At Tuesday night’s Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala, Meghan Markle was the center of attention. The Duchess of Sussex arrived with Princess Diana‘s exquisite aquamarine ring and a white off-the-shoulder Louis Vuitton gown.
It had been four years since Markle, 41, reached for the special piece; she memorably debuted it as her “something blue” at her wedding reception with Prince Harry in 2018, and later wore it during the pair’s royal tour of Tonga that same year.
And this week, the duchess may have gravitated toward the bauble for more than just a pop of color.
“It’s interesting to know that the aquamarine’s light blue color symbolizes feelings of sympathy, trust and friendship – particularly ahead of the couple’s upcoming Netflix docuseries,” Maxwell Stone of UK jeweler Steven Stone said in a statement shared with Page Six Style.
Adding that the ring — which features an emerald-cut aquamarine flanked by small solitaire diamonds — “carries a great deal of sentiment” for the royals, Stone explained, “The eye-catching aquamarine was given to Princess Diana by her friend, Lucia Flecha de Lima, and created into a ring by Asprey in 1996.”
And while the jeweler described the stunning sparkler as “no doubt priceless,” he said that an aquamarine ring of equivalent size would be worth “around $98,000.”
he late Princess of Wales first wore the ring — whose center aquamarine is said to weigh in at a whopping 13 carats — during her 1996 tour of Australia. Some have speculated the spectacular stone was intended to stand in for her famous sapphire engagement ring from Prince Charles, following the couple’s highly publicized divorce.
Sadly, Diana only wore it on two occasions before her tragic death in 1997, according to Stone.
In addition to sympathy, trust and friendship, aquamarines are also associated with “tranquility, serenity, clarity, and harmony,” per the jeweler, along with “transformation and rebirth” and “purity, loyalty, hope and truth.”
That made it a fitting choice for the duchess ahead of the premiere of the Sussexes’ much-anticipated Netflix docuseries, “Harry & Meghan,” the first three episodes of which drop Thursday, Dec. 8. (The following three will stream on Dec. 15.)