I couldn’t pick most of the Vanderpump Rules stars out of a lineup, but I do know who Scheana Shay is: one of Eddie Cibrian’s former side-chicks/mistresses. Cibrian had an affair with Shay when he was still married to Brandi Glanville. That kind of incidental, mistress-of-a-C-lister fame will get you a place on a reality show, and here we are: Scheana gets a lot of attention and hopefully money from being on Vanderpump Rules. I usually skip writing about these people, but I liked this story and so here we are. Recently, Scheana got engaged to Brock Davies. There was a storyline on the show about Davies going to a jeweler to pick out the engagement ring. The ring? A 12.74-carat morganite. People were criticizing Scheana for having an engagement ring which is not a diamond.
It’s all happening for Scheana Shay — regardless of what haters say. The “Vanderpump Rules” star, 36, responded to fans criticizing the morganite engagement ring fiancé Brock Davies purchased on Tuesday night’s episode of the Bravo show.
After the Australian fitness star paid a visit to jeweler Kyle Chan (and forked over $25,000, spaced out over multiple credit cards) on the series, fans made their opinions about the 12.74-carat pink stone known on social media.
When one person tweeted that the stone was “not a diamond,” Shay responded, “It’s still 12.74 carats. Why does it matter what stone?” She also responded to others, saying, “I didn’t want a diamond. Morganites are beautiful and have so much meaning.”
And when another person wrote, “It’s a ring you LOVE, given to you by someone you LOVE. That’s all that matters,” Shay replied, “LITERALLY.”
It sounds like this is what he could afford, although for $25K, you could probably buy a very nice diamond, probably three or four carats depending on the quality. She wanted something bigger and honestly, morganites are beautiful. I have a morganite ring and it’s so pretty! It’s a lovely shade of pale pink. In general, I think it’s just a matter of personal taste and preference when it comes to colored stones or non-diamond engagement rings. I always wonder if people who get sapphire, emerald or ruby engagement rings regret having a colored stone in the long run, but in the case of Scheana’s morganite, most people probably see the ring and think it’s a diamond anyway.
Scheana Shay is defending her engagement ring: 'I didn't want a diamond' https://t.co/I1sgoPXBW2 pic.twitter.com/0lZd0lCSuh
— Page Six (@PageSix) January 6, 2022
Photos courtesy of Getty, Instagram.
I don’t know her but anyone who bucks the mind-bogglingly successful DeBeers marketing campaign to make diamonds the only choice for engagement rings is fine with me. The mindless insistence on adhering to norms – a norm created purely to sell diamonds! – like this is ridiculous. Not to mention criticizing someone for their choice. Sigh.
This. Yes!!!! Let’s get this trending — buy the ring you love, not the idea marketed to you by a VERY problematic corporation.
I have an emerald engagement ring and love it to bits! My husband did say when he was in the shop that the staff kept asking him over and over again if he’s sure he wanted an Emerald and not an emerald CUT diamond. No regrets over here, green is my fave colour
Funny – but I get it. Men are many times clueless about jewelry so I can see their concern that maybe your fiancée got emerald confused with emerald cut. I would love an emerald or sapphire or pearl now after having had a diamond the first time. Anything different. Seems like the only thing mrs reality cared about was that it was big. I’m waiting for the big ice rink ugly tacky (to me!) celebrity engagement rings go out of style. Red flag though everyone saying he was grossly overcharged for it at $25,000 and he put it on 4 credit cards while he was late with child support.
I also have an emerald engagement ring, and why would I regret that if it’s what I wanted? I have a v-shaped wedding band set with tiny diamonds I wear below it and I get a ton of compliments on how unique it is. Green is my favorite color and I’ve always liked emeralds more than diamonds. If other people want diamonds or emeralds or moonstones or whatever, that’s what they should have!
I also have an emerald (surrounded by tiny diamonds) ring from Mr. Jaded. I love it. I don’t understand the pearl-clutching over “OMG it’s not a diamond!”
Mine is emerald with two small flanking conflict free diamonds. It was what I wanted. Diamonds are overrated.
My engagement & wedding rings are emerald with *gasp* not real diamonds. By choice.
I also have an emerald engagement ring. I love my ring. Who cares what anyone else thinks?
YES.
My friend has an emerald engagement ring and loves it as much today as when she got engaged 10+ years ago.
Exactly this
ESMOM 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
It’s just capitalist rhetoric like so many other “traditions” invented by ad agencies. Diamonds are gorgeous and I’m not judging anyone who wants one but it’s so weird to judge others for doing things their own way.
