Here’s a quickie: Pippa Middleton stepped out earlier today in London, and she was photographed extensively by paparazzi on the street. Fortunately, Pippa was prepared and/or she called the paps to let them know when she was leaving her apartment. She wore a bridal-lite white dress from Whistles and little makeup. She let the paps get a shot of her engagement ring too! Because as we learned earlier, Pippa is engaged to James Matthews, the guy she’s been dating for about eight or nine months. Here a close-up of the ring:
The diamond looks like a 4-carat Asscher-cut rock with an Art Deco, pave-style setting. At least according to the Daily Mail’s sources, the ring was probably pretty pricey. I’m glad James went for a traditional diamond and didn’t try to give Pippa her own version of Big Blue, Kate’s sapphire engagement ring. I like this ring and I think it suits Pippa’s style. Maybe it’s slightly gaudy for her style, actually. But maybe James will spend a little money and hire his wife-to-be a proper stylist.
Pippa and James released a formal confirmation of their engagement too, saying: “Miss Pippa Middleton and Mr. James Matthews are delighted to announce they became engaged on Sunday, July 17 and plan to marry next year.” Question: do you think they should have used Pippa’s real name, Philippa? It might have sounded posher and more formal, which (let’s face it) is always the goal for the Middletons.
Pippa’s family has released statements now that her engagement has been confirmed too. Michael Middleton said: “Carole and I are absolutely thrilled with the news. They make a wonderful couple and we wish them every happiness together.” The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s spokesperson (poor Jason) said: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are absolutely delighted with the news.” Sure! I bet Kate and William genuinely are happy for her. Now Pippa has been tucked away and she won’t embarrass them anymore, or so they hope.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
I love that ring!
Me too. I really like it.
YES!!! It’s gorgeous!
Love it. Old school engagement ring.
Ring is gorgeous. She’s not.
MEOW!
Very pretty.
me too
I love Deco rings so much!!! I think it’s beautiful. Girl got a better deal than her big sister. And to boot, since he has a private plane, Kate and Wills can sneak away on vacations more easily now!!
Looks more like a two carat center and maybe two more in channel setting halo( not pave). Other images appear vertically warped, and there it looks larger, so who knows.
I don’t think it’s so pretty- the channeled halo setting overwhelms the center stone.
I normally love Asscher cut diamonds but yeah, this one isn’t doing it for me. It is definitely the halo setting that’s throwing me off.
AGREE! I wonder if it was a channel setting and more pave or just solitaires around it if it would have worked better. Although I would never turn down something big and sparkly like that! I’m a sucker for large diamonds of the clear variety 🙂
I do too. In fact my engagement ring is antique from the 20’s with an Asscher cut and I adore it and I don’t personally know anyone else with one. From this picture I like it, but the halo does seem a little big for her finger.
Mel M, you’re very lucky to have an antique cut Asscher. They are very rare. Older cut diamonds have a beautiful mellow glow to them that modern cut diamonds just don’t have.
Not a fan of this ring at all. The halo stones are too big and detract from the center stone.
Why do the Middleton women favor white lace dresses so much?
To highlight their permatan and to reference the image of simple innocence (sweet, unsophisticated commoners).
Agree. 2 carat centre stone at the most.
Asschers face up very small. It’s bigger than 2ct, I’d wager. It looks right about the 3 ct range. I have an Asscher that’s around 2 carats, and it’s smaller than hers.
Agree the channel set set halo is ghastly.
+1 I really don’t like halo settings. It’s feels like an obvious way to try to get the ring to look bigger than it is. Just love the center stone and show it off. This halo is really thick too.
Definitely two carats at the most. February 2011 I ended at the table next to the mom and Pips and Waitey. Mom’s ring is tiny and she has the entry level Rolex. My hands are not particularly small and I don’t have long thin fingers, so I had to get a close to 4 carat to look good. A 4 carat on her thin fingers would look enormous.
The ring is too big for my taste. It looks tacky.
She looks really lovely here. Her hair looks great, the dress is nice and the tan seems to be a bit less orangey. Congrats to them.
Those Middleton girls don’t age well. Except for Carol who looks great.
