Taylor Swift’s engagement ring proves that vintage never lost its shine
Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.” These words took the world by surprise as “Love Story” singer Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce announced their engagement on Aug. 26. Accompanied by a carousel of photos—set across a fairy tale scene of lush greenery, flowers, and a leafy arch—the real star (aside from the couple themselves, smiling and radiant as ever) was the vintage diamond ring on Swift’s finger.
As a GIA graduate gemologist, I find it a fascinating choice because knowing Swift’s penchant for symbolism, this ring definitely has a lot of hidden meaning and references. It also isn’t the typical mega-stone I’ve seen many celebrities or business tycoons flaunt (not that there’s anything wrong with a massive rock—you do you).
While impressive in size, this ring feels different: romantic and storied, poetic and sweet. It’s the kind of choice befitting a songwriter like Swift, who has crooned songs about love and romance while mirroring her love for storytelling, symbolism, and all things vintage.
Let’s take a look at the diamond ring and why its old-world charm has fans swooning and jewelers marveling at its craftsmanship.
Vintage elegance: An old mine cut
A closer look at Swift’s vintage ring shows that the center stone, flanked by small half-moon accent stones on either side, is an impressive diamond in a vintage old mine, brilliant cushion cut.
With deep historical roots, the old mine cut is a common diamond cut during the Gregorian and Victorian era, sometime in the 17th to early 19th century. This was a time when diamonds were measured by eye and cut by hand, giving them a more rustic type of charm. Squarish and with 58 facets (much like the modern-day brilliant diamond), the difference lies in its proportions, as it has a smaller table (the flat top facet), a larger culet (the pointed end at the bottom), and a higher crown (the top half and the widest part of the diamond). And because each old mine cut stone was handcrafted, dimensions varied from stone to stone, giving each one its own personality.
It’s important to note that the culet of the stone is an open culet (that doubles as an extra facet), which is commonly seen in vintage stones. This allows for more light to pass through to make it more brilliant.
And speaking of brilliant, it also refers to a cutting style that maximizes a gem’s sparkle. How? With angles and facets across the stone that reflect and refract light. This gives Swift’s ring a lively, dazzling glow, tempered by its rectangular silhouette and softly rounded corners—called the elongated cushion cut.
It’s all in the (diamond) details
Different jewelers have different opinions on the size of the diamond itself, but most place Swift’s old mine diamond under the seven- to 10-carat range. But it is important to note that fancy cuts (any shape besides round) usually look bigger than a round diamond of the same carat weight, thanks to their elongated shape and wider face. So this can make her ring appear impressive, even without an unusually large carat weight.
Similarly, the price of the ring itself has raised different estimates, with Hollywood jeweler and designer George Khalife putting it at around $3.5 to $5 million, Angelic Diamonds’ Neil Dutta valuing it between $1.3 to $1.5 million, and Jared Jewelers’ vice president of merchandising Ann Grimmett appraising it at a lower estimate of $125,000 to $175,000, according to People.
As for the quality of the stone itself, gemologist and jewelry researcher Benjamin Khordipour suggests in an article on Brides.com that the diamond has an F color (with D being the highest and whitest) and VS1 clarity (very slightly included), which makes it particularly valuable, since most antique diamonds tend toward more yellowish colors. A stone of this size, with this level of color and clarity—and in an old mine cut, no less—is rare.
And as an antique diamond, it can be safely assumed that the stone is natural, as lab-grown diamonds only became commercially available during the late 20th century.
What frames the sparkle
Swift’s engagement ring is set in 18-karat yellow gold with a tapered band that support the center stone. It’s not thick enough to overpower, nor is it too thin that it compromises the security of the diamond.
Although the Instagram photos don’t reveal any distinct details on the band itself (as of writing), a closer look shows some filigree work and hand-engraving on it, along with a prong setting on all four corners of the diamond.
A common setting that spotlights the stone, a prong setting is characterized by tiny metal claws that hold it up. Swift’s ring appears to have a frame backing as well. It’s a design that highlights the diamond itself, while also protecting it from the constant motion of Swift’s hands during rehearsals, handshakes, or just simply her day-to-day life.
Tailor-made with love
With input from Kelce himself, the ring was brought to life by Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine Jewelry, a studio known for hand-engraved, vintage-inspired rings. This New York-based brand, which started out in 2024, takes on an artisanal approach by hand engraving and curating vintage stones for its fine jewelry.
“I am a goldsmith specializing in hand engraving (think of it as tattooing rings—a lot of people confuse engraving with ‘etching’),” says Lubeck in a 2024 article in Voyage Jacksonville in 2024. “Basically, I take very small, sharp instruments and cut away bits of metal, usually on the sides of rings, into a particular design.”
Lubeck is the daughter of Jay Lubeck, a well-known goldsmith based in Florida. While she initially joined her father’s business in 2019, the showroom closed during the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. By June 2024, she moved to New York to start her own jewelry shop: Artifex Fine Jewelry.
Lubeck boasts over 307,000 followers on TikTok as of writing, where she posts videos of her commissioned pieces as well as behind-the-scenes footage of her making the pieces—from setting the stone to hand-carving fine details, all the way to the finished product.
Although no notable clients have been disclosed as of yet, Lubeck’s collaboration with Kelce and Swift has put her on the world’s radar, building on her reputation in creating vintage, engraved fine jewelry pieces. She also cites Kent Raible, a renowned silver and goldsmith known for his intricate detailing, as her idol in a 2024 TikTok video.
Rather than commission a high-profile, large jewelry brand, Kelce chose an independent small business for a project of this magnitude, which shows his attention to detail (just like Lubeck and her meticulously-crafted pieces) and how he wanted a uniquely personal piece to symbolize their love story.
Let’s be honest—this could be the start of a new era of heirloom engagement rings. After all, there’s just something unforgettable about receiving a tailor-made ring that’s truly one of a kind.
