The Lavish Gifts Kate Middleton Has Received From Prince William

Updated on 8/30/2019 at 10:35 AM

Diamonds are a girl's best friend. And sapphires, garnets, pearls, and green amethysts . . . Being in a relationship with a prince, the bar is set sky high when it comes to gift giving on special occasions, but luckily for Kate Middleton, Prince William has more than stepped up to the mark. Take a look at some of the jewelry the prince has given his lady love over the years.

The first significant token of William's affection seems to be this rose-gold Victorian ring studded with pearls and garnets. Kate started wearing it in 2005 when they had been dating for around 18 months, and it is given even more meaning as pearls are William's birthstone and garnets are Kate's.

Fast-forward five years, one breakup, and one trip to Kenya, and William presented Kate with one of the most famous pieces of jewelry in the world: his late mother's 12-carat Ceylon sapphire engagement ring. The stone is surrounded by 14 diamonds and set in 18-carat white gold.

It's tradition for royal brides to wear a wedding ring made from a lump of Welsh gold owned by the family, and Kate was no exception. Her life-changing move onto the public stage was symbolized by a modest band of yellow gold.

Some time around the engagement and wedding, William gave his bride another of his mother's possessions: a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings that matched her engagement ring. Diana had worn them as studs on many occasions, but Kate had them remodeled as drops and debuted them on the Canadian tour three months after her big day.

The first time Kate wore her green amethyst and diamond earrings by her favorite designer, Kiki McDonough, was on Christmas Day 2011. It seems as though they were her Christmas present from William marking their first festive season as a married couple.

There has long been a tradition of extravagant royal "push presents" over the generations — usually jewelry — and when Kate gave birth to Prince George, there was plenty of speculation as to what it would be. It seems as though the most likely candidate was a slim diamond eternity ring by Annoushka, which Kate started wearing alongside her wedding band and iconic sapphire early in 2014.

Sticking with the significant sapphires that he'd previously given her, for their third wedding anniversary it was reported that William gifted Kate with a designer watch embedded with one of the tiny blue stones. He presented her with the Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch just before they set off on their tour of Australia and New Zealand last year, and she wore it every day that they were away.