From Cartier to Cardboard Boxes: Pop Culture's Most Iconic Rocks

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It didn't take long for the details to hit the stands.

Designed by Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine Jewelry in collaboration with Kelce himself, the piece features a brilliant-cut old mine diamond softened at the corners and set in a yellow-gold bezel.

Experts estimate its value at around US$1 million, a figure modest by Hollywood’s most extravagant standards.

Just a couple of weeks after Swift’s lavish engagement reveal, the cultural calendar is set to highlight the opposite kind of stone. On September 7, National Pet Rock Day will shine a spotlight on the cheapest and most ordinary rocks, a celebration of the humblest of pebbles turned into objects of affection.

Together, these events make it the perfect time to revisit the fascination with celebrity engagement rings — stones that have defined eras and taken on a life of their own — and to hone in on their more modest counterparts.

A glittering tradition

In the 1953 film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", Marilyn Monroe popularized the song “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” a wink to both consumerism and romance.

Watch Monroe sing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend."

A year later, Joe DiMaggio proposed to Monroe with a platinum eternity band set with 36 baguette-cut diamonds.

Adjusted for today’s value, the ring would be worth around US$500,000. Monroe kept the band even after her brief marriage to DiMaggio ended, and it has since become a piece of Hollywood lore.

The tradition of making statements with stones spans across generations. In 1956, American actress Grace Kelly accepted a 10.47 carat emerald-cut Cartier diamond from Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Regal yet cinematic, Kelly wore the ring in her film "High Society" before her real-life marriage, cementing its place in both Hollywood and European royalty. Adjusted for inflation, it would be worth more than US$4 million today.

The modern staples

As celebrity culture expanded in the 21st century, so too did the scale of engagement rings.

Blake Lively’s 12 carat pink oval diamond, custom-made by Lorraine Schwartz, drew attention not only for its value—around US$2 million — but also for its distinctive color.

Kim Kardashian, also working with Schwartz, wore a 15 carat cushion-cut stone of flawless clarity. That ring was valued at US$2 million, though her earlier 20 carat stone, stolen in a 2016 Paris robbery, had been worth double that.

Jennifer Lopez has worn several dazzling engagement rings, but her 2019 emerald-cut diamond from Alex Rodriguez, which was estimated at up to 20 carats, made headlines for its sheer size and clarity.

Paris Hilton, long associated with extravagant luxury, briefly wore a 20 carat pear-shaped diamond from actor Chris Zylka. Though valued around US$2 million, the ring became infamous for being lost in a nightclub ice bucket — only to be miraculously recovered.

The cultural icons

Any history of engagement rings would be incomplete without Elizabeth Taylor.

Known for her love of gemstones, her 33.19 carat Asscher-cut “Krupp” diamond from Richard Burton is legendary. After her death, the stone, renamed the "Elizabeth Taylor Diamond," sold for US$8.8 million at auction.

Mariah Carey briefly outshone even Taylor when billionaire James Packer proposed with a 35 carat emerald-cut diamond in 2016. Estimated at US$10 million, the ring remains one of the largest ever given to a celebrity.

After their engagement ended, Carey reportedly sold the stone for a fraction of its worth.

However, it was Jackie Kennedy Onassis who owned one of the largest celebrity engagement rings in history, reaching an astounding 40 carats. John F. Kennedy proposed in 1953 with a bypass-style ring featuring a 2.88 carat diamond and a 2.84 carat emerald from Van Cleef & Arpels. Later, the former first lady had the ring upgraded with marquise and round diamonds to enhance its brilliance.

But it was her second engagement ring from Aristotle Onassis that would eclipse even Kelly’s in size. Known as the “Lesotho III," the 40.42 carat marquise-cut diamond was designed by Harry Winston.

Kennedy Onassis reportedly wore the ring only twice before it was sold at auction for US$2.6 million, though its true market value today would be far higher.

Of pebbles and diamonds

That brings us back to Pet Rock Day.

The pet rock was a 1970s novelty fad that turned an ordinary stone into a low-maintenance “pet.” Marketed in a cardboard box complete with air holes and straw bedding, the gag gift became a pop culture sensation.

Pet rocks became popular precisely because of their absurd simplicity, selling millions at the height of their popularity. They were inexpensive, common and playful. The stones gained notoriety again in 2022, when the A24 movie "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once" featured the retro gift.

Engagement rings, especially in celebrity culture, represent the opposite: rarity, expense and permanence. The coincidence and proximity of dates this year offers a playful contrast: ordinary pebbles versus extraordinary diamonds.

For Monroe, diamonds were a metaphor for desire. For Taylor, they were a symbol for Hollywood royalty. For Swift, they are now a link to the past, a mirror of the present and a promise of a lifetime

And yet, in their own quiet way, pet rocks can outshine even the brightest jewels.

September 7 is a reminder that stones are rarely valued for what they are, but for what they mean — proof that the most ordinary things become priceless when they are truly ours.