Belgium's diamond industry presented President Donald Trump with a large gold ring set with 321 diamonds to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. The gift came after Belgium received the benefit of eliminated U.S. import tariffs.
According to the AP on the 3rd (local time), Isidore Moorsel, chair of the Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC) in Belgium, handed a watch-sized gold ring to U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White last week, asking him to deliver it to President Trump.
The ring is adorned with 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds, and 6 rubies.
On the top of the ring, the numbers "1776" and "2026," the year of U.S. founding and this year, are rendered in diamonds. The phrase "250 YEARS USA" is engraved in 18-carat gold. At the center, an eagle symbolizing the United States spreads diamond-studded wings while clutching a shield decorated with rubies and emeralds and an olive branch.
On the side of the ring, the phrase "Made in Antwerp for Donald John Trump" is engraved. In addition, a diamond "T" shape was added at the center of a gold-made Stars and Stripes decoration.
The gift is seen as a gesture of thanks for the U.S. government's tariff exemption last year.
Antwerp, the global diamond distribution hub through which more than 80% of the world's supply passes, suffered business difficulties from the tariff war that began after President Trump took office in Feb. last year. But it weathered the crisis when annual imports of more than $2 billion in polished diamonds exported to the United States were exempted from import tariffs in Sep. last year.
Isidore Moorsel, chair of the Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC), which oversees Antwerp's diamond industry, said at the handover, "I hope this ring will long remind us that, like the finest natural diamonds, true partnerships are forged under pressure, stand the test of time, and shine brightest when built on trust."
President Trump replied in a pre-recorded video message released at the "Freedom 250" event in Brussels on the 28th of last month marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, saying, "I sincerely thank my friends in Antwerp for the wonderful 'Freedom 250' ring they gifted."
The AWDC is said to have commissioned a high-end Antwerp jeweler to make the ring. While the exact price was not disclosed, experts estimated the ring's value at $25,000 (about 38 million won) to $35,000 (about 54 million won).