What is the point of a discreet ring when one’s career is to marry rich? It’s as gaudy as the ring of doom, and i look forward to the ring off at Wimbledon next year!
Also, we all know Pippa had no intention of being discreet. In fact, she went to a gala, with the intent of hiding her left hand in photos to build gossip, and then did this pap stroll. I would be happy if it wasn’t SO coordinated. Even if she agreed to the gala prior to the proposal, she could have took her ring off so as not to distract, which I’m sure James would have understood. Just when I was starting to give her more credit, she SUCKS. LOL.
I had a similar thought when i saw the strange behaviour at the gala. Honestly wearing her ring inside her hand would have kept it out of view without having to contort herself like that. Or like you said, keep the ring at home or in your purse.
It was so calculated. Honestly, if Carole Middleton and Kris Jenner ever joined forces, they would literally be unstoppable. That’s if the world wouldn’t implode first from the sheer mental energy of their scheming.
Did you notice that she’s not wearing her signet ring in the engagement ring pap stroll?
All the better to see the engagement ring!!
Yes! Glad you confirmed that. At first, I was thinking it could just be a matter of a different hand. It’s so staged. Between the white dress and her perfectly blown out hair, my eyes couldn’t roll harder.
Nice ring but she like her sister make it look like a Pandora knockoff. So Pimp Mama Carole didn’t do a app stroll this time, but she organised one for Pips. The Fail r really trying to make this family happen.
The ring also reminds me of a Brighton ring – it’s very sturdy and solid but not very feminine or pretty.
Agree, not feminine at all. Bulky and cheap looking. With all that money, he could have done much better.
Her fiancé has that same “American Psycho” slick-and-slimy douchebag look as Donald Trump’s sons and Nicky Hilton’s husband, all of whom creep me out. But good luck to Pippa – she looks happy.
+1
I’m not a big Pippa fan, but she really does look much better without the orange spray tan. Maybe she became grossed out knowing that The Donald was using the same shade of orange.
She still is somewhat tanned, but looks very pretty in these pics.
I’m not feeling the ring. It kinda looks like a class ring from high school
Uh, if it cost as much as the DM says it did, I’m out. That’s ridiculous and tacky. The look of the ring is not my taste but that’s beside the point. The price is gross. That stone better be vintage. Heirlooms etc. are one thing but new jewelry that expensive is so off-putting to me. I guess when you’re the little sister to the one who got Diana’s ring though, you need that for your self-confidence?
Unpopular opinion here, but I hate the Diana ring. It’s so dated and ugly to me. This ring is only slightly better, imo
I don’t love that ring either, it really goes with nothing. Diana made it work because she made most things work and it was simply her signature piece.
Agreed. I think even at the time the Diana ring was called gauche and it was gossiped that it was poor form on Diana’s part to choose the largest ring available to her.
I agree with you. I didn’t like Diana’s ring although she carried it off well. As another commenter said, it was felt at the time that it was a bit tacky of her to choose the largest ring.
I agree with you, Bengal. I dislike Diana’s ring as well. I would have taken that stone and reset it in an Art Deco style; something without so many prongs.
According to her biographers (and own ghost-written autobiography), since Charles had sent her the *Garrards catalogue to choose her own ring from a range therein, Diana deliberately picked the biggest, tackiest ring as a wind up. It was her little joke.
*the catalogue was already widely and publicly available to the public, and price point for the rings were reasonable which meant the ring wasn’t exclusive at all.
I like it, it’s big but doesn’t look gaudy to me. Pippa looks really pretty & natural here.
She is so happy. That’s nice.
I really like that ring and I never care about these things!
It looks marcasite-y. I have a lovely Victorian marcasite brooch passed down from my great-grandmother. I think it became popular with the poshies because Queen Victoria spent so long in mourning after Albert died – so the poshies weren’t allowed to be gaudy and wear their best stones.
I’m too distracted by her bunion to look at her ring.
I hadn’t noticed but oh boy is that a nasty looking one.
I like her ring. It suits her much better than Diana’s ring suits Waity. Once James has been palmed off onto someone, Mrs Bennett (Carole) will be able to rest as her job will be done.
