Jeweller dangles carat to 'best couple'

The ring in its box. Photo / Supplied

Kiwi diamond buyer Ange Hardy went up against the big boys to secure the rare 22-carat white diamond which Hollywood celebrity Kim Kardashian will brandish on her finger on Tuesday when she launches the search for the world's best couple.

Whangarei-born Hardy, who travels the world buying diamonds for Michael Hill, is often the only woman buyer in a predominantly male world.

Knowing her boss was looking for a rare stone for the competition, Hardy heard about the 22.25 Princess cut H-I diamond last year and went after it in Antwerp, Belgium, in January this year.

Unsurprisingly, Hardy says the stone is her "biggest purchase" in the 19 years she has worked for Michael Hill.

She did not know where the stone was mined, she said, but it carried paperwork to confirm it was not a blood diamond.

Back in Brisbane, Michael Hill staff were asked to come up with a design for the stone.

Jewellery designer Caroline Pearson won the competition with what she describes as a "modern romance design on a classic solitaire".

The resulting platinum ring, with diamonds totalling 0.60 points set along the claws and shoulders, took Pearson "many, many hours and many sleepless nights" to create.

Because of the size and weight of the stone, which is wider than the average finger, Pearson had to create a ring that looked delicate but was strong and balanced so the stone didn't topple sideways.

Once the ring was finished Pearson designed a Faberge egg-inspired ring box made from rhodium-plated sterling silver and lined in black leather. Set into the top are four tiny hearts and when the ring box is closed, glimpses of the 22-carat whopper can still be seen through the filigree. Pearson said she was almost as proud of the ring box as she was of the ring.

While the Michael Hill team will only describe the ring as "priceless" because of the stone's rarity, the ring is estimated by jewellery experts to be worth more than $1 million.

The ring has been made to fit reality TV star Kim Kardashian, who will flash the Hill diamond at a launch on Tuesday (NZ time) in New York before flying to Toronto for a red-carpet launch the same evening.

Kardashian will then parade the ring at Hill's glitzy store in Chicago the next day. From there, the ring will go to Calgary, Vancouver, LA, Sydney and Melbourne (where it will be worn by celebs at the Melbourne Cup) before Michael Hill brings it to Auckland on November 4.

The online competition is open to couples - including gay, singles with a friend and married couples - in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Entrants will have to complete 16 challenges.