Jennifer Lopez has had some of the most spectacular engagement rings in history — none more unique than the very rare green diamond that fiancé Ben Affleck just proposed with! The “Dear Ben” singer, 52, confirmed the exciting news via her OnTheJLo fan newsletter on April 8, giving fans a sneak peek at the 8.5 carat ring, estimated to be worth over $5 million and possibly up to $10 million. Although the diamond was green, the shape and style of the ring harkened back to the 2002 pink Harry Winston diamond that Ben proposed with in 2002 — nearly twenty years ago. So, how do these two legendary stones compare? Find out right here.
The Green Diamond Ring
Jennifer teased her engagement news via Instagram on April 8. “I have a really exciting and special story to share,” she began, pushing fans to her OnTheJLo newsletter where she confirmed the news with a short video of the spectacular and rare green diamond. The rare 8.5 carat stone, estimated to be worth over $5 million (possibly up to $10 million), was sourced by Ilan Portugali of Beverly Hills Diamonds. Notably, Ilan managed the Harry Winston boutique for years in Beverly Hills, which is where Ben got the pink diamond engagement ring back in 2002.
“Congratulations Ben & @jlo on your engagement. It was my honor to be part of this exciting journey, on a quest to source such an exceptional natural gem for your spectacular engagement ring,” Ilan wrote on social media, sharing illustrations of the ring and photos.
“Among fancy-color diamonds, natural-color green stones with saturated hues are some of the rarest and most sought after. Green color synchronizes Nature & tranquility and represent life, health and associates with luck & prosperity,” he also wrote.
The diamond gets its rare green color thanks to nature: the result comes from irradiation thanks to uranium. “[The stone] has to be irradiated by beta or gamma waves for long enough to turn the stone green for long enough to turn the stone green — the color is from irradiation and it’s incredibly rare,” says geologist and luxury jewelers salesperson Amanda Smith. Also of note, green Peridot is also the birthstone for both Jen and Ben, who are also both Leos per the Zodiac charts.
The couple’s engagement comes one year after rekindling their romance — and nearly 20 years after Ben proposed the first time.
The Pink Diamond Ring
Ben Affleck got down one knee the first time at his mom Christopher Anne Boldt‘s Boston home in November 2002 with that 6.1 carat Harry Winston pink diamond. The ring was reported to be worth $2.5 million at the time, but with inflation, is estimated closer to $4 million now. The original pink diamond, set in 18K pink gold, was a radiant cut flanked with two trapezoid white diamond sides stones mounted in platinum. The new ring also appears to have trapezoid diamonds and a platinum band, which many fans assuming the style was intentional to represent their past and future.
Jennifer confirmed the engagement in a highly watched interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC News in the fall of 2002. The pair had already been rumored to be engaged just one year after meeting on the set of Gigli. Jennifer explained how the ultra-romantic proposal happened, recalling that it included a romantic letter written by Ben. “He took me back to the house he grew up in.,.he kept saying, ‘you know how much I love you, you know how much I want to spend the rest of my life with you,'” she recalled in the 2002 interview, where she showed the ring. The moment started a trend towards colored stones in the 2000s.
“We walk up to the house and I see candles up the stairs…he opens the door and it is a blanket — a quilt of rose petals — all over the entire house,” she said. “So many candles, vases with bouquets, and my song ‘I’m Glad’ was playing. I was overwhelmed, I wasn’t expecting it…he was like, ‘my mom helped me do it.’ It was the best day of my life.” The song “I’m Glad,” from her album This Is Me…Then, is known to be written about Ben.
“It was funny because he had written this letter — he didn’t realize how long it was. He was reading it, reading it — telling me all the stuff he wanted to tell me — at the end he said, ‘will you marry me?’ And he had the ring out, and I didn’t even want to look at it because I could tell the ring was pink. It was too much to handle! It was the most magnificent thing,” she said at the time.
While there were various rumors about what happened to the ring after Jen and Ben split up in Jan. 2004, her former publicist Rob Shuter said he believes the pink diamond is still in her possession. “As far as I know, Jen has never returned the ring,” Rob said to Access Hollywood in May 2021. “So, if things move forward with these two, gosh, she’s already got the most beautiful ring I’ve seen…it’s absolutely stunning. I was with her once, and it is blinding,” he said of the rock.