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10 Most Famous Engagement Rings in Hollywood History
Angelica Frey | November 30, 2023
Celebrity engagement rings have defined jewelry trends in a number of ways. From the society magazines of old Hollywood, to the tabloid culture of the late 20th century and the social media landscape of today, people have been bombarded with images of celebrity engagement rings that they want to emulate. This applies to size, center-diamond shape, and overall style.
Most famous stars engagement rings are very large in size, but feature sleek and timeless designs that are aspirational but still within reach. Rings featuring VRAI created diamonds can easily recreate a Hollywood-inspired look and feel.
Please do note that the following list is not a ranking. The rings featured below are listed by date, from the oldest to the most recent one.
How Celebrity Engagement Rings Set Industry-Wide Trends
High-profile engagements have influenced trends in engagement rings for generations. “Celebrity engagement rings are often featured on social media and news sites, where clients see them and fall in love with the design,” says Meg Esterkin, VRAI’s Diamond Expert Training Manager.
We can credit Elizabeth Taylor and, to a lesser extent, Grace Kelly, for the population-wide celebrity engagement ring craze. “Before that, it was often an obsession with royal jewelry that drove trends – Queen Victoria was big into jewelry and more recently Kate Middleton was engaged with one of Princess Diana's rings,” says Grace Taylor, VRAI’s Senior Director of Sales and CX.
In terms of color, Jennifer Lopez’s pink-diamond engagement ring that Ben Affleck gave her in 2002 started the trend in fancy-colored diamond rings. In 2017, Meghan Markle’s yellow-gold, three-stone engagement ring solidified the rise in warm-toned engagement rings.
Celebrities like Hailey Bieber and Blake Lively cemented the trend of Oval engagement rings in the 2010s, while Grace Kelly, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Amal Clooney, and Demi Lovato did something similar with Emerald diamonds. In terms of overall styles, Ariana Grande, Emily Ratajkowski, and Megan Fox spearheaded the recent return of Toi et Moi engagement rings.
Grace Kelly’s Engagement Ring (1956)
In the 1956 movie High Society, the engagement ring Grace Kelly’s character sported became as iconic as her complete outfits. It’s a ring by Cartier, with an Emerald center stone and Baguette side stones. That ring was not a prop: it was her actual engagement ring, given to her by Prince Rainier of Monaco. He had proposed with a band featuring alternating diamonds and rubies (the colors of the Monaco flag) and added the Cartier engagement ring at a later date. Both Amal Clooney’s ring and Jennifer Lopez’s ring given to her by Alex Rodriguez sport a very similar design.
Get Grace Kelly’s Look With a VRAI Three Stone Emerald Engagement Ring
Grace Kelly’s Emerald engagement ring is timeless and classic, and has inspired countless engagement rings among celebrities and civilians alike. In the case of VRAI created diamonds, pair VRAI’s Three-Stone engagement ring setting in white gold or platinum with an Emerald center stone and Baguette side stones.
Elizabeth Taylor’s 1956 Engagement Ring (1956)
Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels and diamonds have made history. One famous example is her 1956 engagement ring, given to her by producer Michael Todd. It’s a 29.4 Emerald engagement ring, that she first referred to as her “friendship” ring, and then as her “personal ice-skating rink.” This ring is notable because it’s purportedly the one that jump started her outsized and legendary collection.
Get Elizabeth Taylor's Look With VRAI Cathedral Engagement Ring
If you want your engagement ring to share some similarities with Elizabeth Taylor’s 1956 engagement ring, get a sleek, streamlined design and a large VRAI created Emerald diamond. A high, but protective setting (such as the Cathedral) creates continuity between the diamond and the band. As for the diamond’s size and carat weight, our Cut For You™ process guarantees at least 8, but can go as high as 15 carats with Emerald diamonds.
Jackie Onassis’ Engagement Ring to Aristotle Onassis (1968)
Aristotle Onassis proposed to Jackie Kennedy in 1968, with an engagement ring featuring a 40.42-carat Marquise center diamond known as the Lesotho III. The side stones were tapered Baguettes. The Lesotho III was cut from the 601-carat rough Lesotho Diamond sourced from South Africa, and Jackie only wore it twice before locking it away in a New York City vault. The Lesotho III ultimately sold at her estate auction for $2.59 million, jewelry-trade magazine Rapaport reports.
Get Jackie Onassis’ Look With VRAI Three Stone Engagement Ring
A three-stone engagement ring with a Marquise center and Baguette side stones allow you to recreate a design inspired by Jackie Onassis’ engagement ring. Please note, though, that VRAI’s current inventory of Marquises only goes up to 5.72 carats. Still, given the elongated shape and large face-up size of this shape, the 5.72 carat diamond measures 19.28 x 9.27 x 5.51mm, which translates into substantial finger coverage.
Jennifer Lopez’s 2002 Engagement Ring (2002)
When Ben Affleck proposed to Jennifer Lopez for the first time in late 2002, he did so with a pink diamond ring. This ring is largely responsible for starting an industry-wide trend towards engagement rings featuring fancy-colored diamonds. While they were always in use as key components of jewelry among aristocrats and Hollywood celebrities, this engagement ring made sure the trend seeped among the general population.
