Unless you’ve been hiding underneath a rock for the past few months, you will undoubtedly heard Kate Middleton’s fashion sense being widely talked about. From her clothes to her hair, Kate is becoming the one to copy in the fashion stakes, and now there is another way to look like her – by getting a copy of her engagement ring.
The ring in question is an 18-carat blue sapphire ring cut into an oval shape and surrounded by 14 small diamonds. It has been revealed that the ring was originally Princess Diana’s, chosen from a vast selection at Gerrard, a London-based jewellers that prides itself on being the oldest jewellers in the world. Established in 1735 it specialises in diamonds and coloured gemstones and has a wealth of celebrity clientele.
Many jewellers across the capital have been overwhelmed by requests for copies of Kate’s sapphire ring and there has been a surge of interest online too. Peter Fitzgerald, director of retail at Google UK said: "We have seen searches for sapphire engagement rings rise, on average, 80 per cent since the proposal in November." He continued that: "Despite the difficult economic situation, many [jewellers] have reported as much as a 50 per cent rise in sales online thanks to their royal replicas," he said.
Kate’s engagement ring has been copied in varying levels of quality, detail, and price, some being quite affordable at a few pounds whilst the more accurate copies are priced at several thousand pounds. Clayton Borek, the managing director of Martine Wester – a jewellers based in Fulham – said: "We actually had a very similar ring on our collection already, selling for £29." He continued that: "It's similar, but definitely not a copy. This is costume jewellery, we're not attempting to make it look identical." Some of the imitations at the higher end of the market are priced up to as much as £4,000 and are becoming especially popular overseas in Russia and America.
This news comes as another example of Royal Wedding fever to hit the nation, and overseas. Well, in the words of Beyoncé Knowles “If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it”
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