Flashback Friday: A Few More Engagement Rings

Today we have the last entry in our mini-series on royal engagement rings! This is just a random handful of rings, really. We haven't covered every ring, obviously, but I think we've hit most of the ones that we can get good looks at.

Clotilde, Princess of Venice and Piedmont

Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy gave his French actress fiancée a ring designed by his friend Fawaz Gruosi of Maison de Grisogono. It includes a central ruby with 14 white diamonds, all in heart shapes.

Queen Soraya of Iran

The young second wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran received a massive 22.37 carat diamond when she married - it's a lot like a super-sized version of Princess Grace's ring. They divorced and she took the title of princess instead of queen; when she died, the ring was included in the auction of her possessions.

Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

Perhaps the most petite ring in this series is the one Alexander Johannsmann gave Princess Nathalie. But one expects that with Nathalie's lifestyle - she competes in dressage and breeds horses - it was a perfect fit.

Victoria, Countess Spencer

A bit on the fringe of what we normally cover here, but this is an interesting one: Earl Spencer gave this dual ruby and diamond ring topped with a crown to his first wife, Victoria Lockwood. Queen Victoria received a similar one as a wedding present from her half-sister.

Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein

Prince Alois gave his bride a classic e-ring, easily mistaken for others we've seen here: a single sapphire with a diamond on either side.

Empress Joséphine of France

And finally, the oldest engagement ring we've featured: the one Napoléon Bonaparte reportedly offered to Joséphine in 1796. It is, like others we've seen, a "toi et moi" (you and me) ring featuring two stones - one a pear-shaped diamond, the other a pear-shaped sapphire, both set on a simple gold band. It's just come up for auction.

And that's it! Here are the previous entries:

British, Part 1

British, Part 2

Mediterranean

Scandinavian

Benelux

We've seen different traditions and different ways of looking at engagement rings as we've gone through the series. Some of these ladies wear their engagement rings permanently, while a good percentage switch things up or go without. (And part of the point of this is to say: no, it often doesn't mean that anything is wrong with a marriage just because the ring is gone.) We've also seen a lot of different designs, from small to huge and basic to complicated, and now I'm curious to know:

What's your all-time favorite royal engagement ring?

Photos: Maison de Grisogono/Corbis/BilledBladet/ANP

Flashback Friday: Benelux Engagement Rings

This week, we return to our series on royal engagement rings and it's time to head to the Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Queen Paola of the Belgians

Paola's ring from Albert is a large rectangular diamond - it rivals that of Princess Grace, I think, but without the side baguette diamonds.

Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant

When Mathilde became engaged to Prince Philippe, she received a ring with a central oval ruby in an intricate diamond band from Belgian jeweler Wolfers. These days, she alternates between the ruby ring and a sapphire version (an oval sapphire with diamonds to the side) which has appeared in these later years of her marriage.

Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este

Astrid, the daughter of King Albert and Queen Paola, was given a sapphire and diamond ring by her husband Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este.

Princess Claire of Belgium

 

Claire's e-ring from Prince Laurent, son of Albert and Paola, seems to be a single diamond on a simple band, though at least one report from the time of the engagement stated that Laurent had chosen a Cartier Trinity ring set with a solitaire diamond.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Claus von Amsberg gave Princess Beatrix a single round diamond surrounded by two concentric rings of diamonds - an interesting play on a classic design, creating a larger ring without the use of a single huge stone.

Princess Máxima of the Netherlands

 While the Danish princes went with flag rings, Prince Willem-Alexander went with a ring in his national color. The central diamond is an orange hue, a fitting gift from the Prince of Orange. Willem-Alexander had a hand in designing the unusual ring, placing the diamond horizontally and surrounding it with two white diamonds on either side and a white diamond band above and below.

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands

Pieter van Vollenhoven gave Princess Margriet a ring with a single pearl - perhaps a more modest choice than others we see here, but lovely and dainty all the same.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg

Then-Hereditary Grand Duke Henri presented his future wife with a cabochon ruby set in gold.

Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg

The ring Guillaume gave Stéphanie reminds me a bit of Beatrix's ring, with its double outside rows. It may be just that method of creating a larger ring that puts this one near the top of my favorites list. Stéphanie has also worn her mother's engagement ring, particularly around the time of her wedding - her mother, of course, died just weeks before these two married.

Claire Lademacher

After her engagement to Prince Félix of Luxembourg, Claire Lademacher was spotted in this ring, a diamond with a hefty diamond band.

Which is your favorite?

