Maples To Auction Engagement Ring

NEW YORK (AP) â€” Marla Maples apparently has decided a diamond isn't forever, much to Donald Trump's dismay. <br><br>The developer is flabbergasted that his ex-wife has decided to auction off

Thursday, May 18th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” Marla Maples apparently has decided a diamond isn't forever, much to Donald Trump's dismay.

The developer is flabbergasted that his ex-wife has decided to auction off the diamond engagement ring he gave her.

``It seems pretty tacky to me. It's really ridiculous,'' Trump said in today's New York Post.

The auction is set for June 2, said Joseph DuMouchelle, the Detroit auctioneer handling the sale. Bidding is to begin around $80,000, and the ring is expected to sell for between $100,000 and $150,000, he said.

The ring by Harry Winston features a 7.45-carat emerald-cut diamond and 16 graduated, straight baguette-cut diamonds. Trump gave it to Maples in the early 1990s, after they began dating while he was still married to his previous wife, Ivana Trump.

Trump and Maples married in late 1993, after she gave birth to their daughter, Tiffany. They were divorced in 1997.

A spokeswoman for Maples did not return the newspaper's calls seeking comment.