Forget White Diamonds: Carmen Montero Mundt’s $1.9M Engagement Ring Signals A Massive Shift In Bridal Luxury

The Formula One world got a little bit sweeter this week, with the news that British Mercedes driver George Russell popped the question to his long-time partner Carmen Mundt.

Related: In 2026, Engagement Ring Trends Are Ditching Tradition

The news came via a beachside photo carousel posted on Instagram, which were gorgeous enough, but it’s the frankly giant yellow diamond ring (rumoured to be worth up to $1.9 million) on Mundt’s finger that really caught our attention. Given the way celebrity engagement rings often influence trends with regular people like us, we felt it needed a closer look.

Naturally, we scrolled though out contacts list and immediately asked four experts to explain the precise details of her rare yellow diamond ring, only to find out that it’s even more impressive than we thought. The ring is one of the most impressive that we’ve seen in a while, and is an appropriately special choice for a couple who have been happily together since 2020. Ahead, our experts break down every detail of Mundt’s ring.

Inside The Design: Cut, Carat, And The Rare Yellow Sparkle

Of course, upon seeing Mundt and Russell’s engagement ring, there’s one detail that is immediately obvious: the vibrant yellow colour of the centre oval stone. But beyond that, there are a few other details worth mentioning as well.

“This looks to be a three-stone ring featuring a Fancy Intense or Fancy Vivid yellow oval cut diamond of around five to six carats, with what looks to be shield shaped side diamonds,” explains Cushla Whiting, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Cushla Whiting, adding that it’s this colour that makes the ring even more luxurious than you might expect on first glance. “Highly saturated Fancy Intense and Fancy Vivid yellow diamonds are rarer and cost more than colourless (D-F coloured) diamonds of the same size and clarity.”

The band itself is also worth mentioning, with Whiting explaining that it may be more impressive than a simple band. “The ring could potentially be two tone, a yellow gold centre settings and a platinum shank,” Whiting says.

Monika Ruggerino, Gouacheuse, Goldsmith & Gemmologist, also notes that the diamonds are “set in a fine design very much like the classic vintage Bvlgari ‘Griffe’ design”, which also features an oval centre diamond and two side stones. m

Why A $1.9 Million Valuation Isn’t As Surprising As It Sounds

When we asked our experts to break down the likely pricing of the ring, their estimations varied widely, thanks in large part to not knowing the price charged by the high-end jeweller to actually make the ring, as well as the thickness of the diamond. Based on the photo posted by Mundt, we can see only the spread of the diamond, not the thickness, which can impact the carat weighting significantly.

According to Nilesh Rakholia, Founder of Abelini, Mundt’s engagement ring could be worth as much as £1 million (AU $1.9 million). “With yellow diamonds, colour is everything,” says Rakholia. “The stronger and more saturated the yellow, the rarer and more valuable the stone becomes. If the centre is a natural yellow diamond and falls into the higher GIA colour grades, such as Fancy Intense or Fancy Vivid Yellow, I’d expect a valuation approaching £750,000 to £1 million.”

Whiting agrees that the ring is definitely in the high-luxury territory, explaining that the ring would definitely be upwards of $450,ooo, depending on the exact colour grade of the yellow diamond. “For example, a Fancy Vivid yellow can cost up to 100% more per carat than a Fancy Intense.  The ring could potentially be two tone – a yellow gold centre settings and a platinum shank,” says Whiting.

Our fourth expert, Arissa Michos, Marketing and Brand Director at Class A Jewellers, prediction fell somewhere in the middle, placing the carat weight between eight and 10. “Yellow diamonds can sometimes appear smaller as they are deeper so it could even be bigger,” Michos says. “Yellow diamonds are rarer and are graded on a different scale based on the intensity of the yellow colour. This looks like a Fancy Vivid yellow as it’s a very rich colour. Yellow diamonds are more expensive as they are rarer than white diamonds. Depending on the intensity of the colour they become rarer, therefore more expensive.”

As for a price prediction? “A price point for this ring would be anywhere around $1 million as it really depends on how big the centre stone is, its colour and clarity,” Michos says.

Are Yellow Diamonds Replacing Traditional White Solitaires In 2026?

We find it hard to believe that the classic white solitaire diamond will ever truly be replaced, but our experts agreed that there has been a move towards coloured stones in recent years. “Yellow diamonds are becoming increasingly popular; we’ve been seeing a huge increase in customers searching for a unique and warm coloured stone,” says Michos.

This was echoed by Whiting, who noted: “We are definitely seeing a trend for coloured diamonds, both yellow, and champagne in colour. Warmer diamonds in the M+ colour range are becoming very popular too as they are much more affordable in larger sizes if they don’t fall into the rare fancy colour grades [like Mundt’s].”