“WAITY Katie” Middleton finally got the ring when Prince William proposed to her last month. The royal engagement ring – an 18-carat blue sapphire rimmed with diamonds – was originally given by Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer and bought, for an estimated £28,000, from crown jeweller, Garrard.

Since then jewellers have noted a surge in demand for lookalikes. Michael Jordan of O’Reilly’s in Dublin’s Francis Street said its jewellery auction next Wednesday at 1pm features “a very good substitute”: a diamond and sapphire cluster ring mounted in 18ct white gold and dating from the 1920s. The Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) sapphire weighs 3.5ct, the diamonds, 2.44 ct and the estimate is €6,000- €7,000. Celtic princely types really hoping to impress their little princesses might want to throw in Lot 142 – a diamond and sapphire cluster bracelet (€5,000–€6,000).

More patriotic types may prefer an antique diamond-and-emerald brooch shaped like a shamrock, made in 1910 (€600-€800). After last week’s sale of the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels in London, art deco jewellery is red hot. Any big spenders left after this week’s Budget might want to splash out for the “woman they love” and bid for an art deco diamond bracelet, of geometric design, set with 14.00 ct of old cut and baguette-cut diamonds, mounted in white gold (€18,000- €20,000).