Since the Daily Mail and other sites are newly obsessed with the Duchess of Sussex’s jewelry, they decided to write a story about how it appears that Meghan redesigned her engagement ring. Prince Harry famously used diamonds from one of his mother’s jewelry pieces and had Meghan’s engagement ring specially designed. It was a three-stone design, one big diamond with two smaller diamonds on either side, all of it set in yellow gold. It was a lovely design and a lovely message, and I like that Harry repurposed something from his mother’s collection for Meghan, rather than giving her some unaltered piece of his mom’s jewelry for the engagement. That being said, it looks like Meghan asked for the ring to be reset with a different kind of band.
Eagle-eyed royal watchers spot the Duchess now wears her glittering trio of diamonds on a thinner band than the one Harry chose https://t.co/UsyPUtHqer
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) June 24, 2019
Eagle-eyed jewelry experts say – and I agree – that she traded in the yellow gold setting/band for a smaller, more delicate pave diamond band and a subtly altered setting. This new design suits her style more – she definitely favors the smaller, delicate pieces and smaller settings.
Jewellery expert Arabel Lebrusan confirmed the ring appeared to have been changed, and suggested it was more American in style compared to the original engagement ring. Arabel, owner the ethical jewellery brand Arabel Lebrusan, called the thinner band a popular trend at the moment, revealing: ‘Many celebrities do this, as the central stone looks bigger in comparison getting the wow factor.’
At Trooping the Colour and at her Windsor Castle photo call with Prince Harry and newborn son Archie, the Duchess has worn her three engagement diamonds set on a thin micro-pavé band.
Did she do it so the existing diamonds would look bigger, or because the smaller pave setting is more her style? Probably a little bit of both. Still, I bet that was sort of an awkward conversation, especially given the fact that Harry had the original ring made to the specifications of HIS vision. Then again, maybe he just wants her to be happy. Also possible: the ring needed to be resized and Meghan asked for a different setting then.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.
I know my vision isn’t the best, but I cannot see a difference. I feel like the scene in The Devil Wears Prada where they’re all arguing over which of the two identical belts to style the dress with. LOL.
Me too! I said the same thing below before I saw your comment 🤷🏽♀️
LOL Exactly, the ring looks the same to me.
Town and Country Mag has clearer pics. Her band has definitely been changed, and I think the redesign looks really good because now her plain Welsh gold band is like a spacer between her pave ering band and her diamond eternity ring. It’s more balanced.
And Harry is a Virgo- he understands the need for balanced perfection in appearance (or, at least I’m guessing based on the fact that my husband is also a Virgo and has understood my perfectly sensible explanations for my various jewelry needs. ;P ).
Its quite common to alter engagement rings to match/fit with the wedding band – I know several people who’ve done this. It not a big deal.
@DU, Agree with you. This is much ado about nothing. The RRs at the Daily Fail are really sucking for something to write about.
It’s not a huge alteration by any means.
Yeah, big whoop. It’s a minor change. My ex gave me a one carat pear-shaped solitaire diamond set in the ugliest mass produced 14k yellow gold setting I’d ever seen. It was a “Tiffany” style setting which stood up about a 1/4″ from my finger and had the worst diamond cutting on the band EVER. As soon as I could I had him change the band (not a reset; those NYC diamond district guys just chopped off the diamond in its hiddy setting & welded it onto a plain band). As soon as we moved back to LA I had the diamond reset by a goldsmith in a heavy handmade 18K gold bezel setting. Ex didn’t care. I don’t wear it anymore obvs, but it’s now a gorgeous piece.
It looks exactly the same to me.
I question which pictures you’re looking at because she very clearly has a new, much thinner band wth pavé diamonds.
I see an additional band…the original one looks the same to me.
Scroll down to the zoomed in side by side and you’ll be able to see the difference
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/jewelry-and-watches/a28157762/meghan-markle-redesigned-engagement-ring-photos/
I think I’m blind because I can’t tell the difference
Hey Snazzy – it’s the BAND (smooth vs not smooth) not the stones.
