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The Best Celebrity Engagement Rings of All Time
The first documented diamond engagement ring wasn’t worn by a movie star or a pop icon. It was given in 1477, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria proposed to Mary of Burgundy with a gold ring set with thin, flat diamond splinters arranged in the shape of an “M”.
More than five centuries later, celebrity engagement rings still capture the same fascination, and they’ve shaped nearly every trend in bridal jewellery since, from the return of coloured diamonds to the enduring appeal of a classic halo.
For 50 years, we’ve seen engagement-ring styles evolve. While some designs disappear almost as quickly as they arrive, others become enduring classics. This is our list of the best celebrity engagement rings of all time, the pieces that made headlines and set the trends.
Quick answer
- Grace Kelly’s 1956 Cartier emerald-cut diamond remains one of the most referenced rings in bridal jewellery history, over half a century later.
- Princess Diana’s 1981 sapphire and diamond halo, now worn by Kate Middleton, popularised coloured gemstone engagement rings and the halo setting worldwide.
- Jennifer Lopez’s 2002 pink diamond from Ben Affleck is widely credited with sparking the modern trend for fancy coloured diamond engagement rings.
- Elizabeth Taylor’s 33.19-carat Asscher-cut diamond, given by Richard Burton in 1968, remains one of the most valuable celebrity rings ever sold at auction.
- Modern celebrity engagement rings increasingly favour natural coloured diamonds and gemstones, a trend Holloway Diamonds has championed for 50 years.
Iconic rings, era by era
From royal history to the red carpet, these are the rings that defined their moment and, in several cases, an entire era of bridal jewellery.
1477
Mary of Burgundy
From Archduke Maximilian of Austria
Before there was a tradition to follow, there was this ring: a gold band set with flat diamond splinters spelling out an “M”. Historians widely credit this proposal as the beginning of the diamond engagement ring as we know it, more than 500 years before it became an expected part of Western courtship.
Mary of Burgundy’s ‘M’ diamond ring
1956
Grace Kelly
From Prince Rainier III of Monaco
Hollywood actress Grace Kelly’s engagement to Prince Rainier III produced one of the most enduring engagement rings in history: a 10.47-carat emerald-cut diamond from Cartier, flanked by two trapezoid baguettes. Decades on, the emerald-cut solitaire remains one of the most requested styles in fine jewellery, in no small part because of this ring.
Gemmologist’s note
An emerald cut is unforgiving in a way most buyers don’t expect. Its broad, open facets act like a hall of mirrors for any inclusion, so there’s nowhere for a flaw to hide. That’s precisely why Grace Kelly’s ring still gets referenced by clients nearly 70 years later: a well-cut emerald-cut diamond photographs with a quiet, architectural elegance that a round brilliant simply can’t replicate.
Grace Kelly’s emerald-cut Cartier ring
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
1968
Elizabeth Taylor
From Richard Burton
Elizabeth Taylor’s jewellery collection was legendary, and her 33.19-carat Asscher-cut diamond from Richard Burton was one of its most famous pieces, worn almost daily rather than saved for occasions. When the ring came up for auction decades later, it sold for close to $9 million (USD), cementing its place as one of the most valuable celebrity engagement rings ever sold.
Gemmologist’s note
The Asscher cut is often mistaken for a square emerald cut, but the two behave quite differently under light. Its stepped facets and cropped corners create a hypnotic, almost hall-of-mirrors depth rather than the emerald cut’s long flashes of light, which is exactly what gave Taylor’s diamond its famous presence. Because Asscher cuts retain less rough than most fancy shapes, a stone of this size and this clarity grade is incredibly rare, and it’s part of why the price realised at auction was so extraordinary.
Elizabeth Taylor’s Asscher-cut diamond
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
1981
Princess Diana
From Prince Charles
Princess Diana’s engagement ring broke royal convention by being chosen from a jeweller’s catalogue rather than being custom-designed, a 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire surrounded by a halo of 14 diamonds, set in white gold by British jeweller Garrard. The ring later passed to Kate Middleton when Prince William proposed in 2010, and it remains one of the most influential sapphire engagement rings that Melbourne clients reference when they’re drawn to colour over a classic white diamond, along with the halo engagement ring styles it helped popularise around the world.
Gemmologist’s note
Ceylon (Sri Lankan) sapphires are prized specifically for their softer, more velvety cornflower-blue tone compared with the deeper, more saturated sapphires that come out of Kashmir or Madagascar. It’s a colour that reads beautifully in both daylight and evening light, which is part of why this particular ring photographs so consistently well. The halo of diamonds adds brilliance around a coloured stone that, unlike a diamond, doesn’t return as much white light on its own.
Princess Diana’s sapphire halo ring
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
1986
Sarah Ferguson
From Prince Andrew
The Duchess of York’s engagement ring took a similar approach to Princess Diana’s, but in red rather than blue: an oval Burmese ruby surrounded by a halo of ten diamonds, set in gold. It remains one of the most recognisable ruby and diamond engagement rings that Melbourne clients still use as a reference point, decades on, when they want something with genuine warmth and presence.
