The world’s most expensive engagement rings

Getting married is one of the biggest occasions in our lives but before you make it down the aisle there is the excitement of becoming engaged – and that means buying an engagement ring!

Far from being a simple decoration, this representation of fidelity and loyalty can be as simplistic or as flashy as we want it to be. Engagement rings, like all aspects of organising a wedding, range tremendously in price. While the majority of us might opt for a more modest budget when it comes to choosing our symbol of devotion, there are engagement rings which cost more than some houses – and here are a few examples:

Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé Knowles isn’t known for doing things by halves – and neither is her husband, Jay-Z.  As his declaration of love, Jay-Z presented Beyoncé with a 20 carat engagement ring with a dazzling 18 carat diamond in the centre. The cost of this flamboyant gift? $5 million (approximately £3 million); now that’s what you call expensive!

Paris Hilton

Hot on Ms Knowles’s heels for donning lavish and luxurious rings is Paris Hilton. Her one time beau, Paris Latsis, gave the flamboyant socialite an exquisite ring that was studded with 24 carats of diamonds and cost a whopping $4.7 million (just under £3 million).

The story goes that Paris found the ring too bulky for her petite fingers and exchanged it for a simplified version. Unfortunately the price of the new ring remains unknown.  

Kim Kardashian

They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend and they certainly seem to be in the world of celebrity engagement rings. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star, Kim certainly got her fair share of publicity when she was seen sporting a giant diamond engagement ring from Kris Humphries that allegedly cost $2 million (£1.2 million).

Ms Kardashian’s ring was the epitome of opulence, containing a huge diamond in the middle of a diamond-encrusted frame and band. Unfortunately, despite spending such a large sum of money on the ring, the couples’ union hit the rocks less than three months after the wedding.

 If diamond set shoulders are what you would like in an engagement ring but you lack the millionaire bank balance then the Canadian Ice 18 carat White Gold 0.45 carat Diamond Set Shoulders Ring is a fantastic option.

Jacqueline Kennedy

It’s not just modern-day celebs that have a hankering for ultra-lavish and expensive jewellery. Back in the early 1950s, Senator John F. Kennedy spent a small fortune on his soon-to-be wife by forking out $1.5 million (just under £1 million) on a stunning ring which boasted a tapered emerald in the centre and was set within a 2.88 carat frame studded with diamonds. 

One could only speculate in wonderment at what $1.5 million in 1953 would be worth today but it is safe to surmise that Jacqueline Kennedy’s emerald-centred ring has to be one of the most expensive bridal rings in the world.

For more elegant and beautiful wedding and engagement rings, visit Goldsmiths at http://www.goldsmiths.co.uk.