Sri Lanka can expect a surge in the demand for sapphires in the coming months, thanks to the engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton. Jewelers around the world are being called on to make replicas of Princess Diana’s engagement ring, which was in turn used by her son to propose to his future wife.

Prince William proposing to Kate Middleton with a an 18-carat oval sapphire ring may indeed bode well for sapphire jewellers around the world and es[ecially in Sri Lanka, according to Michael Arnstein The CEO of New York’s Natural Sapphire Co who has said “Sapphires are especially beloved in Britain and its former colonies, including Sri Lanka, which I plan to visit soon to buy more of the sapphires mined there. We are expecting an uptick in demand through the holidays.”

Arnstein’s company supplies Sapphires to other Jewelers around the world who have been receiving similar requests.

The legendary engagement ring in fact once belonged to Diana the late Princess of Wales and is an 18-carat oval sapphire surrounded by diamonds.

Apparently sapphires are less expensive than diamonds since the demand for them is lower although they are in fact rarer to find.