Did Donald Trump really pay US$3 million for Melania’s Graff diamond engagement ring – or did he get a 50 per cent discount like he claims?
Last year, Donald Trump marked 10 years of marriage to Melania Trump with a 25-carat diamond ring. Melania flaunted the Graff ring in her official portrait, drawing criticism for the over-the-top lavishness of the gift.
Despite disapproval, Melania’s been spotted wearing the ring to numerous public engagements, favouring this colossal diamond over her smaller engagement ring, also from Graff.
Still, Melania’s relatively modest 15-carat engagement appears to trump those of her husband’s ex-wives.
Trump has said that he negotiated a discount and paid just US$1.5 million for Melania’s engagement ring. Lawrence Graff, owner of the eponymous brand, however, refuted Trump’s claims that he got a steep 50 per cent discount on the ring. The actual value of the 15-carat ring is said to be well over US$3 million at the time of first couple’s engagement in 2009.
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There’s very little known about the engagement ring Trump gave to his first wife Ivana Trump in 1977. According to Newsweek magazine, Trump admitted to never buying Ivana expensive jewellery because he didn’t want to give her leverage if they were ever to got divorced; according to the couple’s prenup, Ivana kept all of her jewellery after the divorce in 1992.
When Trump married Marla Maples in 1993, he sealed the deal with a 7.45-carat Harry Winston emerald-cut ring. After the two divorced in 1999, Maples auctioned the ring for US$110,000 and gave the proceeds to charity. Trump at the time described her move as tacky.
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The ring surfaced at auction again in 2016 and was sold for US$300,000.
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Whatever he paid, the first lady has done better than Trump’s previous wives – Marla Maples’ engagement ring sold for US$110,000 at auction, while first wife Ivana Trump never got expensive jewellery from the future president