Totally agree! I’ve specifically requested a moissanite ring. The diamond industry is gross, to put it very mildly, and the idea that my boyfriend would spend multiple thousands of dollars on a ring makes me uncomfortable. I’d rather have something just as pretty, that I don’t have to be panicked about losing, and that didn’t cost a third of our wedding.
Exactly!!! And they do this with wedding bands too. My engagement ring is a beautiful princess cut diamond…though after 20 years and 2 kids (now teenagers) I hardly ever wear it. My wedding band is a is a unique band of gold and smaller diamonds. It was not a wedding band. I was cautioned against getting it from everyone at the jewelry store and by several friends and family who told me that my husband and I should get matching band rings. My husband was like…you get what you love and I will get what I love. I still LOVE my ring, have never seen another one like it and get compliments on it all the time. My advice to people is, do what makes you happy. You are the one who is going to be wearing and looking at it everyday for hopefully the rest of your life. Other people’s opinions be damned!
I have a morganite ring and I love it! It had nothing to do with affordability I just wanted a pink stone.
I have a beautiful sapphire set in white gold – I wouldn’t change a thing 22 years later. Buy the ring you love – she’s right – as you will wear it for a lifetime.
Sapphire and emerald engagement rings are just as precious and spectacular as a diamond. A morganite is not even close. I wouldn’t want one. It’s sweet she is defending him.
The ring is lovely, but as far as “not wanting a diamond”? Sure, Jan, Scheana is a thirsty C-lister and wants anything she perceives as expensive, classy and high end, including diamonds.
I had to look up what a morganite stone is. I thought she must have meant moissanite, which I actually prefer in appearance to diamonds because it “twinkles” more, in my opinion. This person’s ring is very pretty, and she likes it, so win-win. “Engagement stones are diamonds” is a commercial marketing ploy by the blood diamond miners, anyway.
I wonder this, too. My engagement ring is moissanite as my husband and I won’t participate in glamorizing mining, even ‘ethical’ Canadian diamonds. It’s beautiful, I love it, and will tell anyone what it is and why we chose it.
Same! I think mining is super gross and I hate the colonial history of gemstone markets. Not saying moissanite labs are shining beacons of revolution lol, but for me it was a better choice.
I have a moissantie engagement ring and I love it. Significantly less expensive, even more twinkly, and without so many of the issues that come with diamonds, because it was made in a lab. Go science! Everyone assumes it’s a diamond at first glance anyway though–until I tell them, and pretty much the universal reaction has been “wow that’s cool.”
Any time I buy jewelry, I buy morganite. It’s flattering and so beautiful. If I were to get enagaged, it’d be my choice of stone.
my SIL has a moissanite and its beautiful.
I dont get why people care if its a diamond or not. She isn’t telling people it’s a diamond. It’s her ring. She loves it. WHO CARES?
Also I don’t know any of these people. I know who Eddie and Brandi are, but I don’t watch this show.
And maybe uniquely American? I don’t think Europeans are big on engagement rings let alone diamonds, at least not in my extended family.
@Josephine People in Europe don’t have the tendency (nor money) to buy diamonds in engagement rings…
I don’t think it’s purely a money thing. If we’re talking about wealthy European countries its more of an attitude towards spending/lack of tradition thing.
My ring is moissanite (I requested this over a diamond) and I love it!
It’s out of control how every rando online feels the need to voice their criticism about every little thing about other people’s personal lives!!
I LOVE Morganite; it’s beautiful. I’m wearing a Morganite ring on my right hand right now. My engagement ring is a diamond, but that was just a preference.
I adored Princess Eugenie’s ring…I’m blanking on the name of the stone at the moment, but it was pink and it was gorgeous.
If someone posts about their happiness about their engagement, just say “congratulations” and move on if you personally do not like the ring (of this person you don’t even know IRL 🙄)!! SMH
Eugenie’s is a padparadscha sapphire–they’re pretty rare, apparently. I also thought it was very pretty. There was a quote from Jack Brooksbank that he picked the ring because the stone “changes color when it hits certain lights, much like Eugenie,” which I thought was very sweet.
@Lizzie, thank you! I could never spell Eugenie’s correctly, lol. But it was gorgeous, imo. IIRC, Eugenie’s was similar to Fergie’s? In any case, people should choose the ring they want without being made to feel like any engagement ring without a diamond is inferior.
(And if someone does feel that way, maybe keep it to yourself instead of telling the bride, FGS!)
@Lorelei You recall correctly. Fergie’s was a Burmese ruby.
I didn’t know anything about morganite before this post, but it looks beautiful!