See, I can’t even see a real difference in the band, either. To be fair, I haven’t been to an eye doctor since 2016, so it may be time to schedule and appointment…
It depends on what photos you’re looking at. I’ve seen relatively clear recent photos that have a delicate pave compared to the still not large, but much more plain simple gold setting.
I don’t see any difference either. Then again, it’s Monday morning and the world still looks blurry. 🙂
Has there been a single photo of them together aside from TTC, since they introduced Archie?
No but we will see them together for Archie’s christening in the next few weeks.
Hunter, are you implying that there are problems between the two?
Meghan has only made appearances at TTC and Archie’s photocall, so no, there aren’t any other pics, nor would there be.
No because literally we havent seen her after Archie but at Trooping? What kind of dumb was question is that? Huh?
Could it also be so that the band was slimmed (and she just choose a diamond band this time) so that it would fit better with the 2 other rings? Perhaps it didn’t sit well with the thicker band and slimming it makes the 3 feel more comfortable and better stacked? I have a stacked set (Coach, not Royal jewels!) and I twist the stones around so that the bands are able to sit on each other instead of having gaps in between them.
There a more clear pictures out there, the new band is slimmer and has diamonds embedded in it, like the eternity band.
Oh the stacking theory makes sense. I wonder if they picked out the eternity band together and then she decided at the same time to have the band to her e-ring redone so that she could more easily wear all three rings.
thats what i was wondering. my sister in law had to modify her engagement ring setting when she got her wedding band because they didn’t physically fit together. could be that, or she was looking for an excuse to make the ring more her own style. either way, who cares?
When I first saw the engagement ring, my first thought was darn, the band is thin.
It is, but if it’s platinum, it’s strong.
I thought it was gold though, not platinum?
Don’t count on it. My thin platinum band got a crack in it and then broke. Just the band, no diamonds were lost, but I can’t wear it now because I’m too paranoid!
After I had a baby I had to get my rings resized. My fingers got fat…..and stayed that way!! I had a ring whose shape needed to be totally redone because the resizing could have cracked the diamonds in the setting. So maybe the baby changed her hands and thus the ring needed to be changed.
She had the new band at Archies photo-op, aka 3 days post birth. So it’s safe to say it was probably done when pregnant and if she’s sized up then she’ll have to size down again if was up due to swelling. I think she just didn’t like the plain gold band.
My rings didn’t fit at six months and for close to 18 months after – when I lost all the weight. I wore a fake ring. I didn’t care that it was fake but I did care when I’d get off looks from other moms when I wasn’t wearing a ring while holding a baby. Hormones made me insecure and I felt judged. It’s funny to think about it now.
It actually looks like she got a thinner more delicate band and had the pave diamonds added to match the pave band Harry gave her for their anniversary. I personally don’t see a big deal – I would want the rings to match and look good together too. Especially since she prefers to stack her rings. This makes them more complimentary. In all likelihood she probably had to have the ring re-sized anyway post-pregnancy.
It’s definitely a new band. This is the kind of thing where I wonder why she changed it – or why Harry changed it – did she not like the yellow gold, did she need to get it resized so just redid it, etc – but I don’t actually care lol. Her ring, her choice.
It really just seems it was changed to coordinate with her anniversary band from Harry. It creates more cohesion for stacking the rings.
There was a short time, just before she’d given birth, where she was only wearing the Welsh band. I thought it was due to pregnancy swelling. She must’ve had the the e-ring band changed then.
I am mostly surprised by how soon it was done. Which makes it seem like she wasn’t a huge fan of the original band – which I’d be surprised if she didn’t help choose her own ring – or just thought she didn’t like the pave until she got the second ring and wanted more of that. I don’t know. I mean, I’m not the one wearing it, so whatever makes her happy.
Or her fingers changed due to the pregnancy, which sped up the process of coordinating the two rings. It’s quite common for fingers to change size and not return following pregnancy.
I wonder if she didn’t like the two solid gold bands together with the eternity band, and she prefers the look of diamond, gold, diamond?