Next week: the final rings.

Photos: Getty Images/Scanpix/PPE/RVD/Corbis

Flashback Friday: Scandinavian Engagement Rings

Next up in our mini-series on royal engagement rings we're heading north to our Scandinavian friends and their mix of sentimental and patriotic rings. Sweden, Norway, and Denmark here we come!

Queen Silvia of Sweden

Silvia Sommerlath's engagement ring is a simple ring, probably more like what many of us (particularly those most familiar with the American tradition) might expect from an e-ring. It's a single solitaire diamond, estimated by some to be in the neighborhood of two carats, and is said to have belonged to King Carl Gustaf's mother Princess Sibylla - she died a few years before the couple's engagement. Silvia now wears the ring with others on the same finger, including a ruby ring.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

Victoria's ring, reportedly from court jeweler W.A. Bolin, is much like her mother's - so similar, in fact, that some wondered in the days after the engagement if it actually was Silvia's. (It isn't.) Victoria paired the classic ring with her diamond wedding band, but lately she hasn't worn much of either ring.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden

Madeleine has been the (at least partially unlucky, I suppose) recipient of two engagement rings in recent years. Her first, from Jonas Bergström in 2009, was a rectangular diamond set horizontally - but of course that engagement was broken following rumors of cheating on Jonas' part. In 2012 her engagement to Christopher O'Neill was announced, and the official photos gave us a glimpse of another sparkling diamond. This one appears to be an Asscher cut diamond on a diamond band, and it automatically jumped up on my list of favorite royal e-rings. Oh yes, I'd wear one exactly like this in a heartbeat.

Crown Princess Märtha, Queen Sonja, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

Crown Prince Harald of Norway gave Sonja Haraldsen an interesting diamond and ruby ring that belonged to his late mother, Crown Princess Märtha. Sonja carried on the tradition, giving the ring to her son Haakon when he proposed to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby. Mette-Marit wears it occasionally these days; she is more consistently spotted in a three stone diamond ring usually said to have been a gift from her husband.

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway

Märtha Louise's ring seems a bit unconventional to traditional tastes, but that's pretty fitting for the princess herself. The white gold ring studded with diamonds forming lilies was designed by fiancé Ari Behn's grandfather, Andreas Solberg. Ari has one too, but Märtha's includes two additional tiny ruby hearts.

Queen Margrethe of Denmark

This Van Cleef & Arpels ring features two entwined large diamonds - unusual and a bit over the top, just like its wearer Queen Margrethe, and well chosen by her equally interesting husband, Prince Henrik.

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Mary Donaldson's engagement ring from Crown Prince Frederik is in the colors of the Danish flag: an emerald cut diamond flanked by emerald cut rubies. She wore it like that, alongside her diamond wedding band, for several years; and then, in early 2012, she upgraded. The ring now includes an extra diamond on either side of the rubies (the bottom close up, above), which I think makes it look a little more complete. A lovely design change.

Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

Flag rings run in the family, apparently. Frederik's brother Prince Joachim presented his first wife, Alexandra Manley, with a faceted center diamond with a cabochon ruby on either side, set in 18 carat gold. Joachim and Alexandra are now married to other people, of course, and Alexandra has a diamond ring surrounded by diamond bands from her second husband, Martin Jørgensen.

Princess Marie of Denmark

Joachim wasn't done giving flag rings, though. His second wife, Marie Cavallier, received a literal interpretation of the flag of her home country, France: one sapphire, one diamond, and one ruby on an intricate wide gold band from Mette Rosgaard (who frequently uses the giraffe-like pattern of the band). Marie does not wear it all the time, but she does use it. It is, by far, my least favorite royal engagement ring...sometimes the inspiration is just a touch too literal.

Which one is your favorite?

Photos: Getty Images/Scanpix/Kungahuset/Corbis/Reuters /BilledBladet/Sipa Press

Flashback Friday: Mediterranean Engagement Rings

For the next installment in our royal engagement ring mini-series, we're heading to the shores of the Mediterranean for some of the royal (and princely) rings of their current (and former) monarchies. Ready?

