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THE GOSS
- JULY 24 2016
James Matthews and Pippa Middleton at Wimbledon two weeks before they were engaged. Photo: Karwai Tang
Pippa Middleton may have almost upstaged her older sister at her own wedding and now in the engagement ring stakes.
While Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge scored the late Princess Diana's ring when Prince William got down on bended knee, the news of Pippa's engagement to hedge fund manager James Matthews not only had pop culture enthusiasts celebrating the fact she is will officially link the reality TV show
Made In Chelsea to the royal family, but her sparkler sparked conversation in the jewellery world.
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Matthews, a financier Middleton previously dated in 2012, popped the question with a three-carat art deco-style engagement ring last week. According to experts the 32-year-old party planner's ring, which cost an estimated $350,000, has more appeal to those in the bridal market than Catherine's.
The main reason?
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Pippa Middleton's respective engagement rings. Photo: Getty
"Most women still want a diamond," Elle Hill, co-founder of high-end fine jewellery e-tailer Plukka, said.
"A diamond is still a girl's best friend and the fact that her fiance has managed to step outside of convention with the Art Deco setting is a bonus."
The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William admire Cate's engagement ring in 2010.
While Hill says the quality of both rings would be "among the highest quality available for their respective stones, given the means of their purchasers", Middleton's slightly more humble adornment is kinder to the hip pocket of the person doing the proposing and to the finger of who is being proposed to.
"Size-wise, Catherine's is larger – a whopping 12-carat Ceylon sapphire surrounded by about 14 brilliant cut diamonds. Pippa's, on the other hand, is estimated at three to four carats in total. So not only the carat weight but also the millimetre 'footprint' of the ring is much smaller."
Interestingly Hill is now working with Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, who operates her own jewellery line. Aya, an ethical jewellery company inspired by her home country of Africa, is now sold online via Plukka.
Should Harry ever decide to rekindle his romance with Davy, Hill believes he will have his work cut out for him when it comes to the choice of ring.
"Two months' salary is still the rule [for an engagement ring budget]. But a husband who saddles a new wife with wedded debt is not appreciated," she said.
"Chelsy is passionate and uncompromising about using only the best quality gemstones and materials in her jewels. She was very intelligent, articulate and independent-minded, but I expected that."
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Pippa Midddleton
