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THE RUNDOWN
- Kelly Clarkson has been in the news after she was reportedly dismissed by a worker at a Brooklyn toy store after she was refused from buying a mechanical bird priced US$15,000. At time of writing the price has been inflated to US$15 million to prevent purchase.
- Since the feud broke out, another story has resurfaced about Kelly Clarkson attempting to buy Jane Austen’s ring at auction in 2012. She purchased it for AU$290,371 (around AU$400,122 in 2026) only for the British Government and Jane Austen’s House to raise funds and buy it back.
- The ring was declared a national treasure and returned to the UK in 2014, where it continues to be displayed at Jane Austen’s House Museum.
Kelly Clarkson just really loves what she can’t have. In 2012, she won one of Jane Austen‘s rare rings at auction, only for the Jane Austen’s House Museum, and then the British Government, to rob her of her prize. Why are we dredging this up, you ask?
Well, another story has resurfaced in light of Clarkson’s recent feud with Brooklyn Heights toy store, Art of Play, where, according to the New York Times (and Clarkson) she was refused from purchasing a US$15,000 mechanical bird that was supposedly not for sale (despite it having a price tag). Following the Pretty Woman moment, as she described it in a tweet, Clarkson called the store out on X, igniting a back-and-forth of the kind we never would have imagined between a toy store owner and a 44-year-old former American Idol contestant. Meanwhile, the store has responded maturely by jacking up the price to US$15 million.
Mechanical bird aside, Clarkson has a history of coveting high-value items she can’t exactly have, which brings us back to Jane Austen’s ring. In 2012, a Sotheby’s auction was selling a ring owned by author Jane Austen. At the auction, Clarkson outbid Jane Austen’s House, the Hampshire museum dedicated to the preservation of Austen’s estate, forking out £152,450 (around AU$290,371) for the ring.
Not long after Clarkson purchased it, Sotheby’s and the British Government had a serious case of Seller’s Remorse. As reported by the BBC, the British Government (or more accurately, then-Culture Minister Ed Vaizey) placed a temporary hold on the ring’s export to give the Jane Austen House museum time to raise sufficient funds to buy it back. Turns out, a lot of people wanted the ring to stay safely in England. Donations came in thick and fast from across the world as zealous Austen fans proved desperate not to see the precious piece end up on the finger of an American pop star (even if they did love “Since You’ve Been Gone”). Vaizey said at the time that it was essential that this “national treasure” be “saved for the nation.” Not Clarkson’s reportedly extensive Austen memorabilia collection.
The Jane Austen’s House museum, which is located in Austen’s original hometown, Chawton, launched an official “Bring the Ring Home” campaign and one anonymous donor felt so passionately about the issue they pledged £100,000. Clarkson, to her credit, did not fire off any Pretty Woman-themed accusations at the British government. She took her thwarted acquisition pretty gracefully, saying she was “happy to know that so many Jane Austen fans will get to see [the ring]” and called it “a beautiful national treasure.” Then-Austen museum curator Mary Guyatt described Clarkson as “gracious” and said she’d be “welcome… at the museum in the future.”
We can only hope Clarkson’s dispute with Art of Play toy store ends just as peacefully but in the interim, we’re always interested in a ring at ELLE, so we’re taking a closer look at the piece.
Jane Austen’s Ring: The Style And Stone
According to Jane Austen’s House, the ring Clarkson purchased comprises a plain 9-carat gold band with a bright oval turquoise stone at its centre. Turquoise happens to be the birthstone for December, Austen’s birth month. Distinctively crafted, the band curves around to attach underneath the setting, rather than affixing to either side of the bezel. Measuring just 1.75 millimetres wide and 8 millimetres high, the piece is remarkably delicate and relatively small. It is believed to date back to between 1760 and 1780 and came in a box marked with the name of London Goldsmith T. West. While the original remains in the UK, Jane Austen’s House reports that Clarkson had an exact replica made, which she still wears today.
Who Gave Jane Austen The Ring?
It’s not known where Austen’s striking turquoise ring came from, whether it was a gift, a purchase or a piece she inherited. The ring was found with papers that offer some insight into its provenance. One of them outlines the inheritance order of the ring, while the other is from Eleanor Jackson Austen, Jane Austen’s sister-in-law and second wife of her brother, Henry Austen. Dated November 1863, Eleanor Jackson Austen writes to her niece, “My dear Caroline, the enclosed ring once belonged to your aunt Jane It was given to me by your aunt Cassandra [Jane Austen’s sister] as soon as she knew I was engaged to your uncle. I bequeath it to you.”
Today, jewellery (and Jane Austen) enthusiasts can see it on display alongside Austen’s other two known pieces of jewellery at Jane Austen House in Hampshire, UK. And no, it’s not for sale.
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