Princess Grace of Monaco

It's only natural to start with the most famous of the bunch - perhaps the second most famous royal engagement ring, after the Diana/Kate sapphire gumdrop, maybe? The e-ring that Grace Kelly is best known for is the 10.47 carat emerald cut trinket from Cartier, a ring so luxurious it doubled as a film prop for her role in High Society. The ring - set in platinum, with a baguette diamond on either side of the main stone - has been on display with various exhibits on the princess in the past years. But actually, it wasn't her first: Prince Rainier originally presented Grace with a much simpler Cartier eternity band of rubies and diamonds (the colors of the Monegasque flag), which she happily showed off at their engagement announcement (that's it in the picture on the left, above). Later he upgraded to the mega-diamond; some versions of the story say Rainier quickly changed the ring after realizing the size of the rocks most Hollywood stars received, but others say that the ruby and diamond ring was a friendship ring and placeholder for the larger diamond ring, which was not ready. Either way, the famous ring is one of my very favorite royal engagement rings - big like a royal ring should be, but not ostentatiously humongous.

Princess Charlene of Monaco

When Prince Albert announced his engagement to Charlene Wittstock, a photo was released showing an enormous diamond ring (left, above). But when Charlene was finally photographed wearing the ring in real life, it appeared much smaller. Though some believe she has two rings, one large and one smaller, I think the engagement portrait suffered a bit of a Photoshop fail in an effort to add in a ring that wasn't complete (the jeweler had to be called back from vacation the day before the official announcement so that Albert could pick out a ring). The ring provided by Maison Repossi is called Téthys, a 3 carat pear-shaped diamond with brilliant diamonds embellishing the sides, set in gray gold. It remains mostly unworn by Charlene, who doesn't wear much jewelry.

Princess Caroline of Monaco

For her first marriage to Philippe Junot, Princess Caroline received a Ceylon sapphire ring with a diamond trillion on either side. Of course, she's been married twice since, so this is a thing of the past.

Tatiana Santo Domingo

There was no formal press conference to mark the engagement of Andrea Casiraghi, son of Princess Caroline, and Tatiana Santo Domingo. That means there was no "show us your ring" shot to be sure, but she was pictured with a pretty hefty ring following the engagement.

Queen Anne-Marie of Greece

We have a bit of a sapphire ring tradition in the Greek royal family as we did with the Windsors: Anne-Marie wore a double sapphire ring, each surrounded by diamonds, when her engagement was announced to Constantine of Greece.

Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece

Crown Prince Pavlos used a cabochon sapphire that belonged to his mother, Queen Anne-Marie, and added a heart-shaped diamond on the side when he proposed to Marie-Chantal Miller.

Princess Tatiana of Greece

Prince Nikolaos also proposed with a sapphire that was a gift from mum Anne-Marie, and added a diamond surround.

Princess Alexia of Greece

Alexia's ring, unlike the sapphires of her family members, is a simple and starkly modern single diamond on a wide band. Her husband Carlos Morales Quintana is an architect, which is fitting.

Queen Sofia of Spain

Some say Sofia received an engagement ring from Juan Carlos, the future King of Spain; others say it was a bracelet, which is a different engagement tradition. Some say she received both. Apparently the proposal involved JC tossing the bauble, whatever it was, at her. "Catch!" Anyway, I don't know that she wears any particular engagement jewel on a regular basis today, but she has a tendency to wear multiple bracelets and rings at any given time.

Infanta Elena of Spain

Elena turned up at the announcement of her engagement to Jaime de Marichalar wearing a ring containing a sizable diamond said to have been taken from a tiara belonging to her future husband's family. The couple are now divorced, though.

Infanta Cristina of Spain

Cristina's ring from future husband Iñaki Urdangarín was a simple eternity band. It's somewhat similar to the ring Cristina's brother Felipe would later present to his bride - which is ironic, sort of, now that Cristina and her husband are all wrapped up in the saga of the Princess of Asturias' engagement ring.

The Princess of Asturias

The eternity ring Felipe gave Letizia came from Suarez jewelers, with a reported value of €3000. In addition to the ring, which contains 16 baguette diamonds and a white gold band on either side, Felipe gave Letizia a necklace from the family collection; she gave him a pair of sapphire cufflinks and a book. Up until a few months ago, the ring and her yellow gold wedding band could both be spotted on Letizia's hand, but they have been missing lately. Though not wearing one's engagement or wedding ring is not an uncommon thing, in Letizia's case it's all tied up in the big scandal the Spanish royal family is dealing with right now.

They've been fighting scandal on a few fronts for the past year or two, really; the King was caught enjoying an extravagant trip to hunt elephants in Botswana last year, during a trying time for the Spanish economy. (Oh, and his alleged mistress was with him. Oh, and it was all supposed to be done under the rader - until he broke his hip and had to fly home for an operation. Oops.) But that's not the biggest threat to the royal goodwill that comes from the role the King played in guiding Spain to a democracy following the death of General Franco. No, the biggest problem seems to be Iñaki Urdangarín.