But I agree that the timing is mostly what surprises me. Not even how soon after the wedding relatively, but I read that she had the new band during the photocall with Archie, so she clearly got it during pregnancy or around his birth, and I wouldnt want to deal with ring sizings and such during late pregnancy. I also swelled like a blimp, LOL.
Oh absolutely. I’m just mainly surprised at how soon she changed the STYLE. I would have thought she’d have gotten it resized, or gotten a new band that looked essentially the same. But I also don’t live the life of someone who’s given a diamond eternity band after a year of marriage, so it’s a whole different lifestyle ahha. My five year is this august, I think I’m going to need to hit up the husband for some new bling (not really, but I can dream lol).
Becks – I think you’re right with that. I bet it’s more the order of the rings looking better as diamond gold diamond.
@MrsBanjo – oh isn’t that the truth, about fingers not going back to pre-pregnancy size. My youngest is 4.5 and my rings still just barely fit. (like I can wear them, but not in warm weather and I am always a little nervous about getting them off, lol.) I just need to get them resized but I’m being stubborn about it.
I posted my op below but if you look at her old ring with her ex-husband it has a lot more diamonds. I think this change is pretty consistent with her past ring styles. I have to say I like both settings!
I’d bet she needed it re-sized (pregnancy changes the size of everything!) and they made it part of her 1st anniversary present.
I like that she likes subtle jewelry. I
Eh her ring, her hand, her choice…but she had to have known the optics of this would not be great (ungrateful! it was a gift! demanding Meg!) and that the tabloids would be all over it.
I can’t quite gather if Megan is getting bad advice, or if she really doesn’t give a sh*t what the tabloids think/say about her? This isn’t the first time she’s done something that is 100% NORMAL for a ‘normal’ person, but a bit fodder for the tabs/let them eat cake-y for a royal whose income comes from the public purse. (I’m looking at that ridiculously expensive Ralph and Russo outfit, and then the 5-6 figure Givenchy outfit, the same week the pound MASSIVELY dipped).
It’s like the tabloids are a huge dumpster fire, which she keeps chucking logs on.
Actually Clare all she is doing is living her life – despite the criticism. Because no matter what she does it will never be “the right thing”.
And as a black woman I’m sick of people thinking that Meghan should alter her behavior to make racist and bigoted folks happy. It’s just another form of tone-policing and control.
Apparently you also can’t quite gather how to spell her name correctly.
ARF! (Dogwhistle.) None of you lot will ever be satisfied, so why should she bother trying? Of course she doesn’t give a sh*t what the tabs say. Why should she? It’s unrelenting bollox. Caring about it would be the bigger mistake.
“Apparently you also can’t quite gather how to spell her name correctly.”
Let’s remember that some people are typing on phones and autocorrect takes over before jumping on them when a name shows up with the more common spelling.
Lmao what is this comment? She’s allowed to modify her own jewelry if she wants.
Concern troll alert! The only people who think this is bad optics are the same people who have been criticizing Meghan for every little thing she does since the engagement was announced. Meghan shouldn’t have to stop enjoying life because of tabloids and internet trolls. I think her ring looks much better with this band.
I’m sorry Melissa, this is not true. You’re welcome to go through past comments – you will find that I have in the past been quite complimentary and fond of Meghan – certainly with her willingness to work. Unlike out other Duchess.
It’s a little bizarre to label any comment you disagree with as coming from a ‘troll’. But hey whatever makes you feel better.
@Clare she wasn’t calling you a troll. She said you were “concern trolling” which you were. And if you don’t understand what that means please take the time to educate yourself on it. Because your comment was textbook concern trolling.
Concern trolling: the action or practice of disingenuously expressing concern about an issue in order to undermine or derail genuine conversation.
I think it’s bizarre that you think Meghan should stop living life because of tabloid comments. She is not doing anything differently than other royal women, yet people are only concerned about Meghan’s optics. She’s not the only one who wears expensive clothes and jewelry or had renovations done to her home. It seems like lately Meghan is the only royal family member who can’t publicly enjoy her status.
“It seems like lately Meghan is the only royal family member who can’t publicly enjoy her status.”
