The reality TV star - who got engaged to New Jersey Nets basketball player Kris Humphries last month - is having an exact copy created but with a cubic zirconia instead of a diamond, because she is too afraid of damaging the 20.5 carat genuine version.

A source told RadarOnline.com: "It`s going to be perfect and really difficult to detect that it`s a fake to the untrained eye.

"But, it will be a huge weight off of Kim`s mind. Walking around wearing a ring that`s worth around half the value of her house worries her sick, but at the same time she wants to wear the ring all the time.

"Kim is totally in love with it, as she is Kris, and she wants to show it off. This, she believes, is the perfect solution.

"She will wear the real thing when she goes to special events or when she feels comfortable, but when she`s just tooling around she can wear her `decoy`."

But the `Keeping up with the Kardashians` star - who is set to tie the knot with Kris in the summer - will still have to take care of the "top notch" replica because it is still an expensive piece of jewellery.

The source added: "The decoy is still going to be pretty valuable! Kim has chosen a great jeweller who specialises in costume jewellery and he`s going to make a fantastic replica.

"This isn`t going to be some tacky cheap-looking bauble like you would win at an arcade, it`s going to be absolutely classy and top notch - just like Kim!"
sections: Celebrities