Taylor Swift’s vintage-inspired diamond stuns fans as stars chase ever-bigger engagement rings

Taylor Swift has officially announced her engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce — and it’s the ring that has sent the internet into meltdown.

The 34-year-old singer shared the news with a series of Instagram posts, including a close-up shot of her hand resting in Kelce’s, the sparkling diamond on full display. Captioned cheekily, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the post lit up social media as fans scrambled to dissect every detail of the vintage-inspired piece.

Industry experts estimate the value of the ring anywhere from £500,000 to £4 million, with some suggesting it could be worth even more. Ruth Faulkner, managing editor of Retail Jeweller magazine, said the design features an 8-10 carat antique diamond — a rarity in the modern engagement market. “It’s quite unusual to see an antique stone of this size, and that’s part of what makes it so striking,” she explained.

Jewellery journalist Rachael Taylor added that the softer sparkle on Swift’s diamond likely comes from being hand-cut rather than machine-cut, giving it a romantic, vintage look. The style also dovetails neatly with Swift’s latest creative project, her newly announced album The Life of a Showgirl.

But Swift isn’t alone in setting the tone for jewellery fashion. The celebrity engagement ring trend is leaning bigger and bolder than ever before. Zendaya’s horizontally set “east-west” diamond turned heads earlier this year at the Golden Globes, while Dua Lipa flaunted a chunky gold band topped with a round-cut stone, proving that oversized designs are the statement of choice for 2025.

Meanwhile, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s partner Georgina Rodríguez recently unveiled her colossal oval-cut ring, valued at up to $5 million (£3.7m). The sheer size of the stone drew global headlines — and even spurred bridal jewellers to release replica versions for the mass market.

Rhona Fitzpatrick, founder of The Diamond Expert, said stars are no longer satisfied with traditional solitaire settings. “Celebrities want something oversized and unique, a piece that sets them apart. Even when they follow mainstream trends like ovals or cushion cuts, they take it to the extreme.”

That celebrity-driven desire for statement pieces filters quickly down to the public, though most shoppers cannot afford million-pound diamonds. Instead, demand for lab-grown diamonds has surged, now accounting for around 52% of engagement ring sales worldwide. “They allow customers to get bigger stones at a fraction of the cost,” Fitzpatrick explained.

However, the ethics of the industry remain hotly debated. While many view lab-grown diamonds as a sustainable choice, the process is energy-intensive. Conversely, mining continues to sustain entire communities but raises concerns about working conditions. “As long as you are buying from a reputable source that prioritises the environment and people, it’s a personal decision,” Taylor said.

Swift’s choice of an antique stone also plays into this conversation. Vintage jewellery eliminates the need for new mining, but its original origins are often murky. “If we’re talking about diamonds mined over 100 years ago, the circumstances were probably not very nice,” Taylor noted. Still, antique and repurposed stones are increasingly popular among couples seeking rings with history and character.

For Swift, the engagement ring is both dazzling and symbolic, though perhaps not the centrepiece of her love story. Fans pointed out that in her 2019 track Paper Rings, she sang: “I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings.”

Now, with a sparkling antique diamond on her hand and wedding plans underway, the world’s most famous pop star has proven she can have both — the fairytale love story and the million-pound jewel to match