Maria Sharapova's engagement ring priced 250K

Vujacic proposed to Sharapova with quarter-million dollar ring

When Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic proposed to Maria Sharapova earlier this month, he did so with a ring befitting a three-time Grand Slam champion.

ince accepting Vujacic's proposal, Sharapova has been seen in public wearing a huge diamond ring that is believed to have cost as much as $250,000. According to a jewelry expert contacted by US Weekly, Sharapova's engagement ring is an 8-carat, cushion-cut diamond resting on a split-shank platinum band.

[Photos: Celebrities dazzle in diamonds]

A quarter-million dollars is a whole lot of money to spend on a ring, but considering how much money Vujacic makes a year, he may have gotten off easy. As my mom constantly reminds me, a man is supposed to spend two months salary on a ring. Since Vujacic is scheduled to make $5.5 million this year with the Lakers, that would equate to buying a ring worth $912,000. Of course, that two-month rule probably doesn't apply to celebrities, or else Bill Gates would have had to have given his wife a diamond the size of the Rock of Gibraltar.

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova was recently spotted with her new engagement ring, which was given to her by her fiancee L.A. Laker Sasha Vujacic .

"This ring makes a statement. It''s no wonder why Maria is smiling in the photos! " UsMagazine.com quoted jewelry expert Michael O''Connor as saying.

O''Connor gave more details on the Grand Slam winner''s bling: the center stone appears to be a cushion-cut diamond of approximately 7 to 8 carats on a thick, split-shank platinum band.

Estimated cost, according to O''Connor: 250,000 dollars.

After nearly a year of dating -they first stepped out together at a November 2009 U2 concert -- Vujacic proposed to Sharapova in his Manhattan Beach, Calif. home.

No wedding date has been announced.

Maria Sharapov
Maria Sharapov
Maria Sharapov
Maria Sharapov
Maria Sharapov