Breaking Tradition: Elizabeth Banks Marks 20th Anniv. With ‘Peacock’ Sapphire

Actress and producer Elizabeth Banks commemorated her 20th wedding anniversary on Wednesday with an Instagram Story showing a closeup of her newest bling — a greenish-blue sapphire ring.

Traditionally, her 20th anniversary gemstone should have been an emerald, but Banks opted for a "peacock" sapphire, which displays a unique play of blues and greens, similar to that of a peacock feather.

She overlayed the photo with a caption that read: “The 20th anniversary ring.” She also tagged her soulmate and business partner, Max Handelman, and included the hashtag peacocksapphire. The ring features the large oval-cut sapphire adorned by a halo of small white diamonds set upon a matching diamond-encrusted band.

In separate posts on her Instagram timeline, Banks shared with her 3.8 million followers a series of black-and-white photos from her wedding day in 2003 juxtaposed with a more recent pic of the couple.

"Time flies when you’re making an amazing life together," Banks wrote. "20 years. Proudest achievement. Feels like yesterday. Love to all who celebrated with us. Couldn’t do it without you."

The peacock sapphire is an excellent choice for everyday wear because it has a high resistance to scratching. Sapphires rate a 9 out of 10 on the Mohs hardness scale. Only diamonds rate higher.

Peacock sapphires owe their color to the presence of iron within the chemical composition of the stone. Their value is based on the size of the polished gem, the intensity of its color, the clarity of the stone and whether or not it has been heat treated.

Peacock sapphires are sourced in many locations, including India, Sri Lanka and the state of Montana.

Although the couple has been officially married for 20 years, their love story goes back 30 years, when they fell in love at the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school in Philadelphia. She was 19 and he was 20 at the time.

The couple owns Brownstone Productions, which is best known for producing all three Pitch Perfect movies, as well as the 2019 version of Charlie’s Angels. They also share two children, Felix, 12, and Magnus Mitchell, 10.

Credits: Photos via Instagram/elizabethbanks.