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Brazilians flaunt Kate's engagement ring, for three dollars
Britain's upcoming royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton has sparked a fever in Brazil, with Rio residents snapping up three-dollar copies of Princess Diana's engagement ring.
Britain's upcoming royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton has sparked a fever in Brazil, with Rio residents snapping up three-dollar copies of Princess Diana's engagement ring.
Shops selling the cheap imitations of the 45,000-dollar sapphire-and-diamond encrusted piece of jewelry the prince gave to Middleton have been overrun by Brazilians wanting to share in the glamor of the occasion, the
O Dia
daily reported.
"The original item was on the fingers of princesses and queens, and that helps the ego for just about anybody," said Raquel Pontes, a 27-year-old teacher trying on one of the cut-price copies.
Shopkeepers were rubbing their hands together at the thought of a Christmas-time sale boom of the rings.
For Brazilians wanting a replica with a bit better quality, online vendors were also offering versions for significantly higher prices.
Brazilian fever over the wedding was further fueled after Middleton made an appearance wearing a blue dress by London-based Brazilian designer Daniella Issa Helayel when her engagement was announced.
Copies of that dress were also flying off the shelves in Rio, almost as fast as in London.
