Auctions

Anonymous Buyer Snaps Up Trump-Maples Engagement Ring

AuctionsJun 30, 2016

Anonymous Buyer Snaps Up Trump-Maples Engagement Ring

The $300,000 paid for the Harry Winston diamond ring was not above the pre-auction estimate. Sad!

20160615_Trump-diamond.jpg
Donald Trump proposed to Marla Maples with this 7.45-carat emerald-cut Harry Winston diamond ring in 1991. The pair divorced in 1999, and the ring has now been sold at auction twice since then.

New York--An anonymous buyer paid what was expected for the 7.45-carat emerald-cut Harry Winston diamond ring that once marked the union of Donald Trump and his second wife, Marla Maples.

Sold Wednesday in New York by auction house Joseph DuMouchelle, the ring went for $300,000, falling exactly at the top of its pre-sale estimate.

Known for being a real estate mogul, a reality TV star and now, perhaps most famously, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, Trump popped the question to Maples in 1991 and the pair remained married until 1999.

In June 2000, Maples took the ring to Joseph DuMouchelle, where it sold for $110,000. Maples donated a portion of the sale proceeds to charity.

The same person who bought the ring 16 years ago brought it back to Joseph DuMouchelle to be sold again.

When asked for a comment on the latest sale of the Maples-Trump diamond, the auction house sent the following statement.

“We are thrilled that the ring sold for the estimated price,” said auction house President and auctioneer Joseph DuMouchelle. “We’re happy that the Maples-Trump Diamond now has a new home. It’s an extraordinary Harry Winston ring, and we hope that the new owner will enjoy the rarity of its beauty.”

The diamond was part of a sale that included a number of estate pieces from houses such as Verdura, Cartier, David Webb and Tiffany & Co.

Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.

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