SPY: Can Kim Kardashian help Michael Hill?

Kim Kardashian (left) and Michael Hill. Photo / Supplied

She is a perma-tanned reality TV star famed for her booty. He is a perma-tanned jeweller famed for his bling. Can it be love?

Well, it was in New York yesterday when rent-a-schleb Kim Kardashian joined forces with Kiwi Michael Hill to launch a competition to find the "world's best couple" and give away a 22-carat diamond engagement ring.

Ironically, Kardashian is single, but that wasn't stopping her from accepting the invitation - and the cheque - to front the romantic campaign.

It is not clear how much Hill is paying Kardashian to lend her star power but we know the bombshell brunette was prepared to negotiate.

"Because she loved the idea so much, we got her at a not too bad a price. But she is not cheap," Hill said.

Neither is the giveaway rock. While the Michael Hill team describe the ring as "priceless", jewellery experts estimate the bling ring is worth more than $1 million.

"I've never met a jeweller who was willing to give away a 22-carat diamond ring to a couple that he feels like is just truly genuinely in love," the star of Keeping up with the Kardashians gushed yesterday at the official launch of the campaign in New York.

In 2008 Michael Hill International bought 17 jewellery stores from American company Whitehall Jewelers, but this year it announced it would close eight of those stores, blaming the recession.

The competition - open to couples in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - and Kardashian's star appearance is expected to get Hill's North American interests back on track.