Cartier Love Ring (18k yellow gold, classic)

A ring with screws for decoration

The classic LOVE ring is a flat 18K yellow gold band 5.5 millimeters wide, ringed with the engraved screw heads that define the LOVE line. Cartier sells it as reference CRB4084600, also written B4084600, in sizes from 44 to 62.

Cartier's own description begins with the bracelet: 'The LOVE collection began with the iconic bracelet created in New York in 1969,' an oval identified by 'its radical, innovative motif that dares to show its screws.' The ring carries that idea at a fraction of the bracelet's price.

According to WWD, Aldo Cipullo introduced the LOVE ring in 1978, and a diamond-set LOVE bracelet the following year.

Aldo Cipullo

Aldo Cipullo was born in Naples on November 18, 1935, and grew up largely in Rome, where his father owned a costume jewelry manufacturing business. He moved to the United States in 1959 to study at Manhattan's School of Visual Arts, then designed for the American jeweler David Webb before joining Tiffany & Co. He began working with Cartier in 1969.

WWD reports that he presented a gold bangle that could only be put on or removed with another person's help to Michael Thomas, chief executive of Cartier's then-independent New York branch. The design was driven by his own experience of heartbreak, and the visible screws were inspired by American hardware stores. Each bracelet came with a special screwdriver, and the screwdriver was also offered on a necklace, so one partner could wear the lock and the other the key.

Cipullo also created the Juste un Clou nail designs for Cartier in 1971 and won the Coty Award for jewelry in 1974. He died on February 4, 1984, at 48, after two heart attacks.

From the 1970s to now

The bracelet quickly caught on with the decade's famous couples, WWD writes, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and Ali MacGraw and Steve McQueen. Cartier registered a trademark for the stylized name in 1974. Cipullo's original bracelet retailed for $250, WWD reports.

After his death the line kept growing: white gold versions in 1993 and rose gold in 2002, according to WWD. Wikipedia notes that platinum bracelets were offered and later discontinued, that pavé diamond versions arrived in 2009, and that thinner models use a hinge and a single screw. In the 1990s Cartier sued jewelry stores in Manhattan and Puerto Rico for selling counterfeit LOVE bracelets.

The ring arrived in 1978, a year that also brought the first test-tube baby, the Camp David Accords and the Year of Three Popes.

How to identify it, and what it costs

On the maker's U.S. site the classic LOVE ring comes in four metals: yellow gold (CRB4084600) at $2,160, pink gold (CRB4084800) at $2,160, white gold (CRB4084700) at $2,320 and platinum (CRB4084900) at $4,500, as of October 3, 2026. The yellow gold version was listed as unavailable online. Cartier notes that product dimensions vary with the size ordered.

Secondhand examples circulate widely. One U.S. dealer listed a yellow gold classic ring, reference B4084600, in size 50 (US 5.25) with Cartier service papers dated January 2026 and a Cartier pouch, at an asking price of $1,900; the listing was marked sold within 12 months and gives no sale date.

Because Cartier has fought counterfeit LOVE pieces in court, the reference number and Cartier's own service papers are worth matching against any secondhand example.

The numbers

Metal

18K yellow gold (750/1000)

Width

5.5mm

Stones

None

Sizes

44 to 62 (US 3 to 10)

Reference

CRB4084600 / B4084600

Designer

Aldo Cipullo

Timeline

1. Nov 18, 1935

   Aldo Cipullo is born in Naples, Italy.

2. 1959

   Cipullo moves to the United States and studies at the School of Visual Arts.

3. 1969

   Cipullo presents the LOVE bracelet to Cartier's New York branch.

4. 1971

   Cipullo creates the Juste un Clou nail designs for Cartier.

5. 1974

   Cartier registers a trademark for the stylized LOVE name; Cipullo wins the Coty Award.

6. 1978

   Cipullo introduces the LOVE ring, according to WWD.

7. 1979

   A diamond-set LOVE bracelet debuts.

8. Feb 4, 1984

   Cipullo dies at 48.

9. 1993

   White gold LOVE pieces are introduced.

10. 2002

    Rose gold LOVE pieces are introduced.

11. 2009

    Cartier marks 100 years in the U.S. with limited LOVE bracelets set with colored stones; pavé diamond versions appear.

12. Oct 3, 2026

    The yellow gold classic LOVE ring is listed at $2,160 on the maker's U.S. site.

The world in 1978

• Mar 16, 1978

  Former Italian premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped by the Red Brigades.

• Apr 2, 1978

  The TV series Dallas debuts on CBS.

• Jun 1, 1978

  The FIFA World Cup opens in Argentina.

• Jul 25, 1978

  Louise Brown, the first test-tube baby, is born in England.

• Sep 17, 1978

  Israel and Egypt sign the Camp David Accords.

• Oct 16, 1978

  John Paul II becomes the first Polish pope, in the Year of Three Popes.

• Nov 18, 1978

  More than 900 people die at Jonestown, Guyana.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Cartier Love Ring (18k yellow gold, classic) is number 97 of 100 in the jewelry entries of the FLOAT 100. 44 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (95 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• The LOVE bracelet's screws were inspired by American hardware stores.
• The original bracelet could not be put on or taken off without a second person and a screwdriver.
• Cipullo's first LOVE bracelet retailed for $250.
• The stylized logo puts a line through the O to suggest the locking screw.
• Before Cartier, Cipullo designed for David Webb and for Tiffany & Co.
• The same yellow gold ring costs $160 less than the white gold version at Cartier's U.S. retail.