Popping the big question can be one of the priciest events of your life. According to a recent report by Jewelers of America, couples spend an average $4,000 on the engagement ring alone.
But when celebrity couples get engaged, their often public declaration of commitment is symbolized by a rock that can easily get into seven-figure territory.
Here are some of the most expensive and extravagant engagement rings out there:
1) When NBA player, Kris Humphries proposed to Kim Kardashian, he went straight to her favorite jeweler, Lorraine Schwartz. He bought a 16.21 emerald-cut center stone ring with 1.8 side diamonds that cost $2 million. When the marriage didn’t work out, it was sold for $749,000 at a Christie’s auction in New York.
When Kanye West proposed to Kim in 2013, he presented her with a smaller rock – a 15-carat cushion-cut diamond ring. However, the flawless color and clarity makes this ring worth a reported $7 million to $8 million.
2) Rapper Jay-Z put an 18-carat emerald-cut ring on Beyonce Knowles. Valued at $5 million, it cost over more than six figures just to insure a ring of this value each year. The top-earning power couple, with a combined net worth of over a billion dollars, was named the highest-paid celebrity couple of 2012 by Forbes.
3) Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton with his family’s royal jewels, a 12-carat sapphire, with 14 diamonds surrounding the center stone. Originally his mother’s engagement ring in 1981, Princess Diana’s sapphire ring was worth a reported $43,000 then. Today it’s worth more than 10 times the original value, according to jeweler to the stars, Vashi Dominguez. And the “Kate Effect” resulted in the soaring popularity of sapphire stones, with retail sales increasing by 300% after the royal engagement.
4) In 1998, former Spice Girl, Victoria Beckham, said yes to soccer star David Beckham when he proposed with a marquis-shaped diamond ring worth a reported $100,000. Over the past 15 years, she’s collected over 13 engagement rings valued at approximately $6.5 million.
5) Elizabeth Taylor had one of the most extensive private jewelry collections in the world. Her fifth husband, Richard Burton, gifted her with famous Krupp Diamond, a 33-carat ring. Taylor’s jewels were auctioned for a record $116 million in 2011, and the Krupp diamond sold for more than $8.8 million.