Every Piece Of Jewelry Prince William Has Gifted To Kate Middleton

Marrying into the royal family comes with many perks, including easy access to private jets and VIP admission to some of England's grandest estates. However, one of the most remarkable privileges royal women enjoy is access to a seemingly endless amount of historic jewels. As the future Queen of England, Catherine, Princess of Wales, has a beyond luxurious collection of multi-carat jewelry pieces. From diamonds dating back to the nineteenth century to rare gemstones, Princess Catherine's public appearances are almost always sparkling occasions.  

However, as robust as the princess' jewelry collection may be, some pieces must be more sentimental than others. Eagle-eyed royal watchers have noticed that many of Princess Catherine's jewels seem to be gifts from her husband, William, Prince of Wales. Between birthdays, anniversaries, and the joyous births of their three children, doting father and husband William has had many opportunities to shower his wife with shimmering gifts. 

Dating back all the way to the early days of their courtship, it seems diamond necklaces, rings, and earrings have routinely been William's go-to way of showing love and appreciation to his beloved Catherine. While many of the jewels and gemstones William has gifted to Catherine are personally commissioned pieces, others are royal heirlooms that the prince has passed on to his wife. Considering such glistening gifts appear again and again throughout the royal couple's relationship timeline, let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit every illustrious piece of jewelry the Prince of Wales has gifted his princess. 

In the autumn of 2010, after nine years of dating, Prince William finally popped the question to his longtime sweetheart. While the proposal itself happened while the two were on a private vacation to Kenya, the world first heard the news — and got a glimpse of Princess Catherine's dazzling engagement ring — during an interview and photocall on November 16, 2010. From that moment on, the world couldn't take their eyes off Catherine's unique engagement ring. 

The piece features a whopping 12-carat Ceylon sapphire in an oval shape, surrounded by a cluster of 14 diamonds and set in a band of 18-karat pure white gold. Not only is this sapphire stunner one of the most important pieces of jewelry William has ever gifted his wife, but it is also one of the most iconic rings in royal history. As fans of "The Crown" will know, the ring was originally gifted to William's mother, Princess Diana of Wales, when she first married Prince Charles. However, it dates back much further than their ill-fated 1981 nuptials.

In actuality, the ring found its beginning with a much happier union, having been commissioned by Prince Albert as a gift for his then-fiancé Queen Victoria. Originally crafted as a sapphire and diamond encrusted brooch, the piece was worn by Queen Victoria on her 1840 wedding day. The monarch continued to wear the brooch throughout her 63 year reign and only retired it when her "dearest Albert" passed away in 1861. 

These unique pieces made their debut when Catherine and William embarked on a tour of North America shortly after their wedding in 2011. During this inaugural trip as the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine frequently wore two of the most poignant jewelry pieces William has ever gifted to his wife: these dainty, single-drop sapphire earrings. While neither Catherine nor William have spoken publicly about these pieces, it is believed that they were gifted to Catherine in 2010 not long after their engagement. 

The post-engagement theory is backed by the fact that these sensational sapphires appeared on Catherine's lobes most frequently in the years immediately following her wedding, not to mention the fact that they perfectly match her engagement ring. In addition to trotting across the U.S. and Canada in these sparkling sapphires, the then-Duchess of Cambridge was also spotted wearing William's sapphire earrings to royal engagements in Scotland, New Zealand, and even at Prince Philip's 90th birthday service. 

Like her engagement ring, Catherine's earrings also once belonged to William's late mother, Princess Diana of Wales. However, rather than being a romantic gift from Prince Charles, Diana received these earrings as a gift from Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia to congratulate the new princess on her wedding. Coming directly from her fiancé, however, William and Catherine have clearly put their own personal twist on these rare jewelry pieces. Additionally, the fashion-forward Catherine also modified the sapphire studs by having them redesigned into a high-hanging drop style. 

As the future Queen of England, Princess Catherine is one of the most high-profile women in the world and, like any good blue blood, she too owns a Cartier watch. It seems the French jewelry company is the go-to choice for the most elegant of elites, as a litany of royal women and even former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama have been spotted wearing Cartier brooches, necklaces, and watches throughout the years. 

What makes Catherine's Cartier piece extra personal, however, is that it is believed to be a gift from her husband, William, Prince of Wales. Catherine's watch is so special that it even has its own name — the Ballon Bleu de Cartier. The timepiece is named for its unique blue hands and attached sapphire stone, which perfectly match the princess's other cerulean-hued pieces. Echoing Catherine's famous engagement ring and matching earrings, these sapphire features suggest the Ballon Bleu is, once again, the work of jewelry-lover Prince William. 

While Catherine's style is usually of the regal variety and never too flamboyant or flashy, the Ballon Bleu adds an exciting spark to her usual fashion fare. You can often spot the stainless steel case and bracelet glinting in the sun during the princess's royal engagements, reminding those around her that they are in fact speaking to a woman who owns not one, but multiple, real life tiaras. To make this gift even sweeter, it appears that William owns a matching masculine version — the Omega Seamaster 300M. 

