Editor’s Note
This article discusses the reported size and value of Cristiano Ronaldo’s engagement ring for Georgina Rodríguez, based on expert appraisals. The details highlight the ring’s place among other famous celebrity jewels.
The diamond ring that football icon Cristiano Ronaldo used to propose to his longtime partner, Georgina Rodríguez, could be up to 50 carats, appraisers told Forbes, making it larger than the famous sparklers given to Mariah Carey, Kim Kardashian, and Lauren Sánchez.
Rodríguez announced the couple’s engagement after eight years of dating on Monday with a photo that focused on her ring.
Kristian Spofforth, a jewelry specialist at Heritage Auctions, said the diamond appears to be an oval-cut stone of approximately 50 carats with a D color grade (the highest on the scale) and likely a VVS1 clarity or better.
Traditional diamonds are valued in part by their proximity to colorless on a scale from D to Z and based on their clarity or flawlessness (a VVS1 is the second-highest clarity rating and means a stone only has minor inclusions that are difficult for a skilled grader to see under 10x magnification).
The metal used for Rodríguez’s ring is not immediately clear from the images published online, but Spofforth said, “the setting is elegant, minimalist, and perfectly designed to showcase the natural beauty of the stone.”
Gemologist appraiser Deborah Villepigue said she estimates the center stone is slightly larger, between 55 and 60 carats, and that the ring is worth approximately $3 million.
Few stars have flaunted diamonds larger than Rodríguez’s, but two stand out.
Colección Ron Galella vía Getty Images
Rodríguez’s ring is larger than the initial Harry Winston ring Burton used to propose to Taylor in 1968, which featured a 33.19-carat Asscher-cut diamond. Reportedly, Burton outbid Winston himself for that ring at $305,000, the highest price ever paid at auction for a diamond ring at the time.
Rodríguez’s ring also surpasses in size some of the most talked-about celebrity rings in recent times, including the 35-carat emerald-cut ring that Mariah Carey gave to billionaire James Packer, designed by Wilfredo Rosado and valued at $10 million.
Other famous rings include the 15-carat, $8 million cushion-cut diamond ring by Lorraine Schwartz that Kim Kardashian received from Kanye West, and the 30-carat, $5 million pink diamond that billionaire Jeff Bezos used to propose to Lauren Sánchez.
Ronaldo, 40, was ranked by Forbes as the world’s highest-paid athlete this year. He is estimated to have earned $275 million last year and, in 2020, became the first active team-sport athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings.
Besides a lifetime contract with Nike and other sponsorships, Ronaldo earns off-field income from his CR7-branded clothing, accessories, hotels, and gyms.
