Taylor Swift’s Engagement Ring Signals a New Era for Antique Diamond Cuts
The trend was already bubbling below the surface; now these stones are on their way to peak popularity
Will Taylor Swift’s recently announced engagement to Travis Kelce spark a wildfire engagement ring trend? If the enduring influence of the pink diamond ring that Ben Affleck gave to Jennifer Lopez nearly two decades ago is any indication, the ripple effect of Swift’s unique engagement ring center stone seems poised to have a similar trajectory.
Some initial reports indicated that the diamond in question was an “Old Mine Brilliant Cut” but it seems that Jewelry-Industry Instagram has landed on a slightly modified description. For example, the Natural Diamond Council (NDC) released an official statement in its analysis of the Swift/Kelce engagement ring moment: “Taylor’s ring is set with a stunning natural diamond of roughly 10 carats in an antique elongated cushion cut—a shape that beautifully blends vintage elegance with modern sophistication,” said Grand Mobley, an NDC diamond expert. “It sits on a hand-engraved yellow gold band accented with delicate diamond details, a design reportedly created by Kelce with the help of Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine Jewelry. With its exceptionally high clarity and such a rare, unique cut, the ring’s value would be estimated at around $750,000.”
An important distinction: There are actual antique diamonds (e.g. Old Mine, Old European and rose cuts that were hand-faceted and mounted in jewelry between the 1700s and the 1930s) and newly-minted diamonds that have been cut like the old styles. Given the size of Swift’s diamond, “it would be extremely rare if the stone is in fact an actual vintage stone,” says Corina Madilian, of Single Stone, a California-based jeweler that was an early adopter of the use of both genuine antique-cut and vintage-style cut diamonds in modern rings. Adds her husband and cofounder, Ari, “Vintage cushion cuts will generally be deeper, have higher crown angles, smaller tables and large culets. Their brilliance reflects larger facets.” Meanwhile, he says, “vintage-inspired cushion cuts will generally be shallower and have slightly larger tables.”
Tobias Kormind, managing director and cofounder of the UK-based jeweler 77 Diamonds, notes that “actual antique diamonds may be quite difficult to find. Many come with visible irregularities and can often be asymmetrical.” Which can make them challenging to set in modern designs.
Regardless of the version you choose, why go with an antique-cut diamond versus a Swiftian version of the more flamboyant, megawatt stones favored by her celebrity peers (see: Lady Gaga or Portuguese soccer sensation Cristiano Ronaldo’s fiancé Georgina Rodriguez)? The notion of a stone that looks like it was carved by candlelight as it would have been hundreds of years ago is so perfectly Taylor Swift. The diamond she now wears captures who she is as an artist, writer, and thinker to beautiful effect with an arrangement of facets that offers more far more depth and dimension that their modern counterparts.
Those who love Swift’s ring will have more options when it comes to designing a custom ring if they work with a jeweler to source a loose diamond “that has been faceted and cut in the ‘Old Mine’ style to achieve those distinctive flashes of color that come alive under candlelight,” adds Kormind.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of brides have already started to cool off on stones that are aggressively sparkly and squeaky-clean. Because antique-cut diamonds glimmer with nuance, character, and complexity. Some even have visible flaws, or undertones of blue, gray and yellow (instead of traditional bright white). And these imperfections somehow make them even more beguiling and, convey a far more compelling “Love Story” to say the least.
Ahead, examples of antique cut diamond engagement rings, including elongated cushion cuts in the same vein as Swift’s plus other beauties that blend the warmth and romance of the past with the design possibilities of the present.
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