Get Jennifer Lopez’s Engagement Ring Look With VRAI Created Pink Diamonds
Pink diamonds are part of VRAI’s collection, and if you want to recreate Jennifer Lopez’s engagement ring with VRAI created diamonds, you can choose among the five pink Radiants in the current inventory. Just pair it with Baguette side stones.
Beyoncé’s Engagement Ring (2007)
Beyoncé is another celebrity or diva favoring Emerald diamonds. When she and Jay Z got engaged on December 4, 2007, he presented her with a Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring featuring an Emerald diamond set on a pavé, split-shank band. The diamond supposedly weighs 24 carats and has a “flawless” clarity grade. Jay-Z reportedly paid around $5 million for that ring.
Get Beyoncé’s Engagement Ring Look With VRAI Created Diamonds
Pairing a VRAI created Emerald diamond with a split band is the ideal combination of Art Deco and Art Nouveau. The sophisticated hall-of-mirrors effect of a step-cut diamond becomes more ethereal via the gentle slopes of a split band.
Blake Lively’s Engagement Ring (2011/12)
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively wed in a secret ceremony in 2012, and while few pictures of the engagement ring had surfaced at that date, after the wedding, Lively’s ring defined the trends of the whole decade. Blake Lively’s engagement ring is notable for pairing a larger Oval (and, in this case, faint pink) diamond with a thin band featuring three rows of pavé diamonds and a hidden halo.
The ring was designed by Lorraine Schwartz, who also designed the couple’s wedding bands. Several celebrities ended up choosing a similar engagement-ring style. Hailey Bieber's engagement ring is similar, albeit less ornate. Her ring features a plain, 18k gold band. More recently, podcast host Alex Cooper's engagement ring features an “antique oval” cut set on a sleek, thin band.
Get Blake Lively’s Engagement Ring Look With VRAI Created Diamonds
For a Hollywood-inspired engagement ring featuring VRAI created diamonds, pair a pink VRAI created diamond with a knife-edge pavé band. The knife-edge design allows for two rows of pavé diamonds while also keeping the band on the thinner side.
Lady Gaga’s Engagement Ring (2015)
Lady Gaga and Taylor Kinney got engaged on Valentine’s Day 2015, after a three-year courtship following their meeting on the stage of her music video "You and I" in 2011. Kinney chose a heart-shaped diamond as a stand-in for giving his heart to her, and the back of the band sports their initials.
The engagement ended in 2016, but the ring remains a timeless, yet genre defying take on a classic design. Heart diamonds might look innovative, but their design goes back to at least 1562, when Queen Elizabeth I was gifted a heart-shaped diamond ring by Mary, Queen of Scots as a token of friendship.
Get Lady Gaga’s Engagement Ring Look With VRAI Created Heart Cut Diamonds
VRAI’s Cut for You process offers Heart shaped diamonds, and you can easily pair a Heart diamond with the Floating solitaire in white gold or platinum with a Pavé setting.
Emily Ratajkowski’s Engagement Ring (2018)
In February 2018, Sebastian Bear-McClaird proposed to Emily Ratajkowski at Minetta Tavern without a ring, and the couple were married the same month in a private ceremony. Months after their wedding, in July 2018, Ratajkowski flaunted a Toi et Moi engagement ring. Her ring was set on a 18k yellow-gold band, and it featured a 3-carat Pear diamond and a 2-carat Princess diamond. Ratajkowski was one of the first celebrities to bring back the Toi et Moi trend for engagement rings. Other notable Toi et Moi rings include Ariana Grande’s engagement ring (from 2020) and Megan Fox’s engagement ring (2022).
Get Emily Ratajkowski’s Engagement Ring Look With VRAI Created Diamonds
VRAI’s current offerings for Toi et Moi engagement rings include rings featuring one Round and one Oval, one Round and one Pear, and one Emerald and one Pear. You can get a Princess and a Pear if you opt for a custom Toi et Moi ring featuring VRAI created diamonds.
Lily Collins' Engagement Ring (2020)
Lily Collins defied celebrity tradition by opting for the subtle shimmer of a Rose cut diamond in a Bezel setting. Rose diamonds have a flat bottom, which makes their brilliance less dynamic, but equally enticing. Collins’s engagement ring was designed by Irene Neuwirth, and the diamond has 2 or 3 carat estimated weight. Because of its flat bottom, the weight is only distributed in the top, and this translates into a larger face-up size.
Get Lily Collins' Engagement Ring Look With VRAI Created Diamonds
Pairing a VRAI created Rose diamond with a Bezel setting highlights the vintage appeal of this diamond shape, while also being protective of the stone. VRAI offers Rose diamonds as part of our Cut for You process, which allows you to have a diamond cut in a selection of 30 different shapes, both storied and in-house exclusive.
Sofia Richie’s Engagement Ring (2022)
In April 2022, model Sofia Richie got engaged to Elliot Grainge after one year of dating. The engagement ring features an Emerald diamond ring (at an estimated 6 carat weight) paired with a dainty platinum band, designed by Stephanie Gottlieb. Richie became one of the icons of quiet luxury, and this ring fully embodies the style.
Get Sofia Richie’s Engagement Ring Look With VRAI Created Diamonds
Despite its size, Sofia Richie’s ring does not appear to tower too high over her finger. Its setting is, most likely, as low as it can be without compromising the integrity of the design. A VRAI designed setting like the Signature Classic features a sling that dips slightly below the band, drawing in light so your diamond shines bright.