Since late 2011, Iñaki's been under investigation for corruption. He and his former business partner are accused of embezzling public funds, diverting them for their private profit through the Noos Institute, the supposedly nonprofit organization he once chaired which arranged events for regional governments. He's persona non grata, basically, at royal events (Cristina's not around much either these days), and he's been removed from the royal website, but the problem is not solved. The investigation keeps growing - and Letizia's ring is one of the things that's been drawn into the mess.

A book on Urdangarín published last year stated that Felipe asked his sister Cristina to pick up the engagement ring from the jeweler (this makes sense, since his engagement was top secret). But supposedly Cristina was sick, so she asked her husband to handle it. The book alleges that it was paid for with the Noos credit card...and there's your problem. Allegations go further too, saying that Iñaki may have refused to allow Felipe to pay him back. Letizia stopped wearing her rings when this came about, which is a hard coincidence to ignore. Even if this is false, the association alone seems to be enough to warrant ditching the ring. (She also stopped wearing her wedding ring, but Felipe still wears his. She avoids most jewelry, even more now that Spain's economy is hurting, and she's been seen to remove or fiddle with her rings following events with lots of handshaking. Maybe she wasn't terribly averse to going ringless, we have no way of knowing.) What a mess, huh?

Anyway. That's that for today's installment. Until next week...

Which one is your favorite here?

Photos: Palais Princier/Cartier/Getty Images/Maison Repossi/AFP/Suarez/PPE

Flashback Friday: British Engagement Rings, Part 2

We began our mini-series on royal engagement rings with some of the best-known examples, worn by some of most famous Windsor ladies. Today we pick up with more British family members, including some less famous rings.

The Duchess of Windsor

When she finally married her controversial love, the abdicated King Edward VIII, Wallis Simpson wore an enormous Colombian emerald, just under 20 carats, set in a ring from Cartier which was inscribed "We are ours now 27.X.36" (WE being their initials, plus the date they chose for their engagement - which was the day her divorce was granted). It was originally set in a simple platinum setting, but she had it reset in a more fashionable diamond leaf setting later on. The ring was auctioned with the rest of her jewelry collection after her death.

Princess Margaret, the Countess of Snowdon

Antony Armstrong-Jones made a thoughtful choice for his fiancée, selecting a ring described as "a ruby set like a rosebud with a diamond marguerite", for Princess Margaret Rose.

Viscountess Linley

Princess Margaret's son, David, gave Serena Stanhope a diamond ring on a delicate gold band and a gold wedding band, both from Wartski.

Lady Sarah Chatto

Princess Margaret's daughter received an old style cluster ring from Daniel Chatto, a fitting choice for an artist.

Princess Alice, the Duchess of Gloucester

Returning to the family trend of sapphire engagement rings, Prince Henry presented Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott with a simple square sapphire ring.

The Duchess of Gloucester

One of the more unique rings we'll see is the one Prince Richard, studying to be an architect, designed for Birgitte van Deurs - a wide and intricate silver ring set with coral. I don't notice the Duchess wearing it these days, though her appearances are so low key it would be easy to miss the details.

Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent

Princess Marina's engagement ring is described by Leslie Field as a "square 7 carat Kashmir sapphire with a baguette diamond on either side set in platinum".

The Duchess of Kent

Marina's ring set a sapphire trend in the Kent family - the present Duchess has an oval sapphire with a round diamond on either side.

Princess Alexandra of Kent

Marina's daughter Alexandra also has an oval sapphire flanked by a diamond on either side, set in platinum.

Princess Michael of Kent

And one final sapphire ring for Princess Michael - a round sapphire and diamond, stones Prince Michael is said to have inherited from his mother Princess Marina, who died a decade before their marriage.

And that's it for the Windsors! As I said, this is not entirely comprehensive - feel free to add additional rings in the comments. Next time: we leave British shores.

Which one is your favorite? 

Photos: Getty Images/Corbis/NYPL/NPG

Flashback Friday: British Engagement Rings, Part 1

Early in the life of this blog, I did a mass roundup of royal engagement rings. For a long time it was one of my most popular posts, and prompted a lot of questions for more details and more rings. So, it's time for an update - this time, an in-depth one, in a mini series for our Fridays. Now, I will not be attempting to cover all royal engagement rings, and in some cases a bit of guessing and assumption is required. We start in Britain, where the most famous royal engagement rings reside.

