Kate Middleton’s Engagement Ring is Meant for a Queen

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding was the biggest thing to happen since Princess Diana married Prince Philip. The funny thing is, Kate Middleton engagement ring was present for both events. How is that, you ask? Because Kate Middleton engagement ring was also Princess Diana’s engagement ring, that eventually Prince William inherited and gave to Kate when he proposed while they were on holiday in Kenya. It is a beautiful ring, with so much history behind it, and of course Kate loves it. She just hopes she can do the ring and the memory of the woman it comes from, justice. Prince William gave Kate the ring to bring a sense of his mother into the wedding festivities. If she cannot be here in life, at least she will be here in spirit.

Kate Middleton engagement ring is an 18-carat sapphire oval, surrounded by 14 smaller solitaire diamonds. The sapphire all by itself is a 12-carat Ceylon sapphire. The 14 solitaire diamonds are set in an 18-carat white gold band. Kate’s wedding ring was a gift from the Queen, made from the special Welsh gold that has also made the ring of several other Royal brides. Traditionally it has been made with gold from the Clogau Mine in Wales because of its rarity and high quality. The mine has been closed, but the British Royal Legion gifted the Queen with a small amount of gold to make future wedding jewellery. The wedding ring was made with the special gold by the Wartski company that was founded in 1865.

Princess Diana actually left Kate Middleton engagement ring to Prince Henry. But he believed that the ring should belong to the future Queen, so he gave it to William to give to his fiancé. The ring started a huge trend in the 1980s when Princess Diana first chose it, and once Kate received it, sapphire jewellers have been racing to keep up with the orders for an imitation Kate Middleton engagement ring. Sapphire is much more rare than diamonds are, but there is less of a demand for them, so they are not as expensive. Although with the new clamor for a Kate Middleton engagement ring, that might change.