Will Taylor Swift's engagement ring spark a new trend? Long Island jewelers say 'yes.'
Taylor Swift's engagement ring is valued at $550,000. Credit: Taylor Swift Instagram
In case you missed it (how?), Taylor Swift’s got a brand-new ring. The pop singer and Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, both 35, announced their engagement in a joint post on Instagram Tuesday with the caption, "Your English Teacher and Your Gym Teacher Are Getting Married," flaunting what appears to be a verrrry big diamond.
So will the "Bejeweled" hitmaker's new bauble spawn a craze? One day after the ring became public, Danny Sobi, the veteran engagement specialist and jewelry manager at Kravit Jewelers in Oceanside, has gotten calls for it. "Anytime a celebrity posts their engagement ring, it piques people’s interest and becomes a trend," he explained Wednesday. "Once women get a picture of this ring out to their soon-to-be fiances, there’s definitely going to be an influx of interest."
"When the news broke that they got engaged the whole industry and Swifties alike were going crazy about it,” said Scott Udell, founder of luxury engagement ring boutique TWO by London at the Americana Manhasset. “I’ve already heard from quite a few people about it,” he added, referencing his clients. “Both from the stone and ring perspective, it’s a very unique look, very craftsman heavy with etching and engraving standpoint. It will definitely start a craze.”
The ring, estimated to be a whopping 8 carats and reportedly valued at $550,000, was co-designed by Kelce and New York City-based designer Kindred Lubeck, of Artifex Jewelry. It stars an antique oval, cushion-cut sparkler and features a distinctly ornate gold setting.
It is an extraordinary stone, said David Charles Frank, an independent jeweler from Sea Cliff who is friendly with Lubeck. According to Frank, the stone came from Los Angeles-based rare gem dealer Anup Jogani. "It is an elongated old mine cut, which is very rare. This stone was probably polished by hand over 100 years ago," Frank said. "Each old mine cut is a handmade, one-of-a kind work of art and piece of history." He added: "To me, it says that Taylor Swift has very special niche taste and an appreciation for old things."
The price is not the norm for mere mortals, said Morgan Saatchi, vice president of SVS Fine Jewelry in Oceanside. "This is certainly not the average price for engagement rings but ... she’s Taylor Swift," Saatchi said. "I think it’s fair to say that the average spent here on Long Island is between $5,000 to $10,000," though the company has one 10.07 carat cushion-cut stone in stock right now that sells for $471,638. Saatchi is impressed: "Taylor’s ring is absolutely stunning. I love the yellow gold. I think it’s making a resurgence."
That said, at least one bride-to-be basically said if you've got it, flaunt it. Shannon Conway, 35, of Long Beach, will wed Eric Mazza, 38, on Oct. 11. While she’s thrilled with her 2-carat pear-shaped engagement ring, she wouldn’t mind if her groom spent Kelce kind of dough on her. "You want the man to show that he cares about you and you mean something to him, but there’s a spectrum. If we still could live the lifestyle and live comfortably, and if he really wanted to spend it, OK," Conway said. "As long as he has the means and we’re not going to be living on the streets."
Swift isn’t the only celebrity who has gone the cushion-cut diamond route. At the Golden Globes in January, Zendaya flashed her 5.02-carat engagement ring from actor Tom Holland, who reportedly proposed over the holidays. Designed by London-based jewelry brand Jessica McCormack, the ring features an east-west setting in which the diamond is oriented horizontally along the band. Experts estimate the ring’s cost to be about $200,000.
As for the style of Swift’s ring, Conway said: "I don’t think I would want that big of a ring. I like things that are not so flashy. I’d rather just get the ring I love," which she did, adding, "it doesn’t matter the cost."