One of the more mysterious items of gifted jewelry that Princess Catherine is said to own is a pink diamond brooch, reportedly given to her by Prince William as one of the multiple push presents he gifted to the new mother in 2013. This interesting piece has yet to be spotted out in public, but U.K. tabloids report that the prince took the creation of the brooch seriously and even went as far as to employ the help of Queen Elizabeth II's personal jewelers. 

William's choice of such a feminine piece could be explained by the fact that he and his wife have routinely opted to keep the gender of their children a surprise until the birth, as per royal tradition.  As any nervous father shopping for his wife's first push present, one can imagine that the Prince of Wales commissioned the pink diamond brooch and the diamond eternity band to cover all his bases — one gift for the birth of a son and one for a daughter. 

However, another theory could be that the royal family simply has a penchant for pink diamonds. William's late grandmother was frequently spotted at royal engagements, including her Silver Jubilee, wearing a jaw-dropping 54.5-carat pink diamond brooch cut into a floral shape. While there are no rumors of Princess Catherine's mysterious pink brooch reaching the queen's level of splendor, it's a sweet thought to imagine the future Queen of England following in her predecessor's fashion footsteps.

2012 was a big year for the U.K., considering that the Summer Olympics were hosted in London that year. Given that Catherine, Princess of Wales, is one of the most prominent members of the monarchy, it's no surprise that the princess decided to match her 2012 fashion looks with the Olympic theme. In July of that year, Catherine caught the eye of royal fans by visiting the National Gallery wearing a three-ringed piece known as the Cartier Trinity Necklace. 

The choice of necklace was incredibly on point for the occasion, as Catherine was attending the unveiling of the "Road to 2012: Aiming High" exhibition, which included 100 new portraits of famed British athletes and athletic events. However, while the average spectator may assume that Catherine's Cartier Trinity Necklace was cultivated specifically for the National Gallery exhibit, royal insiders have hinted that the piece was gifted to Princess Catherine by her husband to mark the royal's 30th birthday. 

In fact, the necklace is much more expensive than royal watchers have come to expect of the relatively frugal Princess of Wales, as the Trinity Necklace has been estimated to cost around £50,000.  It's no surprise that the Cartier piece bears an eyebrow-raising price tag, as the 18-carat chain is dotted with pavé diamonds and features three interlaced rings of yellow, pink, and white gold. With a price tag this high, it only makes sense that this luxury necklace was a gift bought by someone looking to impress the princess. 

While these iconic pearl drop earrings were originally gifted to Princess Diana by Collingwood jewelers in 1981, the fact that Princess Catherine has been spotted out and about rocking these classy pieces at multiple occasions has led royal insiders to believe that Prince William has since officially passed these earrings down to his wife. The late Princess of Wales wore a lot of beautiful jewelry in her lifetime, but these earrings seemed to be a favorite of the royal, as she famously wore them throughout her 1985 tour of America.

Perhaps most iconic of all, these earrings were also seen hanging from Princess Diana's ears on the night of June 29, 1994 — the same night she wore her "revenge dress" to London's Serpentine Gallery. The dress became known as the "revenge dress" due to its debut coinciding with the premiere of a televised interview where Prince Charles admitted to an extramarital affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. 

Princess Catherine's adoption of the Collingwood pearl earrings will ensure that these unforgettable pieces will remain in the spotlight for years to come. Just as they added an extra spark to her late mother-in-law's looks, Catherine has already opted to wear the pearls at multiple occasions, including Queen Elizabeth II's 2022 funeral procession and a 2022 Remembrance Sunday Service. These lovely pieces are easily identifiable by their unique bell cap design, from which two chunky pearls hang. At the base of the ear, of course, sit two sparkling diamond studs.

Passing down another iconic piece from his mother's collection, Prince William is also believed to have given his wife his blessing to sport Princess Diana's beautiful three-strand pearl bracelet. Considering Catherine, Princess of Wales, is usually seen out and about wearing jeweled earrings, rings, and even some impressive necklaces, this vintage pearl bracelet represents a departure from her usual fashion choices. 

It seems that Catherine pulled this rogue piece from her jewelry box for a special reason — to follow the royal tradition of wearing pearls during a period of mourning. After Queen Elizabeth II's death on September 8, 2022, the newly-inaugurated Princess of Wales was seen regularly wearing black ensembles and pear-accented jewelry to various royal engagements. Most notably, Catherine sported her late mother-in-law's bracelet to a meeting with Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska to discuss the issues facing her country following the Russian invasion. 

The bracelet itself was designed back in Diana's day by Nigel Milne, who was deeply attuned to the late princess's charitable interests. After working with Princess Diana on the crafting of the three-strand bracelet, Milne and his wife Cherry even went so far as to create a line of jewelry whose proceeds went directly to "BIRTHRIGHT," a charity foundation that claimed Princess Diana as one of their patrons. By donning this piece at her more solemn royal engagements, Catherine seems to be channeling a bit of her late mother-in-law's charitable and graceful spirit in addition to Diana's impeccable fashion sense.