The Hallmark of a Panamanian. The Engagement Ring of Princess Alexandra of Hanover.
Alexandra of Hanover’s engagement ring features a Fancy Yellow diamond. The piece, crafted in 18K white and yellow gold, is by the Italian firm Antinori Di Sanpietro directed by the Panamanian Alessandra Antinori along with her husband Andrea Landolfi.
It is always fun to find a story where the word Panama shows up and is attached to Royalty. The engagement ring of Princess Alexandra of Hanover, daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco and Ernst August of Hanover, has a connection to Panama. The piece was crafted by Antinori Di Sanpietro, a fine jewelry firm based in Italy and run by Panamanian Alessandra Antinori and her husband, Andrea Landolfi. Alessandra was born in Panama. She is of Italian-Panamanian descent. She studied law here and became a licensed attorney. In 2007, she moved to Italy and met her husband a year later. In 2012, together with some friends, she founded the jewelry store in Rome. Currently, Alessandra and Andrea are its sole owners.
In an interview with ELLAS, Alessandra revealed that in April of this year she received an email from German businessman Ben-Sylvester Strautmann above left, who was looking for a ring for his girlfriend, Princess Alexandra above right, 27. Ben had a specific request: he wanted a yellow diamond and a design that departed from traditional models. “He told me that she comes from a traditional family, but that she isn’t particularly fond of traditional things. She’s a person with her own opinions and wanted a piece of jewelry that would last a lifetime,” the Panamanian businesswoman told ELLAS in a video call from Rome. From that conversation, they worked on selecting the stones, the structure of the piece, and the metals. The ring was crafted in 18-karat yellow and white gold.
Inside, beneath the central stone, a geometric motif based on the floor of the Piazza del Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo, was included, a detail that can only be appreciated when the piece is not placed on the finger. “They love Italy,” Alessandra says of the young couple who got engaged a week ago. The ring was made specifically for the princess and will now be part of the new collection that the jewelry store will launch soon, inspired by Roman architecture. Regarding the piece, Alessandra explained that it is a natural diamond, “of the highest purity (VVS1)”, a Fancy Yellow diamond, “which are very special stones. Only a few of the diamonds that can be obtained in nature are yellow and it is more appreciated than a white diamond.”
A Dinner in Monte Carlo.
The ring was made in less than four months and was delivered to the groom in August. Ben and Alexandra announced their engagement on Thursday, September 11, with a photo gallery on the princess’s Instagram profile where she proudly showed off her new jewel. This weekend, the Panamanian businesswoman and lawyer and her husband traveled from Rome to Monte Carlo to find the ring and have it resized. During their visit, they shared a dinner with the princess and her fiancé. “The ring, even though we had it custom-made, was a little too big, so we went, picked it up, and had it resized. When we returned, we had dinner with them. When we arrived, she came up to me and hugged me. I wasn’t expecting it,” Alessandra recounted, describing the princess as a “very warm” person.
Panamanian Alessandra Antinori with her husband, Italian Andrea Landolfi. They own the Antinori Di Sanpietro jewelry store, where Princess Alexandra of Hanover’s engagement ring was crafted.
On the day of the dinner, the princess shared a post on Instagram where she is wearing a yellow Givenchy dress, which belonged to her grandmother, actress Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco. “She (Alexandra) has that duality: she’s a modern princess, but at the same time she has a lot of respect for her family’s traditions and everything they represent,” Alessandra added.
The ring’s cushion-cut center stone is flanked by a pair of trillion-cut diamonds. Antinori says that Strautmann connected with the firm on 1stDibs, and the ring he ended up purchasing for Princess Alexandra features a 4.8-carat VVS1-clarity fancy yellow cushion-cut diamond flanked by a pair of trillion-cut white diamonds. The center stone is set in 18-karat yellow gold, and the trillion-cut stones are set in 18-karat white gold. “It’s a classic engagement ring,” Antinori says.