Padparadscha sapphires are gorgeous. I wish I had one, a really good one. Also look up Imperial Topaz. Another gorgeous stone.
I much prefer other gemstones to diamonds. I have an emerald solitaire ring that my mother had made for me for my birthday. It’s a beautiful shade of green and it’s now my talisman ring.
I’ve got a diamond engagement ring with two morganite stones on either side, and I love it! My husband picked it for name reasons, but it’s nice that it adds some color and variety without being too much (for my personal style).
I had a hairdresser gushing once about how great a stone it was and all the meaning and energy behind it, but it’s literally named after JP Morgan, so idk about that…
@Morgan, that sounds beautiful— it’s times like this that I wish we could post photos here on CB!
(BTW is that where your user name comes from?)
I’m not married, and don’t know if I ever will be. I wouldn’t want a diamond engagement ring. I would want a blue/green tourmaline, or a red/pink spinel. The good thing about diamonds, practically, is their hardness–you can wash dishes, muck in the garden, and play sports while wearing a diamond. Other gemstones require more care. But diamonds being ubiquitous is just marketing, as is the “2 months salary.”
Morganite actually has a higher scratch resistance than diamonds, as do many other precious gems*! DeBeers has done an excellent job of drumming up diamonds as a superior stone when in fact there are many other **better** diamond free options out there. I love your choices that you listed, especially the pink spinel.
*Source: me, I was engaged and went with a morganite ring as my choice – no longer engaged tho so I can’t say how the ring would have held up lol
I’m with you. I’d probably want a moonstone or another stone that works better with a gold ring. I don’t like the look of gold and diamonds together.
I’m all for no-diamond engagement rings! I have a thin hammered 18K gold ring as my wedding ring and a Labradorite engagement ring that I don’t wear often because I’m not a big jewelry person. Non-traditional rings are the way to go, way more interesting and unique!
I like the ring, I think it’s pretty. My husband chose my engagement ring, he has great taste, so he chose diamond because he thought he had to. lol But I would gladly have accepted a ring like the one above.
I also have a sapphire people assumed was an engagement ring before I got the diamond, so I think peoples’ perception of “engagement ring” is thankfully changing.
I love morganites and diamonds are so problematic for the environment. I have morganite earrings, necklaces and rings, they’re gorgeous.
It doesn’t sound like it was “what he could afford” if he spaced it out over multiple credit cards???
As for the ring, good for her! I have no engagement ring at all — it weirded me out that there was a piece of jewelry that people could look at and tell my marital status, but not my fiancé’s. If we lived in a country where both people wore engagement rings I might have felt differently.
I didn’t want an engagement ring either. We’d been living together for four years and it seemed insane to spend money on multiple rings when we wanted to buy a house. My wedding ring has sapphires in it, though.
I also didn’t want an engagement ring because it seems old fashioned/patriarchal for me. So my partner & I just have wedding bands. Never regretted that choice and it meant we had more to put down on a house. But if jewelry makes you happy, go for it.
I didn’t want an engagement or a wedding ring, because I knew I would lose it along the way. In the end I got a simple silver ring for the ceremony. I lost it two years later. Not a jewelry person. Would be nice to see more celebs bucking the jewelry tradition completely 😁
He can’t afford child support payments for his 2 other children in Australia, so I doubt he can afford any type of expensive engagement ring.
No engagement ring here, either. I have a black diamond eternity band that I love and wear all the time.
The only reason my engagement ring is a diamond is because it’s a family heirloom that belonged to my great-grandmother. It’s so unique because it’s from 1922, and I adore it. But if a family heirloom had not been available to me, I definitely would have gone with a different type of stone.
I’m not buying the 25k price tag. I’ve priced out morganites that size with diamond bands because I think they’re beautiful – and honestly, he should have been able to get that thing for 5-6k (at most!). Unless it has a some big name like Harry Winston to Tiffany’s attached to it – then you’re just paying for the name, which is just a waste to me.
ETA – This replied to the wrong comment. I was replying to the one about how he split it among various credit cards.
This guy’s finances are totally shady, so it doesn’t suprise me if he’s shady about the cost of the ring. He is behind on child support to his children in Australia and his castmates have said that he tried to get them to pay for things related to Shceana’s engagement.
It might be who he bought it from and the cut of the stone might be a factor as well as the quality of the morganite as well. You can get perfectly wonderful ones at gem shows for a lot less.
My engagement ring is a dark blue sapphire- and I don’t regret it at all – I totally feel like princess sparkly finger every time I see it. It’s kind of nice that it’s darker and a little more noticeable than usual, and I appreciate that it has special meaning for me. It’s never a thing like… oh this looks out of place, or doesn’t go with what I’m wearing. It matches me.