I wonder why that is! Perfectly sums up why the treatment of her is racist, even if people aren’t outright using slurs against her or whatever. Some people just don’t think she should be allowed to live the life of royalty. Full stop.
Can you really call something “bad optics” if you have to magnify a picture to even see it? And if it takes six weeks for it to even be noticed (she was wearing it in the photocell with Archie according to Town & Country)?
Maybe she doesn’t follow the tabloids at all, which is good for her emotional health and good for their marriage.
Clare is not concern trolling, she simply makes a valid point that anything a member of the BRF does is subject to higher level of media and public scrutiny.
More alarming is how, in the rush to defend Meghan’s spending or lifestyle choices, we are, in essence, freshly defending the excesses and unearned privileges of an anachronistic, unelected and systemically racist, patriarchal and elitist institution that makes no sense in this day and age. But hey, shiny things.
The new band also makes the stones look bigger.
I love how they have to throw in that it’s MORE AMERICAN and CELEBRITIES DO THIS. Pavé bands are classic – you see it in British jewelry, too.
Yeah, I noticed that ‘American’ comment. So silly.
Did MM start biting her nails? They look quite short.
I noticed her nails too, and the first thing I thought was I remember those days. Those are ‘I have a newborn’ nails.
Or maybe she bites them, who knows?
I felt for her when I saw that photo…that, to me, looks like the hand of a woman who washes her hands 2938472938472 times a day. I had post partum anxiety (worried about germs) and my hands looked rough from all the washing. Especially seeing the contrast between her engagement photo hand and her newborn-having hand, I wondered about that. Either way, she definitely has a newborn and has little to no time to make sure her hands look groomed.
Diana’s famous ring had its setting altered. 10 prongs were added around the sapphire. Much ado about nothing. My guess is she wanted a slightly thinner band because adding an eternity ring made stacking difficult.
@Rapunzel That’s right!! Great point, I had completely forgotten about that. Diana’s ring was altered. Funny, that wasn’t brought up in the Daily Fail article.
I prefer the original to the squareness of the new band.
I love people are actually finding a way to make this a bad thing or something Meghan needs to be blamed for. We have no idea why the band for her ring was changed but of course it must be because Meghan didn’t like her ring or she’s ungrateful when it could’ve just been a gift from Harry but that’s not even a consideration it’s just always time to shut on Meghan. I also love how everybody has decided that her eternity ring is a push present even though there’s been no confirmation of that either. Meghan has had the modified engagement ring since the day Archie was introduced why is it a problem now?
It’s not a big deal. I think some people enjoy being offended when it comes to Meghan. The fact that she even exists seems to bother a lot of women. I wonder if these people understand how much power they are giving Meghan by constantly hating on her every day?
I can’t remember the last time a post about her on the DM got less than 1,000 comments. I honestly thought they’d have exhausted themselves by now. It’s insane.
No matter what she does, it will always be controversial.
I realize that I own no real jewels and I know nothing about jewlery but I cant see a difference. Regardless I think she probably did it to suit her style more, it’s a beautiful ring.
The difference is clearer here.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/luxury/2019/06/24/ring1_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpg?imwidth=1240
Perfect. And upon seeing this, I actually prefer the original setting.
I do too, I think the stones are too heavy for the delicacy of the new band. I’d like it better if it were the same width of the eternity band.
The new setting works better and is more flattering so I’m glad Meghan changed it.
I think it looks better too. She’s fond of stacking rings, and it just looks right with the solid gold in the middle, pave bands on either side.
Agree, this fits a lot with her preference for stacking rings.
How do we know it was her idea.?
I say her ring, her choice! If she has to wear it every day I think she should totally be in love with it.
I’ve been a Meghan fan since she was on Suits, so I remember her ring with her ex as I was ring shopping around the same time and it was quite the sparkler ( https://www.elitedaily.com/p/photos-of-meghan-markles-first-engagement-ring-are-actually-really-gorgeous-8191260)! I always thought the switch to her current ring style was a change in her personal style; I did not end up marrying the person I was ring shopping with/for and now looking back at the rings I initially favored I would not pick them for myself again as my style has changed too (and I don’t really want a reminder of that time anyway).
