The jeweler who designed Taylor Swift’s engagement ring is spilling the tea about the reaction to the bauble and how her own life has changed.
Swift and Kelce announced their engagement in a joint Instagram post on Aug. 26 that featured a series of photos, including a close-up of Swift’s ring. The piece is an old mine brilliant cushion cut diamond set in a ring designed by Kindred Lubeck.
Kelce designed the ring with Lubeck, who is the founder of Artifex Fine Jewelry.
“She does all of her gold engraving by hand, and I just thought her stuff was so cool,” Swift said in an interview with British radio show “Heart Breakfast.”
“So I’d shown him a video a year and a half ago, and he was just paying attention to everything, it turns out. When I saw the ring, I was like (gasps), ‘I know who made that. I know who made that. I know who made that. And also, he listened to me!’ He did amazing. It was like, you really know me. I didn’t know what I would want, but he did somehow, and that’s kind of a flex.”
Lubeck said getting called out by the “Fate of Ophelia” hitmaker was a complete game changer.
“The fact that she recognized my work, that is such an incredible honor,” Lubeck said Oct. 17 on TODAY. “She said, ‘I know who made that.’ When I heard that, that was the most exciting thing.”
Lubeck, who now has a massive social media following, is still reveling in all the attention Swift has heaped on her.
“This is something I think you only dream of happening to you, so it’s incredibly surreal. Like, I have a ‘pinch me’ moment everyday. But, also, it’s such an honor. I feel so, so honored,” she said on TODAY.
Jewelry is somewhat of a new career path for Lubeck, 30, who is originally from Jacksonville, Florida and graduated Florida State University with a degree in psychology. The daughter of a jeweler, Lubeck started making her own designs in 2019 at the age of 25, she shared in an Instagram reel.
“It was the most natural thing in the world,” Lubeck said about following in her father’s footsteps on TODAY.
Lubeck said her signature style, which involves hand-engraving gold, began when she took an engraving class in 2021 and became “totally hooked.” She would stay after hours and come in weekends at her father’s jewelry store honing her craft.
“I was just obsessed with it,” she said.
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Lubeck now can’t keep her inventory in stock, thanks to Swift singing her praises.
“I look at it constantly,” Swift said about the ring while appearing on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Oct. 6.
Old mine cuts are antique diamonds from a period when they were hand-cut and polished. Jeweler Hannah Florman previously told TODAY.com old mine diamonds “send a signal that the wearer values individuality over mass-produced perfection.”
“This ring honors craftsmanship and subtle beauty that’s not about trends,” she said.
Lubeck’s star is now soaring, prompting Willie Geist to ask if she maybe has her eye on designing Super Bowl rings.
“I would!” she replied. “Absolutely!”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
