On October 12 2018, five years ago today, Princess Eugenie wed her partner of eight years Jack Brooksbank in a gorgeous ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
The couple first met in 2010 at the popular ski resort Verbier in Switzerland, somewhere Eugenie often holidayed with her parents, before she and Jack made their public debut as a duo at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April 2011.
The couple had a long-distance relationship for two years from 2013 until 2015, when the Princess got a job in New York with auction house Paddle8, however they kept their romance alive through regular Skype calls.
They became engaged in 2018 while on holiday in Nicaragua, with Eugenie later describing the moment he got down on one knee: “The lake was so beautiful. The light was just a special light I had never seen.
“I actually said this is an incredible moment, and then he popped the question, which was really surprising even though we have been together seven years. I was over the moon.”
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Jack proposed to Eugenie with a stunning ring of “rare pink padparadscha sapphire of about three carats”, with a Diamonds Factory expert describing it as “surrounded by 10 round diamond solitaires, plus two pear-shaped diamonds on each side where the ring’s band meets the centre setting. The ring’s setting and band are yellow gold.”
It was estimated earlier this year to be worth around £100,000.
But Tony French, jewellery expert and regional sales manager at Diamonds Factory has evaluated how much her engagement ring would be worth now, five years since her engagement.
He said: “I’d say that there are many varying degrees of reports on this ring. Some specialists say that it can have a value up to £250,000 potentially, and others a more conservative value of £30,000 to £55,000 irrespective of what was paid for it.
“With our new King on the throne over this past year, and ongoing interest in the Royal Family, along with inflation, I would be comfortable insuring the item for around £130,000.”
Experts described the rare sapphire at the centre of the ring, explaining: “Padparadscha sapphires are the most expensive of all sapphire colours. This is because they exhibit a rare pink-orange colour that is very hard to find.
“All sapphires are formed from a mineral called corundum. Corundum is colourless in its purest form. But if trace elements are present during its formation, they can change colour. For instance, when iron and titanium are present, corundum becomes a blue sapphire.
“Padparadscha sapphires are coloured by iron and chromium, which is a trace element combination that rarely occurs in nature. This results in a striking mix of pink and orange hues.”
