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Johannesburg - Kim Kardashian is counting her losses after being robbed at gunpoint a week ago.
The new – or should we say “upgraded” – 20-carat diamond engagement ring she lost in the heist apparently cost more than R55m.
Initially, it was reported that the reality star had lost jewellery worth R137m when five gunmen disguised as police officers and wearing ski masks bound and gagged her in the luxury Hôtel de Pourtalès before making off with her prized belongings.
But celebrity gossip site TMZ has revised this figure to a total value of R77m.
Days before Kardashian’s ordeal, she had shared a touching story of how her rapper husband Kanye West surprised her in the middle of the night by leaving the bauble on her pillow.
The rapper also showed his romantic side by having the Lorraine Schwartz band engraved with the word ‘Adidas’, reports the UK’s Daily Mail.
She told the story after radio host Andy Cohen asked about her “upgraded” engagement ring, which is even larger than the first one she got and which she first showed off at last month’s MTV Video Music Awards, on his show Radio Andy just days before the robbery.
Kardashian reportedly said: “I was sleeping and (Kanye) woke me up in the middle of the night and said, “Babe, babe, I got you something from Adidas.
And I said, ‘I’ll get the shoes in the morning babe, I’m sleeping’. And then he put a box on my pillow, a Lorraine Schwartz box, and he goes, ‘No, open your eyes’.”
She explained how West told her he had got her a special gift, which he even had personalised for her, to celebrate a business agreement he had just inked.
She said: “I was like, ‘Do I have to give my other ring back?’ and he was like, ‘Can you do that?’”
Out with the old
Kardashian obviously traded in her old ring for the new one as she was frequently seen flashing it on social media afterwards.
While some people have sympathised with the mother of two, others, including fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, have criticised Kardashian for being “too public” with her riches.
Lagerfeld suggested to Daily Mail that the reality star had attracted this ordeal herself.
“(She is) too public, too public – we have to [consider] in what times we live,” he said.
“You cannot display your wealth and then be surprised when some people want a share of it.
I don’t understand why she was in a hotel with no security. If you are that famous and you put all your jewellery on the internet, you should go to hotels where nobody can come near the room,” Lagerfeld said.
Meanwhile, jewellery appraiser Joseph DuMouchelle told Entertainment Tonight this week that it would be difficult to sell Kardashian’s jewellery and get away with it because of the rarity and quality of her pieces.
“These diamonds would be almost impossible to sell. It’s not that they couldn’t be sold, but they’re challenging because of the size, the rarity and because of the quality,” he said.
No arrests have been made.
