Halle Berry's Bauble Sparks New Round of Engagement Rumors

Wonderwall, Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 12:35pm (PST)

By Kat Giantis

• One year ago this month, Halle Berry was spotted wearing a jewel on her ring finger, setting off a flurry of speculation that she was engaged to her actor beau, Olivier Martinez. She denied the reports, but they've surfaced once again after she stepped out sporting an eye-catching accessory on her all-important digit.

  The twice-divorced star, 45, was snapped this week wearing an emerald-like ring on her left hand (below), which may or may not be the same decorative piece of jewelry she had on when the initial reports circulated in January of 2011. At the time, her rep insisted the ring was one of her own, not a bended-knee offering from her squinty-eyed French amour.

  Halle's spokesperson did not respond to our request for comment on this latest round of engagement whispers.

  Still, the Oscar winner, who went through bitter divorces with Eric Benet and David Justice and continues to wrangle with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry over custody of 3-year-old daughter Nahla, has repeatedly declared that she's off marriage for good.

  "I will never marry again. I mean it with every bone in my body," she promised Oprah in 2004 (given O's mighty power, that pledge could be legally binding). "I no longer feel the need to be someone's wife, and I don't need the validation of a marriage certificate."

  Berry reiterated her stance in 2007, telling In Style, "I will never, never get married again. Actually it's just that now I've come to a place where I think two people can share their lives without the ring, without the piece of paper."

  Halle fell for Olivier, 45, while shooting the still-on-the-shelf thriller "Dark Tide" in 2010, and she's made sure he gets plenty of quality time with Nahla.

  Paparazzi were conveniently on hand to capture a picture-perfect Malibu beach outing on New Year's Day with Martinez and the tot, who at one point was seen running toward him with open arms.

  "I'm not done with love, but I refuse to settle," the actress told the September 2010 issue of Vogue. "I am a hopeless romantic. And I won't stop till I get it right."

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