THE RUNDOWN:
- At 1 pm on August 26, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement on Instagram with a five-image carousel
- The carousel featured a blinding old mine-cut engagement ring estimated to be 13 carats, and worth $1.5 million
- ELLE Australia spoke with three jewellers to break down the exact details of the ring, the value and why vintage stones are trending
It happened. After decades of penning lovelorn lyrics about boys who hurt her—remember those high school moments spent on the bleachers?—Taylor Swift is engaged to her football captain boyfriend Travis Kelce. And we couldn’t be more thrilled to see a blinding engagement ring on her finger.
In scenes from what could have been a part of an “Enchanted” music video, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 35, got down on one knee to propose to his megastar Showgirl girlfriend, also 35. The couple have been together for two years.
“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” Swift wrote on a joint Instagram with Kelce on August 26.
Taylor Swift’s Engagement Ring Details:
Kelce has become famous for his extravagant jewellery gifts to Swift. In December 2024, he celebrated her birthday with a staggering $175,000 US worth of jewellery and roses. But this particular gift takes the cake. Kelce proposed with a ring he custom-designed with New York-based jeweller Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine Jewellery. The elongated antique old mine cushion cut is reportedly eight carats.
Ann Grimmett, the Vice President of Merchandising at Jared Jewellers, spoke to ELLE US about the ring’s details. “Taylor Swift’s engagement ring has an heirloom look that is both romantic and dreamy,” she told the publication. “It’s traditional with a modern flair. The centre stone appears to be a bezel set… the side stones look to be a half-moon plus a small round, which contributes to its more vintage look.”
“The diamond is set in a beautiful portrait orientation, with a four-claw, low-profile setting,” explains jeweller Monika Ruggerino, who specialises in fine and bespoke jewellery. “The settings collet supports the large diamond, allowing for minimal claw coverage of the stone.”
Related: Every Piece of Jewellery In Travis Kelce’s $175k Birthday Gift To Taylor Swift
How Much Did Taylor Swift’s Engagement Ring Cost?
Toya Worsley, founder of Lindelli, a jeweller specialising in antique cut lab-grown diamonds, says the cushion-cut Old Mine diamond could have a hidden meaning. “With 13 being her lucky number, I reckon it could be 13 carats,” she tells ELLE Australia. Meanwhile, Worsley estimates a natural diamond of that size would be valued “between $800,000 and $1.5 million… depending on the colour, clarity, and provenance of the stone.”
What Is An Old Mine Diamond?
Travis Kelce made a thoughtful choice with Taylor Swift’s engagement ring: it has a vintage feel and is a one-of-a-kind stone, just like his bride-to-be. “[Old Mine diamonds are] uniquely hand cut and usually cushion shaped, although they’re also found in round and elongated cushion styles,” Monika Ruggerino tells ELLE Australia. “These date from the Edwardian and Georgian periods at a time which pre-dated modern laser cutting technology, when diamonds were cleaved by hand,” Ruggerino says. Old mine-cut diamonds are loved for their irregular faceting and typically large cut, which gives them a unique radiance. The style has experienced a resurgence in recent years. “In an age where the large ‘perfect’ lab-grown diamonds are dime-a-dozen, people are seeking a unique look. These old cuts are usually sourced from antique estates and are therefore genuinely ethical and have low environmental impact.”
Ruggerino says hand-cut jewels require a high level of craftsmanship, a skill which she practices herself. “I absolutely adore this design, with its hand-engraved finish. I hope this brings a new level of appreciation to this style. It’s simple, refined, elegant and with intricate details that can only be seen up close, allowing for the unique stone to shine.”
The Trend For Larger Diamonds:
Jewellers are reporting that clients are gravitating towards larger stones, which the exponential growth of the lab-grown diamond market has partly driven. Tabitha Cummings, founder of The Cut Jewellery, shares that while Swift’s ring has an estimated value of $1 million, a lab-grown stone of the same size would cost just $25,000. We’ve seen celebrities like Dua Lipa, Lauren Sanchez and, infamously, Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez opt for larger diamonds this year. While the trend is more achievable from a cost perspective, it’s still important to factor in your lifestyle.
“We are cautious to ensure these stones match people’s lifestyles,” she says. “If you’re working with your hands, Taylor’s ring style is probably not the one for you,” says Cummings. “That being said, we’ve had doctors and nurses purchase larger engagement rings, and they simply don’t wear their ring on a daily basis – they leave it for the weekend.” Indeed, it’s now something of a trend —even among celebrities—to wear only a wedding band day-to-day, saving larger rings with low settings for special occasions. Hailee Steinfeld is just one celebrity who frequently leaves her engagement ring at home, opting for a diamond-studded wedding band day-to-day.
How Long Have Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce Been Together?
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift have been together for two years, and the story of how they met is very sweet. It all started when Kelce attended one of Swift’s “Eras Tour” concerts in July 2023. After the show, he mentioned on his podcast, New Heights, that he had tried (and failed) to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it — a tradition among her fans. His charming story went viral, sparking media buzz and public curiosity. Though Swift didn’t meet him at that concert, the story clearly caught her attention.
“I was disappointed that [Taylor] doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings,” Kelce recently said to Swift on his New Heights podcast. “So, I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.”
But he managed to make contact, and a few months later, rumours of the couple spending time together began to surface. By the American fall of 2023, Swift was seen attending several Chiefs games, cheering Kelce on from the stands. The two eventually confirmed their relationship, becoming one of pop culture’s most talked-about couples. Their connection seemed to grow quickly, blending the worlds of sports and music in a high-profile romance that fans and the media eagerly followed. While they met in a light-hearted way, their relationship has since become a major talking point and a modern celebrity love story.
“I give The Eras Tour credit,” Travis told Swift in the podcast episode. “Because if I had never gone to that show and just been mesmerised and just been captivated — and then left with such a desire to want to meet you, I would’ve never gone on [New Heights] and told everybody how butt hurt I was.”
“I had never been so engulfed in the curiosity of who you were,” he continued. “We see you on the stage, and we see how crazy you can get an entire stadium going, and then I get you in a room, and it’s like I’ve known you forever. It was just the easiest conversation I ever had. It was so much fun that it just knocked my socks off.”
We are just beaming today. We are so happy for you, Taylor! Your very own Love Story.
