Meghan Markle Engagement Ring Breakdown
Welcome to The Ring Adviser's Celebrity Engagement Ring Breakdown. In each post, we simulate a popular celebrity engagement ring choice and go through the process of determining what the best diamond would be. Contact Us if you would like to send us a suggestion for a future installment of our personal one-on-one help.
What would it cost to replicate Meghan Markle's Engagement Ring?
With all the press surrounding the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, we thought it'd be fun to see how much it would cost to replicate her engagement ring. Now, before we get any further, the cost of her ring would be significantly higher given that some of the stones came from Princess Diana's personal collection and other family/royal-related types of attachments. The other thing is that we genuinely don't know the specifications for her ring. However, popular opinion suggests that the 3-Stone ring has a Cushion shaped 5-Carat center diamond and 0.75-Carat adjoining diamonds mounted on a gold band. With that in mind, let's see what a top-of-the-line version would cost and what an affordable version would cost.
Breaking down the Center Stone
To create the ring given the absolute highest quality, we will have to understand that a 5-Carat diamond is so large that it is almost impossible to be perfect. As such, don't expect flawless values across the board. Additionally, a Cushion shaped stone that large is difficult to mount, which will add an additional cost. Nevertheless, if we want to see what the center stone would cost, let's see what we can put together pulling the best examples from our favorite sellers:
At James Allen, we found a 5.02-Carat GIA Certified Cushion Diamond for $174,030
Carat - 5.02
Color - E
Clarity - VVS2
Cut - Ideal
Polish - Excellent
Symmetry - Very Good
Fluorescence - None
L/W (mm) - 10.15 x 9.85
L/W Ratio - 1.03
At Blue Nile, we found a 5.01-Carat GIA Certified Cushion Diamond for $284,969
Carat - 5.01
Color - D
Clarity - FL
Cut - Very Good
Polish - Excellent
Symmetry - Excellent
Fluorescence - None
L/W (mm) - 9.98 x 9.95
L/W Ratio - 1.00
With those two options above, all you would need to finish the look would be a lovely 3-Stone setting, which would run you between $3,000 to $5,000. Of course, when you’re talking about $150,000 to $300,000 diamonds, the setting is usually included. Now... How close can we get the same style ring with a similar presence while sticking to a “semi-reasonable” budget?
Budget Meghan Markle's Engagement Ring
Now that we got the impossible out of the way (I don't know about you, but a $100k ring is so incredibly beyond my means!), let's see what type of ring we could build based on the spirit of Meghan's ring.
Let's start with the 18K Yellow Gold setting. James Allen has numerous styles available, but I'm going to go with a cleaner Side-Stone setting that features only three stones. As such, this won't have any Pave or Channel setting across the sides and make mounting the Cushion Diamond more affordable.
The maximum Cushion Shapes Carat size the above setting will handle is 6.0 Carats. We could maximize the size, but then we’re going down an unfeasible wormhole. Instead, let’s max out at around 2.0 Carats, which would still be a spectacular stone and look downright huge on a slender finger, like Meghan’s.
The difference between these two stones is minimal as far as specifications, but a world of difference in regards to their price. They both feature an Ideal Cut, Excellent or Very Good Polish & Symmetry, and No Fluorescence. The first Diamond has an F Color and an IF Clarity, pricing out at $24,850, while the second Diamond has a D Color and VVS2 Clarity and comes out to $22,730. That is a $2,000 price premium (over 10%) for the Internally Flawless variant. Very significant.
What would I suggest based on this scenario? I’d go with the cheaper Diamond. The main reason for this, beyond the cost, is eye clarity. Any visible difference between the IF and VVS2 Clarity of the Diamonds will be impossible to see without professional jewelry equipment. What does this mean? You’d be paying for something invisible, so why spend an extra $2k? So there you have it, a lite version of the Meghan Markle engagement ring for $25k.
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