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When Kim Kardashian and Kanye West got engaged back in 2013, we were ecstatic. Just judging by the couple’s sense of style and their mutual love of fashion, it was clear that these nuptials were going to be bigger than Ben-Hur. Plus Kim’s wedding to Kris Humphries had come and gone in 2011, so two years down the track we were keen to watch her do it all over again. Let’s relive the romance, dissect the infamous Kim Kardashian robbery, and learn everything there is to learn about Kimberly’s many rings.
Kanye West’s proposal to Kim Kardashian
Kanye isn’t exactly a humble guy and he wasn’t planning on starting a new regime when he proposed to Kim on her 33rd birthday, 21 October 2013.
The private use of AT&T park was gifted to Kanye by the owner of the San Fransisco Giants. Kanye then arranged for a 50-piece orchestra to serenade her with her favourite Lana Del Rey song “Young and Beautiful”. But it didn’t stop there. If Kim didn’t have an inkling about what was going down at this point, Kanye put the message “PLEEEASE MARRY MEEE!!!” up on the stadium scoreboard before getting down on one knee. The full proposal was captured by one of Kim’s birthday guests, all of whom where hiding in the dugouts waiting to surprise her. The footage was eventually leaked to the media. It’s estimated that securing his engagement cost Kanye $3.3 US million.
Kim Kardashian’s engagement ring
This is where it gets complicated and you need to concentrate.
Kim’s had at least two engagement rings from Kanye, possibly three. We know right, some of us are out here just looking to get one and there’s Kim’s man giving her three!
The first engagement ring was what Kanye used to propose with on Kim’s birthday. Lorraine Schwartz, bespoke jewellery designer to the stars, had worked together with Kanye to fashion Kim the perfect ring. It was a 15-carat ring featuring a fashion cut, flawless diamond. Professional jewellers estimated that the ring would have set Kanye back $2.5 to $3 million dollars. Kim posted the rock on her Instagram shortly after Kanye popped the question, captioning the picture ‘YES!!!’
Kim and Kanye’s Wedding
Kim and Kanye made it official in May 2014, tying the knot at the 16th century fortress, Forte di Belvedere, in Florence with roughly 200 guests looking on. Kim looked breath-taking in her Givenchy gown as she walked down the aisle with Caitlyn Jenner. The couple were wed in front of a 20 foot wall of white roses. Let’s be honest, could this picture get any more beautiful?
On her big day, Kim wore her wedding ring which was a comparatively simpler Lorraine Schwartz diamond encrusted wedding band.
Kim’s engagement ring 2.0
In 2016, Kanye decided that his beautiful wife deserved an update.
A really expensive update.
On 28 August 2016 at the MTV Music Video Awards, Kim stepped out with her new sparkler – a 20 carat Lorraine Schwartz creation featuring an emerald cut diamond. The diamond itself was categorised as D flawless Type Ila – a category that less than 2% of the world’s diamonds fall into. It is estimated that this 20-carat ring would have cost $5 million US dollars.
The robbery
It was this second engagement ring that was stolen from Kim during a terrifying robbery in 2016. The thieves broke into Kim’s Paris Fashion Week residence, hours after she had watched her close friend Riccardo Tisci’s Givenchy show, in which her sister Kendall Jenner walked the runway.
At around 2:3am on 2 October, 5 men masquerading as police officers held the apartment concierge at gunpoint and forced him to give them access to Kanye’s private apartment. Two of the men entered the apartment and threatened Kim with their weapons. They bound, gagged and handcuffed her before placing her in the bathtub. They proceeded to steal $11 million dollars worth of Kim’s jewellery, including her engagement ring, before they fled the scene. Although Kim was physically unharmed, she was understandably traumatised. A source told E! that Kim had feared for her life. “She begged for them to let her live and [said] she has babies at home. Then they wrapped her mouth in tape and put her in the bathtub,” they said. “She thought they were for sure going to kill her.” Kim eventually spoke about her terrifying experience on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, recalling how she feared that Kourtney would be the one to discover her dead body.
The robbery marked the biggest robbery of any individual in France for 20 years. When news of the break-in reached Kanye West, he immediately stopped his show at the Meadows Festival in Queens and rushed to be by his wife’s side. Fans can be heard saying “What happened to Kim?” as Kanye’s set comes to an abrupt halt.
Kim’s jewellery was never recovered. This is due to a combination of two factors. One, her jewellery is so well known that it would have been extraordinarily difficult for the thieves to have sold the original jewels to a new buyer without incriminating themselves. Two, professional thieves such as these would most likely have taken the jewels to be re-cut by a specialist jeweller, so that all serial numbers and distinguishing features would be erased. This is exactly what suspected ringleader 60-year-old Aomar Ait Khedach told investigators in 2018. The sexagenarian told investigators that he had struggled to find a buyer for Kim’s engagement ring due to its notoriety and he had given it to an unidentified third party, who the police believe resides somewhere in Belgium. Investigators and Kim’s attorney’s now estimate that these thieves had been following her for two years before they struck.
Kim’s insurer AIG paid for the cost of the stolen jewels, before suing Kim’s security guard, Pascal Duvier, and his security company Protect Security for $6.1 million in negligence. At least 10 people have since been arrested in connection with the robbery.
Kim spoke to Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen Show, saying that she believes the incident has made her a better person. “I know that (the robbery) was meant to happen to me,” the star said. “I don’t care to show off the way that I used to.”
Kim and Kanye are due to have their fourth child in May this year. To have gone through such a horrific experience and bounced back stronger than ever is truly inspiring. We salute you Kim, you’re one brave lady.
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