I love the symbolism of engagement rings in general and I think doing what makes you happy and not being focused on what it conveys as a status symbol is so much more modern.
My ring has a diamond in the middle and pink sapphires on each side. I absolutely love it. He looked for a pink center stone but couldn’t find one that we could afford.
There isn’t anything wrong with the ring but this dude, although he does seem like he treats Scheana right, is living above his means. He left his ex and young children in Australia, hasn’t seen them in over 4 years and doesn’t even have online contact with them. Apparently the ex won’t let him until he pays overdue child support. The ex also has a restraining order against him over a domestic violence issue. Other Vanderpump Rules cast members accused Brock of trying to get them to pay for things related to Scheana’s engagement. His finances are shady AF, so people are ready to slam him over the “fake” engagement ring.
THIS! There are so many more important issues over this engagement than what kind of ring this is…..
I’ll bet many people shading him over the ring know that he obviously isn’t wealthy and likely can’t afford an expensive ring, regardless of the stone.
I was hoping someone else on here watched this show. I thought the biggest issue with him was that people low key on the show think he is using Scheana for a green card and when Lala mentioned he was ghosting on paying for things for the wedding.
That obsession over THE RING is tacky.
I agree. I’d be more worried about her finance only using her for a green card!!!!!
I attended a talk by a gemologist who wrote a book about the history of diamonds (Stoned) and she said buying diamonds are like taking your hard earned money and throwing it in the trash. She said each carat is worth roughly around three hundred dollars on the diamond market because it’s not a rare stone but the diamond market (DeBeers) has created through marketing a false perception of rarity for this stone. She said it’s really one of the most successful marketing campaigns ever because people still fall for it especially the formula of three months pay to buy an engagement ring. The gemologist recommended either going to a pawn shop or buying a lab grown diamond (environmentally friendly as you don’t destroy the environment or have blood on your hands) if you really wanted a diamond. She said a jeweler cannot tell a lab grown diamond from a real one unless they use a special microscope which the vast majority of jewelers do not have access to. There was a couple behind me at this talk and I heard the gentleman say to his wife angrily, “So basically your ring was eighty thousand dollars down the drain. We could have bought our home sooner or invested that money properly!” She hushed him and I looked down at my engagement ring which is a family heirloom from my husband’s family. Over two hundred years old which consists of a few gemstones in the shape of a violet, that I have always loved. I was happy we were able to put that money to buying our place before we married and having an epic honeymoon. The only diamond I have actually liked was Carrie’s Asscher cut engagement ring from Aidan on SATC. That said, I think spending 25 thousand on a ring is still too much no matter what stone you use unless you are ridiculously rich. Btw, the gemologist said a good emerald was a better investment and much more rare.
Diamonds are problematic so I applaud anyone who bucks the trend! I’ll probably not marry but if I did I’d go for something fun like a purple sapphire. Or something lab created and ethical.
I have an emerald with two diamonds as my engagement ring. I’ve been wearing it for 11 years and have zero regrets that it’s not a diamond. My husband had it made for me (It’s a low profile in a bezel) because he knows I really dislike rings that catch on things. (It’s winter for 6 months here, I need to be able to easily put on and take off gloves!). If you are talking about rings, it’s worth talking about what you love.
I’ve had some people tell me that I need to upgrade to a diamond or ask if my husband couldn’t afford a diamond. I just point out by carat weight, emeralds cost more and they don’t have to wear it!
Mine is aquamarine– because I love the ring.
The decision should be based on what makes you happy.
Mine too–it’s my birthstone. My husband got it at a store where they custom-made the setting and they convinced him to put two tiny diamonds beside it, in the band–but I would have loved it with only the aquamarine.
I had a lovely sapphire flanked with two nice size diamonds for my engagement ring and I never ever regretted it. The marriage, well that’s a different story entirely.
My ring is a white sapphire. I picked it out even my husband was like are you sure? I wanted something different and special. I adore my ring.
Enough with the white diamond silliness. Didn’t Princess Diana’s sapphire engagement ring end all of this nonsense?
Rules are meant to be broken, and I’ve been breaking them for half a century lol. Anyone still adhering to diamonds only engagement and wedding rings are too ridiculous for my orbit lol. In fact, show me a woman with a black stone on that finger and she’s a bestie. I’ve worn a collection of different stones on my finger, and my favorite is a multicolored collection of stones in a Byzantine setting. 😁
My name (Margaret) means pearl. I’m not a fancy jewelry person in general, but before engaged I had two nice pieces: a pair of pearl studs that were a gift for my 16th birthday, and a pearl necklace that was a gift for my college graduation. When I got serious with my husband I told him I wanted a pearl, not a diamond and he chose accordingly. I love my ring. Some people say pearls are too soft to make good engagement rings, but I’m a nurse. I wash and work with my hands so much that it wouldn’t make sense to wear any ring on a daily basis. I wear a little silicone band day-to-day, and I only bring out the pearl for special occasions.
