The 35-carat diamond stunner – valued in some reports as high as $16 million – is the size of Kim Kardashian and Beyonce’s massive engagement rocks combined.
James’s show of devotion eclipses the previous biggest celebrity marriage token, the 33-carat Krupp diamond ring that actor Richard Burton, below, gave Elizabeth Taylor in 1968.
It also obliterates the combined total James reportedly spent on his three previous engagements to Kate Fischer ($250,000), Jodhi Meares ($300,000), and Erica Packer ($200,000).
Notorious for her diva-like behavior in musical circles, Mariah was making sure the whole world knew about her dazzling fashion accessory as she was snapped out and about in New York on James’s arm.
Ring designer Wilfredo Rosado, on old friend of Mariah’s, told Vogue.com that James was involved in the design process from day one.
“He wanted to create something very rare and very beautiful around this diamond he chose, and I followed his lead,” he says.
“I took the standards super high, and I wanted to create a ring that could not be measured up to.
“I wanted to give her something super-sophisticated and something that took away all of the embellishments that a lot of people use when they designengagement rings these days.”
Although their relationship is relatively new, Mariah’s reputation for demanding the best is well documented.
She once arrived at a London hotel at 2am and refused to get out of her limo and step inside until the management had rolled out a red carpet lined with white candles. She was renting 15 rooms for her entourage so, naturally, the hotel rushed to oblige.
She reportedly always travels with her own personal bed linen and insists a new lavatory seat and gold taps are installed in any hotel suite which she is using.
It has been claimed she demands a certain type of mineral water — not to drink but to bathe in — and insists that her dressing room must provide puppies, kittens, Cristal champagne and an attendant to dispose of her used chewing gum.
Last year, her expenses included $56,000 on grooming her eight dogs and $140,000 to buy up an entire first class compartment on a British Airways plane so she could fly to Cannes in privacy.
“I guess I am a diva in many ways,” she has said. “I can be difficult and a little bit rigid about what I want.”
Just a month before meeting James, her former producer Damian Young revealed she had become a lonely character living “inside a bubble” where staff met her every whim.
For more details on Mariah’s relationship and engagement to James, click here.
