Just when I thought the best thing about Tuesday was the return of the pumpkin spice latte, Taylor Swift broke the news of her engagement to Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end who is the Burton to her Taylor, if you will.
The “Love Story” singer, 35, took to Instagram on Aug. 26 to announce her engagement to Kelce, 35, in a joint post with a carousel of proposal photos taken in a fairytale-like garden, captioned “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
One of the photos includes a close-up of her engagement ring—an elegant solitaire diamond on a yellow gold band.
It is reportedly an elongated old mine-cut diamond set in a ring that Kelce designed alongside Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine, as reported by Page Six.
Lubeck, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, is a New York City-based jewelry designer and goldsmith who specializes in hand-engraved, vintage-inspired styles and ethically sourced natural gemstones.
She also recently released The Vault Collection, which is a fun detail for Swift, the queen of Easter Eggs, who added never-before-heard songs called “From the Vault” tracks to her recently re-recorded albums.
While official details on the ring had not been released as of press time, several sources estimate the diamond to be about 10 carats, though Olivia Landau, founder and CEO of The Clear Cut, notes that the stone does appear to be “spready,” and estimated the size as somewhere between 4 and 7 carats.
Estimates on the price range from $500,000 to more than $1 million. Natural Diamond Council’s Grant Mobley said the ring, with “exceptionally high clarity and such a rare, unique cut,” would be valued at around $750,000.
Fashion commentator Sarah Chapelle of @TaylorSwiftStyled observed in her post that the filigree work also appears to include a small “T” on each side, possibly in reference to Taylor and Travis’ couple nickname ‘TnT’, which, Chapelle noted, Taylor nodded at in her caption via a dynamite emoji.
Celebrity engagement rings have a history of driving trends, and interest in vintage cuts has already been on the rise.
Swift’s diamond seemingly could only boost this trend, and it could influence the type of bands people choose too.
“I anticipate that this is going to increase people wanting hand engraving and customizations to their solitaire,” said Constance Polamalu, chief operating officer of Zachary’s Jewelers.
“It’s also important to me that her band is not super thin, like a lot of the rings that we’ve seen in recent years, so I do think that this is going to continue the trend of having a more substantial band. This piece is super romantic and a definite ode to the vintage world of romance.”
Also seen in the proposal photos—a gold Cartier watch, specifically the brand’s Santos Demoiselle Quartz, that Swift has worn before, notably in a recent appearance on a certain someone’s podcast.