 "Travis Kelce proposed to singer Taylor Swift with a whopper of a diamond. Reuters")
Pop sensation Taylor Swift and American football star Travis Kelce have officially broken the internet with the news of their engagement.
The couple shared the big news on Instagram on August 26, with a cheeky caption that read, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married”, paired with dreamy photos of the two in a lush garden setting.
But while the proposal itself was straight out of a rom-com, it’s the ring that has everyone talking (and swooning). Swifties can’t stop analysing every sparkle, and for good reason. Whispers suggest this dazzling rock might have roots all the way back to India’s legendary Golconda mines.
Here’s how
All about Taylor Swift’s dreamy engagement ring
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce marked their two-year romance with a fairytale proposal, and the ring is every bit as enchanting as the moment itself. For the big question, Kelce picked a timeless yellow-gold band crowned with a dazzling diamond.
While many details haven’t emerged yet on the ring itself, it is believed that the stone falls somewhere between eight to 10 carats, set in 18k yellow gold with delicate hand-engraved details that give it an unmistakably vintage touch. (Very Swift-coded, indeed.)
Jewellery experts have already begun weighing in. In a TikTok video, The Clear Cut, a New York City jeweller specialising in engagement rings, observed that the diamond looks like a “spready stone,” which allows for “windowing” in its facets. That makes it tricky to determine the exact size, but their best estimate puts it between four and seven carats.
What makes the ring even more special is that Kelce worked closely with New York jeweller Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine Jewellery to design the bespoke piece just for Taylor. While Swift hasn’t shared her own thoughts on the ring yet (her shiny thing, not the paper ring), experts estimate its value at around Rs 4.8 crore ($550,000).
Does Swift’s ring have an India connection?
What really fuels the India link speculation is the ring’s cut: an old mine brilliant. This style of diamond dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when India was the undisputed source of the world’s finest gems, long before Brazil and South Africa entered the picture.
As The Juggernaut notes, for nearly two millennia, diamonds from the famed Golconda region in present-day Telangana dominated global trade. These gems were unearthed from riverbeds and caves along the Krishna and Godavari valleys, near Kollur and other historic mining sites.
Golconda stones weren’t just admired for their beauty, they were legendary. Many were Type IIa diamonds, considered the purest in the world, celebrated for their exceptional transparency.
Some of history’s most famous diamonds, including the Koh-i-Noor and the Hope Diamond, were mined here before being taken away during colonial times. The British, in particular, ensured India’s treasures ended up in European crowns and museums rather than staying where they were first discovered.
Today, natural old mine-cut diamonds are vanishingly rare. As jewellery expert Suzie Saltzman explains, “Each one is entirely one-of-a-kind.”
So, could Taylor Swift’s ring hold a stone that once came out of Telangana’s ancient mines? It’s possible. The cut, style, and history all fit neatly together, making the theory tempting to believe.
However, without a provenance certificate, archival proof, or a gem lab report, no one can say for certain. For now, the Indian connection remains a dazzling possibility (and one that Swifties are more than happy to romanticise.)
With input from agencies