Sarah Ferguson’s ruby halo ring
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
2002
Jennifer Lopez
From Ben Affleck
Long before coloured diamonds were mainstream, Ben Affleck proposed to Jennifer Lopez with a 6.1-carat radiant-cut pink diamond from Harry Winston, reportedly valued at around $2.5 million (USD) at the time. The ring is widely credited with kicking off the modern celebrity trend for fancy coloured diamonds, well before engagement rings with pink diamonds became a mainstream request.
Gemmologist’s note
Natural pink diamonds owe their colour to a distortion in the diamond’s crystal lattice rather than to trace elements, which is a different origin story to most other fancy colours. It’s also why they’re so rare. The vast majority of the world’s pink diamond supply has historically come from a single mine in Western Australia, which closed in 2020. A stone with the strength of colour Lopez’s ring displayed, in a size over six carats, would be considerably harder to source today than it was in 2002.
Jennifer Lopez’s pink diamond ring
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
2008
Beyoncé
From Jay-Z
Beyoncé’s engagement ring, a substantial emerald-cut diamond by Lorraine Schwartz, has been widely reported in the multiple-carat range and became one of the most photographed rings of its era. Its clean, architectural lines reinforced the emerald cut as a serious contender alongside the round brilliant for anyone drawn to understated sparkle with real presence.
Beyoncé’s emerald-cut diamond ring
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
2012
Blake Lively
From Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds proposed to Blake Lively with a 12-carat oval-cut pink diamond by Lorraine Schwartz, set in rose gold with a diamond halo. Following in the footsteps of Lopez’s ring a decade earlier, it helped further cement pink diamonds as an alternative to white diamonds for anyone wanting a piece with real individuality.
Blake Lively’s pink diamond ring
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
2014
Amal Clooney
From George Clooney
Amal Clooney’s engagement ring, a substantial emerald-cut diamond flanked by two tapered baguettes and set in platinum, is regularly cited by jewellers as one of the most elegant modern interpretations of a classic three-stone silhouette. It’s proof that a relatively simple design, executed with truly exceptional stones, can hold its own against far more elaborate settings.
Gemmologist’s note
This three-stone silhouette, an emerald-cut centre flanked by tapered baguettes, is an echo of Grace Kelly’s 1956 ring, and it’s a style we still get asked for by name. What makes it work is proportion: the baguettes need to be cut at exactly the right taper and length relative to the centre stone, or the whole ring looks unbalanced. Done well, as it clearly was here, it’s one of the most flattering settings there is for an elongated finger.
Amal Clooney’s emerald-cut three-stone ring
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
2018
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
From Nick Jonas
Actress and singer Priyanka Chopra’s engagement ring from Nick Jonas featured a substantial cushion-cut diamond, widely reported in the multiple-carat range, set as a classic solitaire. It’s frequently cited as a modern example of restraint done well, proof that a single, beautifully cut stone can carry a look on its own without needing a halo or side stones to feel significant.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s cushion-cut solitaire
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
2019
Katy Perry
From Orlando Bloom
Katy Perry’s engagement ring broke from convention entirely with a ruby and diamond cluster design, a central ruby surrounded by white diamonds in a floral-inspired setting believed to be a vintage piece. Alongside Sarah Ferguson’s ring decades earlier, it stands as one of the clearest arguments for choosing a coloured centre stone over a traditional white diamond.
Gemmologist’s note
Cluster settings like this one have antique roots, going back to Georgian and Victorian jewellery, long before the solitaire became the default engagement ring style in the 20th century. The floral arrangement of diamonds around a coloured centre stone is designed to catch light from multiple angles as the hand moves, which gives a vintage cluster ring a liveliness a single large stone can’t quite match on its own.
Katy Perry’s ruby cluster ring
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
2025
Taylor Swift
From Travis Kelce
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement brought a fresh wave of public attention, with widespread coverage of the couple’s proposal and ring choice across entertainment media. It’s a reminder that this fascination hasn’t faded over time; if anything, social media has made every detail more visible than ever.
Gemmologist’s note
An old mine cut is an antique diamond shape, cut by hand well before modern proportioning existed, with a higher crown, smaller table and softer, rounded outline than a modern round brilliant. The trade-off is a warmer, more candlelit sparkle rather than the sharp, high-contrast flash of a contemporary cut. Choosing one for a 2025 engagement says a lot about a shift back towards individuality and history over maximum fire, and it’s a request we’ve seen more of in the last few years.
Taylor Swift’s engagement ring
Similar engagement ring from Holloway Diamond here
How celebrity rings shape what everyday buyers ask for
It’s easy to dismiss these rings as pure spectacle, but their influence on everyday buying habits is real and measurable, and it’s something we see directly in our own showrooms.
