Remodelling your engagement ring isn’t rude, just ask Meghan Markle – styles change, as do financial circumstances, so it’s OK to refresh your treasured piece with a new look or bigger diamond
- Victoria Beckham has a collection of at least 15 different ‘engagement’ rings worth an estimated US$40 million – but there’s a more tasteful way to reflect the changing chapters of your life
- Meghan Markle changed the yellow gold band of Prince Harry’s engagement ring to a slim micro-pavé one and Princess Mary of Denmark added two diamonds to the ring Prince Frederik proposed with
You will have been reminded of David and Victoria Beckham’s tabloid-filling fame in the 90s. Heartened by the way they still lovingly tease each other all these years of marriage later (Posh even turned one of their jokes into a slogan T-shirt for sale on her website). And wowed by all of those frankly incredible style transformations.
You may have found yourself asking: surely nobody has had so many looks as Victoria Beckham? And thinking: surely nobody has had quite so many engagement rings …
The grand total? Fifteen and counting. This is, after all, a romance for the ages. Posh’s array of engagement rings includes the original marquise-cut diamond on a yellow gold band that Becks proposed with in 1998, the whopping emerald-cut diamond she started sporting in 2003 (her first major “upgrade”) and the even more whopping cushion-cut emerald set in a diamond spiral she started to wear in 2007.
If you don’t have the reported US$40 million to hand required to build a similar collection of engagement rings, there are still ways you can have the next best thing: a refreshed ring. You wouldn’t be alone, either. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, changed her engagement ring, swapping the yellow gold band for a slim micro-pavé one, while Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, added two diamonds to the engagement ring Prince Frederik proposed with in 2003, to represent the couple’s four children.
Style changes, as does someone’s financial situation and lifestyle, and they want a ring to reflect this
Remodelling engagement rings has long been a way for couples to mark the milestones of a life together. “I have clients who have remodelled rings over the years, and this [remodelling] will be the next iteration,” says British jeweller Jessie Thomas.
“Equally there are people who have upgraded rings over the years due to financial changes, and now want to combine these into one piece. Style changes, as does someone’s financial situation and lifestyle and they want a ring to reflect this. The original engagement ring is always appreciated but there is an understanding that something new is needed to reflect the current situation.”