Paris Hilton is engaged! And, of course, everything about the engagement, from the ring, (which is a 20-carat pear-shaped diamond and set in a platinum split-shank halo band and is worth $2 million to the proposal was like a fairytale. Stylish sat down with Michael Greene the jeweler who created the ring with Hilton’s fiance, Chris Zylka to get the scoop about how the ring was created, what inspired it and all of the traditions that Zylka follow leading up to the proposal. Oh, and the model may have made a smart investment with his choice as well — diamond expert Grant Mobley also recently told Us that natural diamonds (rather than laboratory-made sparklers) have a long history of increasing in value over time. Read on for all the details!
Stylish: Tell Us, when did Chris come to you to start designing the ring?
Greene: Five to six months ago, we started the process of finding the perfect pear-shaped diamond. On December 20th I met with Chris at their N.Y.C. apartment while Paris was at the hospital with her sister Nikki waiting for her second baby to be born. Paris had no idea, Chris and I sketched out exactly how he wanted it … from there I took it back to my factory in L.A. to be built. Chris then came to my Beverly Hills showroom on December 24th to pick up the finished ring and take it to show Paris’s father Rick and ask him for his approval.
Stylish: How excited was he?
Greene: Extremely. He said he finally had the confidence to ask her.
Stylish: What was the inspiration behind the pear?
Greene: Paris’s father gave her mother a pear-shaped stone — she loves the shape and elegant look. I think it’s about a bond with common style and memories.
Stylish: How many rings did he look at before ultimately deciding?
Greene: None. He knew exactly what he wanted. They have similar taste. He’s extremely attentive to her—when she makes little comments, he remembers them.
Stylish: What goal did he have in mind when choosing the perfect ring for Paris?
Greene: Chris wanted to give his princess her “dream ring.” He literally started shaking with excitement and was blown away with the ring. He said “This is it! So sick!”
Stylish: You also mentioned that Chris went through all the traditional processes when proposing like asking her father for his permission to marry her. Was he nervous to ask Rick? Was he nervous to actually propose to Paris?
Greene: Yes, he was nervous on both ends. When he picked up the ring from me, he was shaking, both with excitement and of course about going straight to see Rick.
Stylish: You said that you and your team designed the ring in 2 days even though the process usually takes 3 weeks. How did you manage to pull that off?
Greene: I have a full factory in LA which allows me full control of production. We had our guys work through the night.
Stylish: Do you know why he proposed in Aspen?
Greene: They both love the mountains and snow. He wanted to make the moment magical.
Stylish: What was Paris’ reaction to the ring and proposal?
Greene: She was stunned, super excited, and blown away by the ring. She called and said it couldn’t have been better. She got her “dream ring.” She was super happy he contacted me. She mentioned my name to him months ago, and he never showed any sign of interest, he played it off perfectly!
Reporting by Carly Sloane.
