BRUSSELS \u2013 Dozens of diamonds spell out two giant letter \u201cT\u201d next to the Stars and Stripes and \u201c1776\u201d and \u201c2026.\u201d Dozens more frame the numbers 45 and 47 in the shape of Superman\u2019s logo. A diamond-winged eagle carries a ruby shield and clutches an olive branch of emeralds, below a radiant \u201c250\u201d and atop the phrase \u201c250 YEARS USA\u201d etched in 18-karat gold.<\/p>\n
All told, 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds and six rubies encrust the watch-sized gold ring presented this week to Bill White, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, to give to President Donald Trump.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA very special thank you to my friends from Antwerp for the magnificent Freedom 250 ring,\u201d Trump said in a prerecorded video message during an event marking America\u2019s 250th birthday<\/a> in Brussels.<\/p>\n Isidore M\u00f6rsel, president of the Antwerp World Diamond Center, or AWDC, gifted the ring on behalf of the centuries-old diamond community in the Belgian port city, a central node in the worldwide trade<\/a> of the precious stones that found itself struggling last year under the weight of Trump\u2019s sweeping trade war.<\/p>\n \u201cMay this ring serve as a lasting reminder that true partnership like the finest natural diamonds are formed under pressure, endure the test of time, and shine brightest when built on trust,\u201d M\u00f6rsel said. The ring’s interior is engraved with the phrase \u201cCrafted in Antwerp for Donald John Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n In dollar terms, the ring\u2019s value pales beside gifts like the $400 million plane donated by Qatar<\/a> that Trump ordered converted into a new Air Force One. But it\u2019s a glitzy window into the role that ostentatious \u2013 and almost always gilded \u2014 gifts are playing by those seeking to curry favor with the U.S. president.<\/p>\n A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said Thursday that the ring has not been presented to Trump yet.<\/p>\n The ring is latest in Trump’s historic break with White House custom <\/p>\n The gift comes months after Belgium\u2019s diamond industry won the removal of U.S. tariffs on diamond imports. In September, AWDC said it had \u201csucceeded in securing a zero percent import tariff\u201d on Antwerp\u2019s annual export of more than $2 billion of polished diamonds to the U.S. A spokesperson for the group said on Thursday that the AWDC provided \u201cinput\u201d to the European Commission as it negotiated with Trump on a broad deal on tariffs<\/a> in 2025, but did not itself lobby the administration.<\/p>\n