Royal Engagement Sparks Local Interest in Sapphire Rings

The future king of England, Prince William, and Kate Middleton, his fiancée, have been in the news constantly since their engagement was announced in November. The couple plans to marry in London in April, and there has been a lot of talk about the engagement ring Prince William gave Middleton. The ring belonged to his mother, the late Princess Diana, and was her engagement ring. It is a blue oval sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds.

Michael Haddad, vice president of  in Manchester, offers sapphire rings similar to Middleton's at his jewelry store.

One of the brokers' overseas jewelry designers from Hong Kong just happened to be in the store the day the news came out about Prince William's engagement, Haddad said.

"I knew that we should probably buy a couple of rings," Haddad said. "Sapphires are always popular, but to come across a piece like that is not common, so we jumped on it before some else did."

The piece, or ring, Haddad referred to is an oval 4.51 carat sapphire surrounded by 1.75 carats of diamonds set in 18-carat white gold. Haddad said the regular price of the ring is more than $23,000.

"It is something that appreciates in value. Buy it and come back 20 years from now, and it will be worth more money because of the quality of the gem," Haddad said.

Other sapphire rings which are similar in design to Middleton's engagement ring range in price from $800-$16,000 on sale at Diamond & Jewelry Brokers, Inc. But that is not the end of the selection. The store can obtain whatever a customer wants within a short time frame. None of the sapphires in the jewelry store are as large as the one in the royal ring, though, Haddad said. The royal ring is appraised at half a million dollars but "it's priceless, really," he said.

Haddad believes the royal engagement ring will make people more aware of the timeless design.

"We've already had people call and say, 'Do you have that same style?'" he said. "It can be handed down through generations. It's not an everyday piece."

is located on the opposite side of Manchester Road. Jerry Goldstein, the store manager, agrees the style of the royal engagement ring has always been a popular type of ring but said there are no replica rings at his store.

Sometimes it takes years for jewelry trends to reach St. Louis. "It takes a while for manufacturers to see that there's a demand for it," Goldstein said.

"We're waiting to be told that they are selling real good. I, as a small independent [jeweler], haven't been approached about the ring yet. And not only that, there is the issue of copyright infringement," he said. "I don't think you're going to see too much activity for a while because people aren't too hip about going out and selling new lines. They are having enough trouble with the old lines."