Questions about Meghan Markle’s jewelery look set to overshadow her appearance on the cover of Time magazine, amid a growing mystery surrounding the ring on her right pinky finger.
Yesteday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle denied claims that the ring, reportedly made by celebrity jeweler Lorraine Schwartz and worth an estimated $62,000, was fashioned with diamonds gifted to the couple by a mystery donor in the Middle East.
They said the ring was sourced by a stylist on the shoot directly from the designer and that there was no link to a mystery donor in the Middle East.
But in a spectacular u-turn, they later rolled back the denial, and clarified that they were referring only to a ring on Meghan’s left hand – a $525 pinky ring from Shiffon, which is meant to represent women’s empowerment
There was no further mention made of the Lorraine Schwartz ring in question on her right hand, begging the question of whether Meghan has something to hide about the provenance of the diamond.
Meghan sported a staggering $445,000 worth of jewelry while posing for the cover of Time’s most influential people issue alongside her husband Prince Harry, including the Lorraine Schwartz piece that’s been spotted on her hand several times.
She debuted it for another Time shoot back in October 2020 – when Page Six claimed that Lorraine Schwartz’ who ‘fashioned [it] from a gift of diamonds that the couple received from the Middle East.’
It comes after Meghan was criticized earlier this year when it emerged she wore a pair of dazzling diamond earrings on her tour of Fiji in October 2018 that were a wedding gift from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who’s been accused of ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Meghan Markle sported a staggering $384,000 worth of jewelry while posing for the cover of Time’s most influential people issue alongside her husband Prince Harry (pictured)
Meghan Markle wore a $62,000 ring (pictured) for her Time cover shoot, first debuted in 2020, when it was reported that the piece was made with diamonds gifted to the couple from the MIddle East
Meghan debuted the piece, reportedly made by celebrity jeweler Lorraine Schwartz, for a photo
The pinky ring modeled by Meghan on her Time cover has been valued at $62,000 – adding another hefty price tag to her already-impressive collection of jewels.
Speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, Alexandra Michell Gemologist Prestige Pawnbrokers of Channel 4’s Posh Pawn commented: ‘It’s a simple emerald cut diamond on band, which is usually high clarity due to the cut. I’m estimating this as 1.50cts high colour (D) high clarity (internally flawless) and to be worth around $62,039 (£45,000).’
Anthony French, diamond expert at Austen & Blake commented: ‘I would say it is approximately 2ct emerald solitaire. I would suspect it to be worth around $62- $69,000.’
Laura Lambert, Founder of Fenton added: ‘Meghan has selected an emerald cut bezel set solitaire, which is a traditional engagement ring style. Wearing it as a pinky ring is Meghan’s modern take on a classic style with a diamond, which in this size and scale is usually worn on the engagement or cocktail ring finger.’
After denying that Meghan was wearing a ring made with diamonds gifted from the Middle East, her reps clarified that they were referring only to the pinky ring on her left hand. Among the jewelry she sported were two $525 diamond Duet Pinky Rings, from New York-based brand Shiffon, which are meant to represent female empowerment
According to Page Six, Meghan ‘turned to celebrity jeweler Lorraine Schwartz to fashion the ring from a gift of diamonds that the couple received from the Middle East.’ Pictured, the jewelry on the Times magazine cover
Other trinkets worn by the Duchess for the shoot include the Cartier Tank watch that once belonged to Princess Diana and was gifted to her by her husband in the early days of their relationship, which she paired with a $6,900 Cartier Love bangle.
In March this year, the royal was criticized by a lawyer fighting for justice for murdered Jamal Khashoggi over her decision to wear diamond earrings in Fiji in 2018, given to her by the man accused of ordering the brutal killing.
