Brad Pitt designed Angelina Jolie’s engagement ring,
but how does it compare with Jennifer Aniston’s rock? Plus, What Tom
Cruise, Prince Charles, Alec Baldwin, and others proposed with the
second (or third) time around
Brad Pitt
Say this about Brad Pitt—the man clearly enjoys his jewelry design. Long
before he collaborated with Robert Procop on Angelina Jolie's diamond
engagement ring,
the Sexiest Fiancé Alive had a hand in creating what to slip on
Jennifer Aniston's finger. Not only did Pitt work with designer Silvia
Damiani on the swirling diamond ring he proposed to Aniston with in
1999, but he also reportedly designed the rock he gave to Gwyneth
Paltrow two years earlier (though the two never made it down the aisle).
While Aniston's ring was worth an estimated $500,000, experts value
Jolie's at half that amount. Then again, the two do have a lot of mouths
to feed.
Tom Cruise
For a man who bought Katie Holmes an engagement ring shortly after their first date,
Tom Cruise wasn't taking any chances when it came to the proposal—he
asked her at one of the most romantic spots on earth, the Eiffel Tower.
The five-carat Fred Leighton oval diamond Cruise purchased is surrounded
by six carats of smaller diamonds and estimated at $275,000. Fifteen
years earlier, Cruise gave Nicole Kidman a more modest diamond
engagement ring—perhaps because it was only months after his divorce to
Mimi Rogers was final—but her second husband, Keith Urban, made up for
that by proposing with a three-stone diamond ring and giving her a $120,000 "push present"
after their baby was born. But there may be a new ring in the future
for Kidman and Cruise: Their adopted daughter, Isabella, is reportedly engaged to her boyfriend, singer Eddie Frencher.
Prince Charles
When your family has actual crown
jewels, it makes proposing a lot simpler. But give Prince Charles
credit—in 1981, when he asked 19-year-old Diana Spencer to marry him,
the 32-year-old Prince of Wales actually bought a ring. In fact, the 18-carat sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds was featured in Garrard's
catalog when he purchased it for £30,000. (Today, that ring sits on the
finger of his daughter-in-law, Kate Middleton.) Nearly a quarter
century later, when Charles proposed to his longtime love, Camilla
Parker Bowles, he wisely dipped into the family treasures. Charles
presented Camilla with a Windsor heirloom—a square-cut diamond
surrounded by six baguettes—that once belonged to his grandmother the
Queen Mum.
Alec Baldwin
What kind of rocks did the 30 Rock
star give the women he asked to marry him? Big ones. When Alec Baldwin
proposed to Kim Basinger in 1993, he presented her with a 3.7-carat
Tiffany diamond ring. In 2004, two years after their acrimonious
divorce, Basinger auctioned it off for charity for $59,750—nearly double
its presale estimate. And just days after Baldwin's engagement to yoga
instructor Hilaria Thomas this month, she was spotted wearing a giant
diamond with a platinum band that was estimated at $75,000. Despite the
supersize stone, Alec's brother Stephen Baldwin insisted to Us Weekly that Thomas
is "very humble, very sweet, very down-to-earth, and very charming. I'm
glad that they're into each other. Alec's a lot calmer and a lot
happier."
Charlie Sheen
When Charlie Sheen asked Denise Richards
to marry him in 2002, he went with a ring that would have made Gordon
Gekko proud. The former Wall Street star collaborated with
jewelry designer Barry Kagasoff to create a 4.3-carat yellow-diamond
ring set above rows of 100 small diamonds. (After Sheen gave his Spin City
costar Heather Locklear a sneak peek at his choice, the former Mrs.
Richie Sambora joked, "Oh my God! Richie's such a cheapskate!") Six
years later, when the newly divorced Sheen proposed to third wife,
Brooke Mueller, he stuck with yellow but moved up in size—Mueller got an
11-carat canary diamond worth an estimated $500,000.
Ben Affleck
In 2002, Jenny From the Block became Jenny
With the Rock when Ben Affleck proposed with a 6.1-carat pink Harry
Winston diamond. Despite the $1.2 million present, the couple called off
their engagement in 2004. Later that year, when Affleck proposed to
Jennifer Garner, he went back to Harry Winston and purchased a 4.5-carat
cushion-cut solitaire set in platinum. And he didn't stop there. After
Garner became the mother of their two girls, Affleck gave her a diamond
eternity band.
Donald Trump
"I always told him the size doesn't [matter]," Marla Maples said
about the 7.5-carat emerald-cut Harry Winston diamond that Donald Trump
gave her in 1991. "It's the symbolism." Nine years (and a daughter
named Tiffany) later, after Maples and Trump were divorced, she put the
$250,000 ring up for auction. "While it's rather tacky," Trump told People,
"she's a very nice person. I hope she does well with the sale." She
did—Donald's "symbol" fetched $110,000 at auction. In 2004, however, he
broke the bank with a 12-carat Harry Winston diamond for his third wife,
Melania Knauss. Though the towering Trump rock was estimated to cost
between $1 million and $2 million, the groom was surprisingly modest
about his selection: "It's just a nice ring," he said.
Nick Lachey
As with most important moments in their relationship, when Nick Lachey
proposed to Jessica Simpson in February 2002, the intimate scene was
captured for the cameras:
While vacationing in Hawaii, Lachey asked Simpson to marry him with a
pear-shaped diamond she is clearly giddy about. The second time around,
Lachey stepped up his game. In November 2010, he asked Vanessa Minnillo
to marry him with a four-carat Asscher-cut diamond ring surrounded by
baguettes—estimated to cost $125,000—designed by New York City jeweler
David Bader of Bader & Garrin. (The couple went back to Bader when
it was time to make wedding bands. "Vanessa was definitely looking for a
ring to match her engagement ring," Bader told People.)
And not to be upstaged, a week after Lachey's engagement, Simpson had a
new ring of her own—a ruby-and-diamond Neil Lane ring that former NFL quarterback Eric Johnson gave her when he proposed.
Paul McCartney
The man who wrote "Can't Buy Me Love"
clearly understood it's not the size of the rock, it's how solid the
relationship is. But Paul McCartney probably should have paid attention
when his second wife, Heather Mills, threw her relatively modest $21,000
engagement ring at him during a prewedding argument. (She later also
lost the ring on a golf course but then found it.) And though their 2008
divorce cost McCartney nearly $50 million, it didn't deter him from
proposing to Nancy Shevell last May with a stunning sparkler: The former
Beatle gave Shevell a vintage 1925 Cartier solitaire worth an estimated
$650,000. He also reportedly refused to sign a prenup. And with a love
like that, you know you should be glad.
Celebrities and their Engagement Rings
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Oleh
photofun4ucom
