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The only thing American expatriate Kelly Harris likes better than the British royal family is their jewellery collection. Enamoured with their elaborate diamond tiaras and bespoke emerald brooches, she remembers being positively giddy over Princess Diana's 18kt blue sapphire engagement ring.
Surprisingly, the ring itself was not exclusive. Anyone with US$65,000 could have bought it from the catalogue of London jeweller Garrard. In 1981, Harris was a preteen and years away from affording anything near to its grandeur. 
She promised herself that one day, when she had enough money, she would copy that ring and wear it proudly as a fairy-tale princess-in-training.
After Princess Diana's son, Prince William, proposed to Kate Middleton and presented her with his mother's iconic ring, suddenly, young women who were not even born in 1981  discovered that ring as though it were something new. 
A new generation of royal watchers have set off a sort of bling-filled running of the bulls. Sapphires are flying off the shelves around  the world.
'In March, we were completely sold out of Burmese, Ceylon and Madagascar sapphires,' says JJ Abram,  salon manager at the family-owned luxury jewellery house Ronald Abram.
Terry Chu, deputy head of jewellery at Sotheby's, also reports strong sales of jewellery featuring the stunning blue gemstone at this month's auction.
 This spring and summer, expect to see tai-tais sporting rare Kashmir sapphire rings and necklaces, such as those found at Chaumet and Van Cleef & Arpels, in an awe-inducing cornflower blue. Chaumet's latest collection also features a stunning sapphire and diamond tiara, perfectly timed for the summer wedding season. 
 The rest will be showcasing the beautiful colours of tanzanite and aquamarines in large yet more affordable settings.
One also cannot ignore the allure and impact of record-setting auction prices for fancy blue diamonds in Hong Kong either. The knock-on effect has been enormous, jewellers say, bringing all fancy-coloured diamonds into the consciousness of consumers who otherwise would have been shopping for traditional white diamonds.  
As blue and pink diamonds are extremely rare, they are also very valuable. 
If you can afford one, it would be the highest form of fashion. If you want to admire one, check out Christie's 13kt Marquise-cut  fancy blue diamond at its spring auction next month. 
From Graff to Tiffany, yellow diamonds continue to dominate  advertising  and sales, continuing the trend of the past five years. Their relative abundance means you get more bang for your buck. 'Yellow diamonds are priced less than a white diamond of comparable size, allowing the wearer to enjoy a significantly larger diamond,'  Abram says.
Still, at more than HK$80,000 a carat for a 3kt fancy yellow diamond, yellows are not on everyone's shopping list. 
Cash-strapped fashionistas may instead opt for a gorgeously designed yellow topaz or citrine ring, bearing in mind that true art pieces can also be moderately expensive. The benefit is their low risk. 
On the other hand, yellow diamonds can be difficult to understand, so there is some risk in their purchase. The best way to hedge that risk is to find a jeweller you can trust and who specialises in coloured diamonds.
Jade, always popular with Chinese clients, is making considerable sales advancements. And emeralds are showing up in collections of haute joaillerie and on the auction block to wide acclaim. A somewhat expensive alternative is the tsavorite, a rising star with a comparable colour to emeralds.
Van Cleef & Arpels recently launched its Magic Alhambra Pave Diamonds collection, creating a unique stone-setting architecture designed to highlight the stones and minimise the metal.  
 One gem never goes out of style - the colourless diamond. Arnaud Bastien,  Graff's general manager for Hong Kong and Greater China, says demand for colourless diamonds of about  3kt is incessant. 'But the supply is limited and new pieces are literally sold out within a few days, if not hours.'
He explains the allure of a 3kt gem: 'It immediately sets the customer to a certain level, but it remains still very easy to wear. It's big but not too big.'
Having said that, jewellers say the uber-wealthy are looking for show-stopping gems of more than 10kt.  The trend is for one spectacular stone, be it rare or semi-precious, unadulterated and glimmering in all its glory. This fashion helps second-tier gemstones to make an impact.  
Stephen Urquhart, president of Omega, also points to a trend in the colour of the setting. 
'The   trend in Hong Kong has leaned towards yellow gold,' he says. 'There is room for experimentation in fashion and trends in any season. They reflect moods that can change daily.'
Each season, there is always a dark horse. This year, it looks to be the colour red. Red, signifying good luck, is an auspicious colour for Chinese, and rare, unheated Burmese rubies have always been fashionable for the high rollers. But the knock-on effect of Sotheby's well-marketed ruby 'red sale' this month could  propel them into the hearts of the majority. 
If this season's purchase is an investment, however, take the advice of experienced jewellers and buy the best you can afford.
'Everything comes at a price,'  Bastien says. 'But if you buy the best of everything, you never really  go wrong.' 
And did Harris ever get her copy of Princess Diana's ring? Almost 15 years later, she did, but she dismantled it soon after she divorced. 
No longer harbouring hopes of becoming a princess, she reset the ring, trading in the smaller diamonds for two big ones. Harris says she plans to wear her refreshed sapphire ring to a party she is hosting to watch the royal wedding on television on Friday.



Royal union sparks rush for sapphires