I don’t know much about the future groom but they seem well-suited and happy together. Pippa looks very relaxed and content in the pictures. I wish them well.
Let’s see if Ma Middleton is as involved with Pippa and James’ kids as she is with George.
Wow, now all three Middleton women have a white cotton eyelet dress. Not sure what I think about that. In the old days they would have had just the one & shared it, I guess. As for the ring–nice!
I thought about that too Hazel. The white eyelet dresses will be falling off the shelves. And Princess Victoria wore one too at her son’s baptism.
I love the ring too. Very happy for Pippa too. At least this time we didn’t have to wait nine years while he dragged his feet claiming he was too young and not ready!
No comment yet from the Matthews family yet. Interesting.
I like the ring, it looks a little tacky but it I think it suits her. Getting married to someone wealthy was definitely something important to her (maybe he’s not a prince but it will do) and it looks like she is in love, so congrats to Pippa.
I’d like the ring better without the halo part. I don’t hate the ring, I just side-eye designs used to make the diamond look bigger, and they made the halo part way too big. I’d much rather have a cleaner look with a single diamond than surrounded by sparkly diamonds to give it more bling. But that’s just me. I usually like all engagement rings so I’d be lying if I said I’d turn this one down. LOL
I like this ring however I agree that the pave or channel set halo stones are way too big for an already ‘look-at-me’ design. But look who we’re dealing with. At least it has a classic, somewhat timeless style. I hope she has a decent stylist for the wedding dress……
It’s a nice ring and looks good on her hand.
Like all big rings, it looks fake to me, but that’s my hangup! Fakes in flashy cocktail rings are so ubiquitous I can never see huge stones as “real”. 😀
Random thought, but damn if history isn’t repeating itself a bit with the Middleton Sisters. They remind me of Philippa Chaucer and Catherine Swynford. Born to the Paon de Roet family they were little more than poor landed gentry. Philippa married well for the time, but Chaucer was at best in the periphery of Royal Circles and held no title of his own. Catherine had an incredibly long affair, “waitying” on and off for twenty years, with John de Gaunt before they were able to finally marry. At which point she became a Duchess and their children (after being legitimized of course) went on to bear Kings and Queens. Carole Middleton named them well!
Still angry that Hardy let William give the ring to Kate even though he chose the ring for himself!!!! Now what ring will ever top the “Diana ring”?
Best wishes to the bride to be!!!
Pippa is thinking, “FINALLY!! YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”
I’d be willing to bet that Pippa will be wearing a Burton wedding dress.
She should totally choose a Michael Costello wedding gown to show off her famous butt.
OK, I think I need to go back to sleep. I just read that as “asscheek cut engagement ring” and was so confused for a second. *sigh*
I read Asscher as ‘ass cheek’ and was very briefly scandalized.
I think the ring looks tacky and like something you’d find in fashion jewelry at Macy’s, honestly. If the pave-style setting diamonds were smaller and more delicate I think it would have looked much more classic and less gaudy. I’m sure it’s expensive but who cares if it looks that cheap. Side note: the word pippa in Swedish means slut.
No, it doesn’t. It means rogering. Still that’s hardly her fault. Or her parents. Lots of words in one language have a rude meaning in another.
Think it’s big and gaudy. Looks like a man’s ring.
When reading details about Diana’s engagement I seem to remember she got to look at a selection of rings at Buckingham Palace and that the Queen was also there. I think that ring actually suited Diana and matched her eyes. Everything that Diana chose for her wedding was larger than life. Her dress with its huge skirt and sleeves,
the big bouquet, the 30 foot train. The ring was in keeping with this. Interesting that even in the early days Diana did not always wear the ring. She hasn’t got it on in the famous honeymoon photos taken at Balmoral.
Kate on the other hand has it glued to her finger even though it is not the type of ring she would have chosen. She is welcome to that ring with its unhappy memories.
I liked Pippa’s ring and thought she seems happy. Best of luck to her. Cannot be easy being Kate’s sister.
The ring does not look special. It looks like something that was put together on an assembly line and does not suit her finger well.
Don’t like the ring at all. It looks like a men’s high school class ring.