I like this change in her ring tho, maybe it’s the grainy photos but you can see the difference, although I think it’s quite delicate and understated much like her overall taste!
The style of her previous ring was very early 2000s.
Thanks for that link it is interesting to see what her engagement/wedding ring set from her first marriage was like. Definitely has that stackable, multi-band thing going on.
I assume she’s like me and has shorter fingers. If I wear too wide a ring it practically touches my knuckle and I get irritation from water trapped under the ring aftereadhing hands.
Maybe that’s why Harry looked so put out at TTC?
I kid. I love a guy who understands that the recipient has to wear it and needs to be comfortable with it. My husband gave me his grandmother’s ring and it had beautiful stones but just an awful setting. He said I could design whatever I wanted even before I had a chance to fake how much I loved it.
It seems like a bit of a stretch to turn her changing out the band, which there are many valid reasons to do (all listed in comments above), into a “redesign”. They really are stretching for thing to bitch about.
Maybe her husband did a redesign to balance the eternity band.
This just another hit piece because they have no access.
Soon RRs will be writing about designer toilet with special perfumes being delivered to Frogmore Cottage.
Interesting how all the articles say “Meghan redesigned her ring!” As if Harry had no input, or it could have been his idea in the first place. Maybe when he got the eternity band the jeweler suggested he re-do the engagement band too. After all, if I am a jeweler, I’m going to try and rack up all the business I can!
And what if the re-design was all Meghan’s idea, big deal. It’s her rings that she wears every day, she can re-design them as she sees fit and it’s 2019 so a woman doesn’t need her husband to manage her rings in order for it to be acceptable to change them.
Exactly. She didn’t make a huge change, just one which was probably more comfortable for her. Not a big deal.
This is an object lesson for couples who are buying each other wedding rings, and it cuts both ways. Find out ahead of time what your intended would really like. For example, my nephew wanted a sci-fi looking wide black irridescent titanium wedding band, so that’s what he got, even though I’m sure his wife would have preferred a plain gold band for him. Another friend wanted a grey-black diamond solitaire, so that’s what she got. Yet another friend wanted (and got) a two carat emerald-cut emerald in a plain heavy gold band (was sick with envy over that one; it was Angelina-worthy). It’s not hard to communicate about this stuff ahead of time.
Harry surprised her with the proposal and engagement ring. If they decided to redesign it together later, or she did it herself, who cares? Eugenie designed her ring, Fergie wanted a ruby not the emerald Andrew picked, Diana added prongs to hers, Fred added two diamonds to Mary’s engagement ring after the twins were born.
Oh dear MsIam, did you not get the memo? The one where it was decided that Harry has no say in his own life whatsoever. Furthermore, while Harry is in his mid-30’s, is a veteran and the actual “royal” in the couple it has been decided that Meghan gets to make any and all decisions, because she’s American, an actress and bi-racial, Harry can hold her purse. *sarcasm, loads of it*
I had to wonder if she resized her rings during pregnancy…I am an everyday ring wearer and thinner bands slide over my fingers easier if they swell with warm temperatures. I do see how the delicate jewelry is more her style and proportionate to her small build.
When I saw the ring during the engagement call I was underwhelmed. I’m glad she changed out the gold band, it was ugly. Harry prob did it to match the gold wedding band.
I don’t understand the comments on this story. I feel like I missed something. Is there an article making it seem like Meghan’s a diva for changing the ring? All I’ve read is articles about her changing it. I haven’t read the negative. A royal changes her engagement ring, which her husband the prince spoke about and he designed, we are going to notice. Kate would be worse with Diana’s ring. She couldn’t change a tiny bit even if she wanted to. Meghan’s isn’t a big change, but noticeable. Do wonder a bit how it was brought up if your husband designed your ring, could be a bit awkward. It does seem more her style, but will the very thin band hold up the stones well.
I’m currently pregnant, and my wedding band doesn’t really fit me at the moment. I’m waiting to see if my fingers will go back to their normal size after giving birth, but otherwise I’ll have to get it resized as well. Luckily, the resizing would be free of charge.
Who in the god damn hell cares??????