My engagement ring was sapphire and I love it. It has such a beautiful color. I can’t understand why people ate so hung up on diamonds.
Hearing him crack a joke about no child support this moment while charging 5 credit cards for the ring was disgusting. I’ve always been a fan of Scheana and watched VPR since the beginning. He’s been in the US for years but claims he doesn’t have status to work. It doesn’t add up!
The fact he had to spread out the payments over several credit cards is the red flag, not what the actual stone is.
When you move to another country, you start out with zero credit. I had an $800 limit when I moved to Canada. He hasn’t been in the US long enough to have huge limits.
He should not be buying a ring he can’t afford. He just went $25K in debt when he’s trying to build credit, how does that make sense?
My engagement ring is a ruby and I love it! I get a lot of complements. I like diamonds aesthetically in necklaces and stuff but I’ve always felt they’re an odd choice for an engagement ring because they look sort of cold to me? I’ve heard that natural sapphires, emeralds, and rubies are actually rarer than diamonds and should be more expensive but the debeers cartel has been crazy successful with their hyping up of diamond value.
They are rarer than diamonds. The only diamonds that tend toward rarity are colored ones.
But yeah, rubellite, tanzanite, emeralds, padparadscha sapphires, imperial topaz are all much rarer.
I like her choice of stone, although it is HUGE lol. I’m probably biased as I was engaged to be married in 2015 and picked a morganite stone. I was really into the rose gold trend at the time – still am, as the reds and oranges really complement my olive skin tone and morganite paired with rose gold goes so well together. I didn’t want a diamond after writing an econ paper on the ethics of diamond mining in the region southern Africa and morganite is much more affordable, we were two broke kids who had just graduated from college.
It’s funny now though – my friends are starting to get married and engaged and even though I’m not remotely close to that possibility I’ve thought about what I want and I think moissanite princess or cushion cut with two baguettes on the side? Lol! I try to stay away from diamonds unless I received them as an inheritance or they are lab grown.
I hate how a fiancé can pressure their partner into buying and engagement ring they can’t afford to prove their love. The 3 month salary ring is so dumb. I told my husband he can just get me a ring on sale that he can afford to pay all at once. Why start off life together in debt?
I LOVE morganite. I have a Le Vian ring that has morganite, rhodolite garnets, and diamonds on rose gold and its GORGEOUS. I love how much Le Vian and Effy have showcased the stunning jewelry that can be made with “lesser” gems, particularly diamonds in the off-white -> brown color range. Most of the diamonds in the world ARE brown, and before Le Vian, they were considered undesirable. Not anymore.
I just read my comment and realized it sounds like an ad for Le Vian of Effy, so ftr I do NOT work for them or any jewelry company ftm ha ha
I love alternate stone engagement rings! Not sure about morganite though. It’s pretty soft. There are lots of pretty sapphires in that color scheme that are more durable. And ouch the price tag! That seems like a huge markup for morganite.
I like the ring. The color is lovely. That’s all I’ve got – I don’t know who these people are and shirking child support is uncool.
My engagement ring has an amethyst as the center stone. It’s my birthstone but purple is also my favorite color. It’s 4 carats and surrounded by small diamonds. I absolutely love it. My husband actually designed it himself and had a jeweler make it. He always thought that diamonds were overrated as engagement rings, and I agree. I would never trade this ring in for anything, it’s perfect.
Mine is a moonstone. It was between that or a Pearl.
I had a “friend” tell me I wasn’t really engaged because it wasn’t a diamond.
Get the ring you want, you’re the one you have to wear it and see it everyday!
Mines a blue Diamond with yellow gold band. Only regret is how high set the ring is. Although, I hope to upgrade for our 10 years just so that I can have a lower profile ring that don’t cut gloves when I put them on. Plan on find a stone the same color and yellow gold still. Age wise I got at 23 and now 32.
Ring: https://imgur.com/a/YYVorMX
It says this went to multiple credit cards – ???????? $25,000 is a large lump of money, even if dwarfed by current celebrity engagement ring standards, – I don’t know why would a person who doesn’t have these money in cash spend that much on an engagement ring… It’s a bad financial decision, hope they are okay.