Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, officially together 1:00
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In the early 2000s, "Bennifer" was impossible to escape. The faces of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez appeared on tabloid covers and on television screens, with photos showing the couple embracing on hotel terraces, stealing kisses in restaurants and taking romantic yacht rides.
If this all sounds incredibly familiar, it's because the history of celebrities repeats itself: they seem to be a couple once again, and they seem to repeat their most photographed moments.
For those who need a recap, the couple got engaged in 2002 after fueling their romance on the set of "Gigli."
However, they ended their relationship two years later, just days before the wedding.
Although it is not known exactly when "Bennifer" began dating again, Affleck was photographed visiting Lopez's home in April of this year, shortly after she and Alex 'A-Rod' Rodriguez announced that their four-year relationship had ended.
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With nostalgia for "Bennifer" running high after the singer-actress shared a birthday post on Instagram in which they kiss, some Twitter users have wondered what happened to the 6.1 pink diamond ring. carats that Affleck originally proposed to her.
Jennifer Lopez showing off her engagement ring at a "Gigli" press conference. Credit: Vera Anderson / WireImage / Getty Images
After their engagement in 2002, Harry Winston's pink diamond became one of the most recognized celebrity engagement rings of all time.
Other celebrities soon followed suit: Nick Cannon proposed to Mariah Carey with a 17-carat pink diamond ring in 2008, and Ryan Reynolds proposed to Blake Lively with a 12-carat one in 2012. The trend for men. Pink diamonds goes beyond engagement rings: In February, rapper Lil Uzi Vert got a $ 24 million, 10-carat forehead piercing, though the gem has already been removed.
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According to Sally Ryder, founder of Ryder Diamonds and Diamond Marketplace, Lopez's ring went against the trends of the time.
In the 2000s, Ryder said, the market was leaning toward "solitaire" white diamond engagement rings, which feature a single stone set in a band.
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"In my experience, the one-carat solitaire was the fashionable ring," he said in a telephone interview.
"The classic six (prong) solitaire from Tiffany & Co. was the dream engagement ring."
Instead, Affleck's choice of emerald cut and pink was unusual, especially since pink diamonds weren't "as well known" in the early 2000s, Ryder said.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck at the premiere of "Daredevil". Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
At the time, Lopez confirmed her engagement to Affleck in an interview with Diane Sawyer, describing how she threw the question at him after filling her family home with candles and covering the floor with a "rose petal blanket."
With her song "Glad" playing in the background, Affleck read her a love letter and revealed the ring, but she said she was so overwhelmed that she didn't dare look at it.
"He had the ring off, but I didn't want to look at the ring because I realized it was pink," he told Sawyer.
"And I was like, 'It can't be pink other than this.' It was too much for me."
When she finally looked, Lopez said it was the "most wonderful thing" she had ever seen, which is high praise, given it was her third engagement ring.
Ryder identified Lopez's center stone as a "fancy intense" pink diamond, a term used by gem experts to describe stones with strong, saturated color, a quality that increases their value.
He estimated that Affleck probably paid about $ 2 million for the ring in 2002, and said it would likely cost him at least $ 6 million today.
A close-up of the "CTF Pink Star," a 60-carat vivid pink diamond sold for $ 83 million in 2017. Credit: Murat Unlu / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
In the last decade, great bidding wars have been unleashed for gigantic pink diamonds at auction houses.
In 2017, the record for the most expensive polished stone was set by a 59.6-carat pink diamond, renamed the "CTF Pink Star," which was purchased for $ 71.2 million.
The following year, an 18.96-carat diamond known as the "Pink Legacy" sold for $ 50 million, an auction record for the price paid per carat for a pink diamond.
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The value of Lopez's ring could skyrocket as Australia's Argyle diamond mine, which previously produced more than 90% of the world's pink diamonds, ceased operations last year.
If you still have it.
Much to the delight of "Bennifer" fans, he most likely does, according to his former publicist Rob Shuter.
As he told Access Daily in May: "Jen never returned the ring to my knowledge."
Ben Affleck J. Lo