How to upgrade your engagement ring without losing the sentiment
Zendaya is the latest celebrity to flash her shiny new engagement ring: a huge cushion-cut diamond reportedly by the London jeweller Jessica McCormack, a design that she’d liked on Instagram in 2022. The actress and her fiancé, Tom Holland, are among thousands of couples who became engaged over Christmas. But showing off a new diamond is no longer the preserve of the just-betrothed. Amanda Holden has also revealed her Christmas present from her husband of 16 years, Chris Hughes: a seven-carat oval diamond ring, an “upgrade” on her original engagement ring.
Traditionally, an engagement ring is worn ‘til death do you part. But Holden isn’t alone in swapping hers for a bigger, better version, without trading in her spouse. Victoria Beckham has a wardrobe of engagement rings, including her original marquise-cut diamond alongside gigantic emerald-cut and pear-cut white diamonds, an emerald, a sapphire, and pink and yellow diamonds.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley graduated from a round diamond set in platinum to a yellow-gold, pear-shaped diamond ring by Jessica McCormack, while Hailey Bieber received a supersized version of her already-massive oval diamond when she and Justin renewed their vows in 2024. Even Grace Kelly had two engagement rings: a discreet eternity band with which Prince Rainier proposed, and a stonking 10-carat emerald-cut Cartier diamond that she chose herself.
The upgrade trend is catching on beyond the A-list. “I have a few American clients who upgrade their engagement rings almost on a yearly basis – one couple started out with a diamond of around one carat in 2017, and now they are just shy of five carats,” says Guy Burton, the managing director of Hancocks. He guarantees to buy back any Hancocks engagement ring at the original price paid, to be used as credit towards an upgrade. In theory, that could mean choosing a smaller, better-quality diamond, but says Burton, “they invariably go bigger”. Often, couples will choose a different shaped diamond, he adds, exploring the antique-cut stones in which Hancocks specialises.
But yearly trade-ins are the exception. Generally, couples upgrade at a significant anniversary; say 20 or 30 years, to a ring that better suits their more mature taste – and budget. “What somebody liked in their 20s or 30s differs from what they like when they are 40 or 50,” says Vanessa Chilton, a co-founder of Robinson Pelham jewellers. Most clients want “something a little bigger”, she adds, which “embraces the person they have become rather than conforming to what they thought was the norm when they got engaged”.
While there’s an obvious financial incentive to trade in, most couples are sentimentally attached to their original ring. They might prefer to have the diamond set into a pendant, resized to wear as a pinkie ring – as Beckham seems to have done with at least one of hers – or keep it to pass on to the next generation. “We have made jewellery for clients’ children using gemstones and gold from their original ring. Sometimes customers keep old stones for their children to use at a later date,” says Chilton.
“I loved my original engagement ring and still do, but it wasn’t the most practical choice,” says jewellery editor Charlie Boyd, who last year upgraded her antique opal ring to a five-carat emerald-cut diamond; a much more durable stone for everyday wear. She commissioned British jeweller Laura Vann to create a showstopping ring featuring a rainbow of pastel-hued sapphires. Ten years on from the opal and now in a position to contribute financially towards a sizable diamond, Boyd says the new ring marks a new phase of life. “Our sons are out of their baby years and it felt like the right time to get the type of diamond I’d always wanted.”
Often an upgrade means remodelling the original – whether to better suit your taste, as the Duchess of Sussex did when she had her three-stone diamond ring remounted on a pavé-diamond band, or to mark a growing family, like Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, who added extra diamonds to her ruby-and-diamond ring to symbolise their children.
For yoga teacher Deepa Bidd, a remodelled engagement ring reflected a new chapter for her and her husband, who were engaged in 2011 with a marquise-cut diamond solitaire on a platinum band. “We had a traditional Indian wedding and our original ring very much reflected this,” she says. To celebrate 10 years of marriage and the birth of their baby, she had it reset by jeweller Bear Brooksbank into a chunky yellow gold band, flanked by green sapphires. “I wanted to keep the foundation with the original stone but add something bolder with more personality. The new ring represents me more now than the person I was 10 years ago,” says Deepa.
“Remodelling jewellery generally is becoming more mainstream,” says jeweller Rachel Boston, who works with clients to transform their usually traditional engagement rings into something bolder and more creative. “Both partners tend to be involved in the remodel, so it doesn’t feel like as much of a risk as when one person buys for the other, when they might play it safer. I also think that as remodelling clients are a bit older, they are more assured in their own tastes and not so concerned about what other people might think of their ring.” Something for Tom and Zendaya to bear in mind for 2045.
