It’s a Love Story and, baby, she said yes! After two years of dating, and MONTHS of furious speculation by devoted Swifties, megastar singer Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce have announced their engagement. And, as we’d hoped, the fabulous diamond ring is a whopper.
Swift posted a series of sweetly romantic pictures of the couple in a flowery garden setting to announce her engagement to Kelce, accompanied by the track ‘So High School’ which she wrote about her beau. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” she wrote in the caption. Her post garnered well over 11 million likes in just under an hour on her Instagram account, with her newly-minted fiancé Travis Kelce attracting a similar number of likes on his account at the same time.
A close up image in the photo carousel revealed Taylor’s elongated diamond sparkler (as well as her diamond-encrusted Cartier watch) which People Magazine revealed had been created for Travis Kelce to pop the question by Kindred Lubeck. The New York-based goldsmith and jewellery designer specialises in unique gemstone pieces featuring delicate hand-engraving, which she sells under the label Artifex Fine Jewelry.
It also revealed that Lubeck had designed Swift’s new vintage-inspired ring in collaboration with the loved-up Kansas City Chiefs player. The piece features a large old mine brilliant cut diamond, weighing at least 8 carats, and a delicately hand-engraved yellow gold band. Fellow designer Maddy Sangster, of UK jewellers Heavenly London, estimated its value to be “around £500,000” (around $673,600).
“Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement ring is as exceptional as the couple themselves. Their engagement is celebrated with a huge antique elongated cushion cut diamond. The diamond looks to be around 10 carat which makes it truly rare,” expands Lisa Levinson, head of UK at the Natural Diamond Council. “The choice of an antique diamond reflects an interest in story and provenance. This diamond could have had many lives and experiences before it was chosen to be their engagement ring. Many old cut diamonds have been refashioned which means their rarity increases by the year.”
For independent jeweller, Ellis Mhairi Cameron – who also creates sculptural jewels using antique stones and textured gold – the slightly imperfect nature of an Old Mine diamond only increases its profoundly romantic nature. In contrast to the flawless brilliants favoured by many other celebrities for their engagement rings, “Old mine cuts are the hand-cut predecessors to the modern brilliant. I love that they have larger facets, smaller tables and a softer, more romantic sparkle – they’re less about precision and more about personality. Each was cut by eye and hand, so no two are ever the same, which is exactly what makes them so special,” she notes.
Swift and Kelce were first linked in the summer of 2023, when Kelce mentioned on his New Heights podcast (which he hosts alongside his brother, Jason) that he had attended one of Swift’s concerts and written his number on a friendship bracelet to give to her. The accessory has a huge significance for Swift’s fans, who like to create and trade them at her performances as a show of love and solidarity.
Like this? Take a closer look at Taylor Swift’s incredible jewellery collection.
Join our newsletter here
