We have already seen David and Sarah sell Margaret's jewels at auction. Plus the guy normally supplies the ring. Louise is 10. She is actually going to remember her Granny unlike George if the Queen doesn't live until 100.
 
The Queen will leave things - or even have already given them - to her grandchildren. For instance she may have drawn up a 'deed of trust' for her jewellery stipulating which private pieces are to go to whom and as long as she lives 7 years after drawing up that deed there is no death duties.

Louise might remember her granny but the chances that her granny will be at her wedding are slim.

It seems as if there are many people here who don't want anything to go to the Queen's other grandchildren but for it all to go to Charles' line - and to be totally consistent that also means nothing for Harry as he isn't the future monarch either.

The Queen, fortunately sees her grandchildren differently to many here - she has 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren and although she knows there is a specified for two of those 12 people she knows that the other 10 have their own way to make in the world and so will leave them quite a lot.

Going on past evidence she will have sizeable trust funds for her three younger children and their children but not for Charles (as he will get the bulk of her estate). She will surely have left some jewellery to her own daughter and granddaughters - just as earlier monarchs left it to their younger children.
 
Wouldn't it be nice for Zara to receive Her Majesty's ring? Zara is not only the eldest granddaughter, but also the granddaughter without any royal status (the other granddaughters have royal status since they were born of the male line).

It would be a nice gesture for the Queen to acknowledge Zara in this way.
 
However, it makes sense for certain items like tiaras and such to stay with the current monarch of the time and be loaned out when necessary. Zara, Autumn, Savannah, Isla, Mia, future York grand kids have little need of a tiara outside from a wedding day. While Kate and future George's wife do.
 
Speaking of Louise remembering her grandmother, I think when it comes down to it, the most memorable moments Louise will cherish are the memories she has riding horses with granny. It looks to me like Louise is a natural born horsewoman and I think HM realizes that.

When it comes to what is important when remembering a beloved grandmother, I think for the most part, it doesn't involve jewelry.
 
Did any of the other Queen's leave their engagement rings? If not then I don't see why the Queen would. Most girls receive new ones in today's world, and I am sure most of the Windsor women would rather that as having to wear one with such history (such as Catherine's) is quite a burden. Admittedly Diana's ring is quite different as it stands out, whereas the Queen's isn't that "extraordinary" in terms of colour.
 
Most Queens were still alive when their eldest child engaged:
Queen Sonja - Haakon & Mette-Marit
Queen Silvia - Victoria & Daniel
Queen Margrethe - Frederik & Mary
Queen Beatrix - Willem-Alexander & Máxima
Queen Paola - Philippe & Mathilde
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa - Guillaume & Stéphanie
Princess Marie Aglaë - Aloïs & Sophie
Queen Sofía - Felipe & Letizia

The only two cases where the mother was no longer alive during the engagement: Prince William and Prince Albert. So the mothers(-in-law) are all still very much alive and most likely attached to their engagement rings.

There are also other royal engagement rings with a coloured stone. The Prince of Orange himself designed a ring for his fiancée, Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti. Very fitting for the ring was the central stone: a very rare oval cut orange diamond, flanked by two emerald-cut diamonds and surrounded by two bands of brilliants. The ring was made by the Court Jeweller (Steltman, The Hague) and is an example of a very costly and symbolic ring for a lady to marry into the illustrious House of Orange-Nassau.

Source picture: modekoninginmaxima.nl http://www.modekoninginmaxima.nl/sites/default/files/verlovingsring1.jpg
 
Philip used diamonds from his mother for Elizabeth's ring. Camilla's ring is from the Queen Mum's collection of jewelry. So wearing a ring with some family history isn't uncommon in the BRF. Kate is most likely will still be alive when George gets engaged and may not be willing to part with her ring.
 
I meant any of the Queen's of the UK, but I suppose we don't really know if they did or not.

Maxima's ring is lovely but too big for me!
 
I don't think there is a huge history of reusing royal wedding rings in the family - although in recent history most of the parents have been alive when their children married.

Queen Victoria is believed to have been buried with her engagement ring, and she along with Alexandra, Mary, Wallis, and the Queen Mum each received an engagement ring made for them. Most of Queen Mary's jewellery was passed down to HM, so it seems likely to me that her engagement ring is in HM's collection.

Prince Philip used the diamonds from a tiara of his mother's to create HM's ring, but he did come from a somewhat impoverished family (at least when it comes to royals).

The Queen's children all seem to have bought previously made rings, instead of designing their own rings. The exception is with Camilla's ring; it was a ring that had belonged to the Queen Mum, and was given to her by Queen Mary after HM's birth. The Diana-and-Kate ring is pretty much the only engagement ring to be reused as such within the family.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if the Queen's engagement ring stayed on her finger when she's buried. Other jewels of hers will be passed on to each of her children and grandchildren, but I somehow can't see any of her grandchildren reusing her engagement ring.
 
So this thread isn't about royal engagement rings at all? Thought we would be talking about all of them not just Kate Camilla's and Sophie
 
I also think the Queen will be buried with her engagement ring.

Was the Queen Mum buried in hers?

Charles followed an old traditiion by giving Camilla a ring from his family. (Usually it was the mother-in-law that selected her future daughter-in-law's engagement ring.)
 
Often, the mother's engagement ring goes to her daughter. I think it would be nice for Her Majesty's engagement ring to go to Princess Anne. It could then be passed on to her line. Just my thoughts.
 
I also think the Queen will be buried with her engagement ring.

Was the Queen Mum buried in hers?

Charles followed an old traditiion by giving Camilla a ring from his family. (Usually it was the mother-in-law that selected her future daughter-in-law's engagement ring.)


Why would anyone be buried with jewelery?
What a waste!
Much better to will it to a close friend or relative, imo.
 
What did Queen Victoria's engagement ring look like? I didn't know she received one.
 
Why would anyone be buried with jewelery?
What a waste!
Much better to will it to a close friend or relative, imo.

Because love doesn't die. Stripping one of jewelry they wore throughout a large portion of their life is almost the same as grave robbery.

If the person dies wearing the jewelry, it should be buried with them.

Unless the person, specifically asks for jewelry to be removed, then it should be buried with them.

If the engagement ring or other piece of jewelry was not on the person when they died and the person did not specifically ask to be buried with that piece of jewelry then that piece of jewelry becomes part of their estate.
 
Why would anyone be buried with jewelery?
What a waste!
Much better to will it to a close friend or relative, imo.


I don't think being burried with one's engagement ring/wedding band is a waste of jewellery. To me, they represent the love between a couple, and if they want to take the symbol of that love with them to the grave them it seems rather fitting to me - afterall, 'till death do us part.

I get the idea of using a ring that belonged to someone else as an engagement or wedding ring, but I don't agree with the idea that the repeated ring should have been an engagement or wedding ring to start - I don't think you should use the symbol of another couple's love to represent your love, especially if it's a couple that didn't turn out well. But that's just me.

What did Queen Victoria's engagement ring look like? I didn't know she received one.


Victoria's engagement ring was a serpent (the symbol for eternal love) with an emerald set head (emerald being Victoria's birth stone).
 
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