There's a rich history of colored stone rings to mark engagements or weddings in British royal history; Queen Victoria received an emerald serpent ring from Prince Albert, Queen Alexandra received a multi-stone ring from the future King Edward VII (of beryl, emerald, ruby, turquoise, jacynth, and a second emerald, spelling "Bertie", his nickname), Queen Mary was given a ruby ring by Prince Albert Victor (he passed away during their engagement and she ended up marrying his younger brother, the future George V). That tradition has continued, with diamond rings entering the mix mostly in the last generation or two.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon received a sapphire ring from the Duke of York (shown above left), a stone we'll see over and over again with Windsor brides, and one she said at the time was her favorite. It had diamond accents, and was paired with a Welsh gold wedding band. Later in life, in the 1950s, she chose to abandon her original engagement ring in favor of a large pearl surrounded by diamonds (above right). Why she made the switch, we don't know - but as we will see as we continue with this series, switching rings or simply not wearing one's engagement or wedding ring is not uncommon.

Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen's diamond and platinum ring seems somewhat rare among all the colored stone rings received by her family members during the era of her engagement, but it is an instant classic. It was made for her using stones taken from a tiara belonging to Prince Philip's mother - click here to read more about this ring. She still wears it every day, alongside her Welsh gold wedding band.

Diana, Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Cambridge

Lady Diana Spencer chose a large oval sapphire ring (sometimes reported to be 18 carats, which is an exaggeration) surrounded by 14 round diamonds and set in white gold as her engagement ring from the Prince of Wales. The ring was made by Garrard, and unusually for a royal engagement ring it was not bespoke; the actual cost was available, which caused a bit of a fuss. There's nothing especially unique about the design, but it has become perhaps the most famous engagement ring (and most copied) out there. After Diana's death, it was reported that Prince Harry had selected the ring to keep, but of course it was Prince William that used it to propose to Catherine Middleton. She wears it with her Welsh gold wedding band, just as Diana did.

The Duchess of Cornwall

For his second marriage, the Prince of Wales presented Camilla Parker Bowles with a ring that belonged to his beloved grandmother, the Queen Mother (shown in the lower close up picture above). It's a large emerald cut diamond ring with baguettes to either side which is often said to have been a gift to mark the birth of her first child, Princess Elizabeth - the current Queen, of course. Though it is an impressive ring and surely extremely valuable, its cut does not reflect light well and it doesn't always look its best in a photo. 

The Princess Royal

For her first marriage to Mark Phillips, Princess Anne was given a classic ring of a sapphire between two diamonds (top close up). She also has a sapphire ring from her second husband, Tim Laurence, this time with a cabochon stone and three small diamonds on each side (lower close up). The first one is classic, and there are many similar rings out there; but the second one, a little more unusual, seems a better fit for this particular princess to me.

Autumn Phillips

Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips, the first of the Queen's grandchildren to marry, presented his fiance Autumn Kelly with a ring containing a larger center oval diamond with more diamonds to either side. Some reports placed the cost of the ring at £80,000 (though these things are always to be taken with a grain of salt).

Zara Tindall

Princess Anne's daughter Zara Phillips received a custom-designed diamond and platinum ring from Mike Tindall to mark their engagement. The sparkly number features a divided diamond-set band with a solitaire diamond centerpiece.

Sarah, Duchess of York

Like Diana, Sarah Ferguson also received an engagement ring from Garrard. She's often said to have requested a ruby ring over the emerald ring supposedly intended for her, and a ruby she got. It's an oval Burmese ruby surrounded by 10 diamonds set in white and yellow gold. Like other Windsors, she also received a Welsh gold wedding band.

The Countess of Wessex

The ring given to Sophie Rhys-Jones by Prince Edward was reported at the time of the engagement to be the most expensive royal engagement ring ever purchased at an estimated £105,000. Of course, we don't know if that still holds true - well, we don't know if it was ever 100% factual, really. If you include the estimated value at market of some of the famous rings we see here, it certainly wouldn't be true today. Nevertheless, it is a sparkler indeed: a 2 carat oval diamond with a heart-shaped diamond on either side set in white gold from Asprey and Garrard. Classic, with a romantic twist. Sophie also wears a Welsh gold wedding band, but she doesn't always wear her wedding set these days.

Which one is your favorite?

Coming up next Friday: Part 2 of British engagement rings.

Photos: Life/Royal Collection/PacificCoastNews/Rex