Coloured stones follow the headlines
Every time a high-profile pink, blue or fancy coloured diamond appears in the press, we see a corresponding lift in clients asking about coloured natural diamonds and gemstones for their own rings. The same happened after Princess Diana’s sapphire ring first appeared in 1981, and it’s still happening today.
Cut styles cycle through popularity
The emerald cut’s resurgence over the past decade owes a real debt to rings like Grace Kelly’s and Beyoncé’s, both of which kept the style visible and aspirational long after it fell out of mainstream fashion for a stretch.
Halo settings endure
Largely thanks to how effectively Princess Diana’s ring paired a coloured centre stone with the extra brilliance a diamond halo provides, a combination that’s influenced bridal jewellery design for more than four decades.
What doesn’t change, regardless of which style is trending, is the importance of a well-cut natural stone underneath it all. A celebrity ring photographs beautifully because the diamond or gemstone at its centre was chosen properly in the first place.
This is the part that doesn’t come through in a red-carpet photo. When a client comes in referencing one of these rings, our first conversation is almost never about carat weight — it’s about cut quality, and about whether a natural coloured stone actually has the saturation and evenness these famous examples do. A lot of coloured gemstones on the market are pale or unevenly toned, and no amount of clever setting will make them read the way Princess Diana’s sapphire or Sarah Ferguson’s ruby does.
That’s the standard we hold every natural stone in our own collection to.
What these rings really have in common
Strip away the red-carpet moments and the auction headlines, and the best celebrity engagement rings of all time share a few consistent traits worth paying attention to.
01
Natural stones with real character
From Elizabeth Taylor’s Asscher-cut diamond to Princess Diana’s Ceylon sapphire, none of these rings are generic. Each stone was chosen for its individual colour, cut and rarity, not simply its size.
02
Cut quality carries the whole look
The cut is doing as much work as the carat weight in every one of these rings. A poorly cut stone, however large, simply doesn’t photograph or wear the same way.
03
Colour has always had a place at the top table
Sapphire, ruby and pink diamonds have appeared in some of history’s most famous engagement rings precisely because coloured stones offer something a white diamond can’t: individuality that’s instantly recognisable.
04
Sentiment often outweighs sheer scale
Some of the most enduring rings on this list, Princess Diana’s sapphire in particular, are remembered less for their size and more for the story attached to them. A ring that’s chosen thoughtfully tends to stay relevant decades after the headlines fade.
Bringing that level of sparkle to your own ring
You don’t need a red carpet to want a ring with real presence. Whether you’re drawn to the royal elegance of a sapphire halo, the warmth of a ruby, or the individuality of a natural pink diamond, these are exactly the kinds of pieces we help our Melbourne clients bring to life every week, using only natural diamonds and gemstones, sourced with the same standard we’ve held for 50 years.
If a particular era or style has caught your eye, our team can talk you through translating it into something that suits your own hand, style, and story.
Armadale · Canterbury · Brighton
Ready to find your own iconic ring?
Whichever era or style has caught your eye, our team can help you find or design a natural diamond or gemstone piece with the same presence as any of the rings above.
Visit your nearest showroom to explore our full collection of luxury jewellery in Melbourne.
Frequently asked questions
What is considered the most famous celebrity engagement ring of all time?
Princess Diana’s sapphire and diamond halo, now worn by Kate Middleton, is widely regarded as one of the most recognisable and influential rings in modern history, alongside Grace Kelly’s Cartier emerald-cut diamond.
Which celebrity engagement ring started the pink diamond trend?
Jennifer Lopez’s 6.1-carat pink diamond from Ben Affleck in 2002 is widely credited with sparking the modern trend for fancy coloured diamond engagement rings among both celebrities and the wider public.
Do celebrity engagement rings usually use natural diamonds?
Historically, yes. The vast majority of the most famous celebrity engagement rings on this list, from Grace Kelly to Beyoncé, feature natural diamonds and gemstones, prized specifically for their rarity and individual character.
Can I get a ring inspired by a celebrity engagement ring?
Absolutely. Many of our clients bring in a specific style or era they love, whether that’s a sapphire halo or a coloured diamond centre stone, and we can design a piece that reflects the same spirit while suiting their own hand and lifestyle.
Why do so many celebrity engagement rings feature the emerald cut?
The emerald cut’s clean, rectangular lines photograph exceptionally well and convey a sense of quiet, architectural elegance rather than maximum sparkle. Celebrity engagement rings, like Grace Kelly’s and Amal Clooney’s, have kept the cut in the spotlight for decades, even during periods when round and cushion cuts dominated mainstream demand.
Are any of these famous rings available to view in person?
A few, including Elizabeth Taylor’s Asscher-cut diamond, have appeared at public auctions or exhibitions over the years, though most celebrity rings remain in private hands. Auction houses occasionally display significant pieces before a sale, which is usually the only opportunity to see one up close.
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