EARLIER LAST WEEK when a ring was spotted on Jennifer Lopez’s left-hand ring finger while she was shopping, there was more than a little speculation circulating that the celebrity couple once known as “Bennifer” had gotten engaged. There was talk about a huge diamond. Little did everyone know that the stone was one of the most rare natural colored diamonds — a green diamond — and that Ben Affleck has done it once again: proposed to J. Lo with a ring that is history making. It was found for Affleck by Beverly Hills diamantaire Ilan Portugali. It is an 8.5-carat natural green diamond cushion modified brilliant-cut set in platinum and features a custom-shaped pair of trapezoid step-cut diamonds.
Lynda Lopez’s Instagram shot of the green diamond ring
J. Lo announced the engagement slyly on Twitter by sending fans over to her newsletter onthejlo.com, where she showed a video of the ring and whispered: “It’s perfect.” Her sister Lynda Lopez also showed the ring in her Instagram stories with a blurry screen shot of the ring and the quote “this has happened.”
As a hopeful romantic, I was rooting for the couple to get engaged. I am a sucker for a love story that reunites two people after almost 20 years. As for the ring, I was curious as to how Affleck would top the Harry Winston 6.1-carat radiant-cut fancy intense pink diamond with white diamond sides stones he proposed with in 2002. Although the pair never made it to the altar, the pink diamond ring became a part of jewelry history (but more on that later). Affleck has in fact topped himself and proposed with an even rarer diamond ring than the first time around. Greg Kwiat, Ceo of Kwiat and Fred Leighton, weighs in: “Twenty years after elevating the profile of pink diamonds, Ben and Jen have now put the spotlight on an even rarer diamond color – green. Green diamonds are among the rarest in the world, with an estimated 300 natural green diamonds in existence above one carat in size. From his choice of engagement rings, it’s clear that Ben knows how to express his emotions through jewelry. The symbolism of the pink and green diamond colors takes love to the next level!”
When Affleck gave her the Winston pink diamond ring, it was well known by jewelry insiders, experts and diamond collectors that pink diamonds were rare but were mined in the Argyle mines in Australia. And then the mine dried up and closed down in 2020. Yet J. Lo’s engagement ring educated consumers and put pink diamonds in the public eye, as well as driving up pink diamond auction prices. It was said to be responsible for the trend toward natural colored diamond engagement rings. Since the mine shut down, large pink diamond prices have skyrocketed at auction. But let’s get back to the new engagement ring.
Photo of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez at the premier of Daredevil in 2003, with Lopez wearing her first engagement ring, which featured a pink diamond. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
J. Lo wrote in a previous newsletter, “I always say the color green is my lucky color. I’ve realized there are many moments in my life where amazing things happened when I was wearing green.”
This ring is going to be in the news for a long time. It will perhaps be the diamond that represents the hopefulness of love and the beauty of growing together after being apart, as well as a commitment to new beginnings.
Kudos to Affleck for choosing the most dazzling ring and for knowing how to evoke the reaction: “It’s perfect.”