Wives are upgrading their engagement rings as men often choose ‘safe’ designs when proposing 

It’s a trend favoured by Victoria Beckham and the Duchess of Sussex. 

Now many other married women are opting to upgrade or change engagement rings.

Jewellers say men tend to pick a ‘safe’ design to propose with, but some wives later tailor it to their own taste when the couple can afford to. 

Emma Clarkson Webb, based in London’s Hatton Garden jewellery quarter, told The Sunday Times: ‘It’s not uncommon to want to upgrade or enlarge stone size with an engagement ring. 

‘Often this is done to celebrate a milestone anniversary.’

Prince Harry proposed to Meghan with a ring he designed, but she later replaced the gold band with one set with diamonds

Fellow jeweller Rachel Boston said: ‘When one partner is choosing the ring alone, it’s understandable they want to pick something relatively safe. 

‘But when designing together you can opt for something you truly love.’

When Prince Harry first proposed to Meghan Markle in November 2017, he presented her with a dazzler he had designed with the help of the late Queen Elizabeth’s favoured jeweller Cleave & Company.

In a bid to make the ring as meaningful as possible, the centre stone was a Botswana diamond, which alluded to the Duke and Duchess’s trip to the African nation early on in their relationship. The two other stones had belonged to Princess Diana.

Speaking in their engagement interview, Harry said he had designed the ring with a yellow gold band because it was Meghan’s ‘favourite’.

He added: ‘The little diamonds either side are from my mother’s jewelry collection, to make sure she’s with us on this crazy journey together.’

Describing the band as ‘beautiful’, the Duchess mused over how her fiancé had designed the ring, and said it was ‘incredible’. 

However, at the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 2019, royal fans noticed the Duchess’s ring appeared to be slightly altered. 

As the Duchess made her appearance, she had added a band to her ring collection which was an eternity ring. Prince Harry had gifted it to his wife to mark their first wedding anniversary.

However the Duchess had also made changes to her original engagement ring, replacing the yellow gold band Harry had chosen with a micro-pavé band instead.

David Beckham’s wife has worn over a dozen rings on her engagement finger.