You've probably heard that you should set aside a certain number of months' salary to put towards a diamond engagement ring. After all, an engagement ring is among the most important purchases you'll ever make in your life, so it's worth investing as much as you can afford. But what's the most anyone has ever spent on an engagement ring?

It could be that Jay-Z, who famously called the ring he bought for Beyoncethe most expensive engagement ring in the world” takes the prize for the most money spent on an engagement ring. The jaw-droppingly gorgeous ring features a flawless 8-carat diamond in a diamond-studded platinum setting and is thought to have cost about $5 million. With a ring like that, it’s a wonder that Beyonce and Jay-Z didn’t have to hire extra security just to watch out for the ring!

Eternity by Yoni top 3 most expensive engagement rings:


Let’s take a look at some other big-ticket engagement rings and see how B’s ring measures up.

  • When the United Kingdom’s Prince Charles proposed to his second wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles, he presented her with a ring fit for a queen. The heirloom, Art Deco ring sports an emerald-cut center stone crowned with six diamond baguettes for a total value of $1 million.
  • Even though the wedding never took place, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez sure dropped a fortune on her engagement ring. After the wedding was called off, J-Lo sold her 6.1 carat radiant-cut pink Harry Winston diamond ring worth between $1.5 and $2 million.
  • When it came time for Tom Cruise to propose to Katie Holmes, he had no problem showing his jeweler the money, dropping $1.5 million on an Edwardian-style oval diamond engagement ring.
  • Some celebrity watchers were shocked when Michael Douglas asked Catherine Zeta Jones, who is exactly 25 years younger than him, to be his wife. And the shock was certainly doubled when they caught a glimpse of her antique 10-carat marquise cut diamond ring, which was valued at about $2 million at the time of purchase.
  • Back in 1968 the prize for “world’s most expensive engagement ring” went to former first lady Jackie Kennedy, who accepted a $2.6 million ring with an astounding 40 carats of diamonds from shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
  • Real-estate developer and entrepreneur Donald Trump has never been known for his subtlety, so it is no surprise that the ring he chose for wife #3 Melania Knauss was as big as his ego. Melania’s 15-carat emerald cut diamond engagement ring cost The Donald $3 million.
  • The relationship didn’t last as long as the buzz did, but when Paris Hilton auctioned off the 24-carat emerald cut diamond engagement ring from her fiancée (also named Paris), it netted a record-breaking $4.7 million for charity.

So it looks like Beyonce does get to claim ownership over the world’s most expensive engagement ring (at least until some billionaire comes forward with an even pricier expensive diamond engagement ring, and then we will see how has the most expensive engagement ring)!

stay tuned for World’s Most Expensive Rings