Michael Eisner, who heads a human rights group founded by Mr Khashoggi three months before his death, claimed the stunning chandelier earrings were ‘bought with blood money’ by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Duchess of Sussex attends a reception and dinner hosted by the President of Fiji at the Grand Pacific Hotel, Suva, Fiji, October 2018 wearing the earrings
He said he was ‘baffled’ that the Duchess did not know the Prince, known as MBS, was linked to the murder when she wore the earrings at a State dinner, or his appalling human rights record.
‘Those earrings were bought with blood money and given to her by a murderer,’ said Mr Eisner, chief operating officer of Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn). ‘She has no business wearing them.’
The Chopard earrings were presented to the Queen by the Crown Prince as an official gift for Meghan on her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.
BRUTAL DEATH: Journalist Jamal Khashoggi
The Duchess wore them on the first night of a visit with her husband to Fiji on October 23, 2018 – three weeks after Mr Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and when there were prominent media reports linking MBS to the shocking assassination.
The Duchess’s lawyers insisted that at the time of the dinner she was unaware of speculation that MBS was involved in Mr Khashoggi’s murder.
At the time, the Kensington Palace press office told the media that the earrings had been ‘borrowed’ but did not say from whom. While the Royal Family’s guidelines regarding the acceptance and ownership of gifts were adhered to, The Mail on Sunday learned that Palace aides were frustrated that the earrings were worn.
‘Nowhere in the gift policy does it say you have to wear them,’ one source said.
It is understood the diamond earrings were presented by MBS as a wedding gift for Meghan during his three-day State visit to Britain in March 2018. Court Circular records show he had lunch with the Queen and Prince Andrew at Buckingham Palace on March 7, 2018. There is no suggestion he gave the earrings to the Duchess in person, or indeed has even met her.
It is understood the earrings were logged on an official register of gifts and that Meghan was informed about them in July 2018. They were then selected as part of the jewelery collection to accompany the Duke and Duchess on a 16-day tour of Fiji, Tonga, Australia and New Zealand.
Every detail on such tours is meticulously planned months in advance, including the clothes and jewelery to be worn at each event. The couple were accompanied on the Fiji and Tonga leg of their tour by the hugely experienced Sir David Manning, a former British ambassador to the US and Tony Blair’s former foreign policy adviser.
On October 18 – five days before Meghan wore the earrings – The Times newspaper reported how a close circle of officials and security officers around MBS had emerged as the focus of the investigation into what had happened to Mr Khashoggi.
Lawyers for Meghan told The Times that although she may have said they were borrowed, every relevant member of staff knew who they were from. They added that she was unaware of the rumours at the time that the Crown Prince was involved in the murder.
Lauren Kiehna, author of royal jewellery blog The Court Jeweller, said: ‘What was unusual was the statement the jewels were ‘borrowed’ without explaining who owned them. When jewels are borrowed from the Queen, the Palace generally says so.’
The Duchess wore the earrings for a second time on November 14, 2018 – to Prince Charles’s 70th birthday party at Buckingham Palace. This prompted an aide to confront Harry about the earrings, according to The Times. The Prince was reported to have looked ‘shocked’ that people knew where the earrings came from.
Mr Khashoggi, who wrote for the Washington Post, was killed and dismembered by a Saudi hit squad inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. His body has never been recovered. An explosive CIA report released by US President Joe Biden nine days ago claimed MBS approved Mr Khashoggi’s murder.
The Crown Prince, who is Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Prime Minister and day-to-day ruler, has said he bears responsibility for the murder ‘because it happened under my watch’, but has denied prior knowledge of the execution.
The Dawn human rights group and Hatice Cengiz, Mr Khashoggi’s fiancee, last year filed a lawsuit against MBS and 20 alleged co-conspirators in a US court.
The Saudi royal family has regularly given jewellery to their British counterparts. Royal jewellery expert Lauren Kiehna said Princess Diana received a suite of diamond and sapphire jewels from Crown Prince Fahd as a wedding present in 1981, and the Duchess of Cornwall received three suites of jewellery during her official visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2006.