What’s an old mine cut? And everything else you need to know about Taylor Swift’s engagement ring | Canada Voices

Expect the effect of Taylor Swift’s engagement ring on jewellery trends to be, well, swift.

The elongated old mine cut cushion diamond that Travis Kelce, her fiancé, designed in collaboration with Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine Jewelry in New York reflects a growing interest in retro styles.

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“I think there will definitely be more requests for antique cuts,” says Dalia Lash, director of Mark Lash, an independent jewellery design studio in Toronto.

Antique cuts refer to a range of styles that include rose cut, European cut and old mine cut, named for the original 19th-century diamond mines in South Africa. “Cushion” refers to a stone with rounded corners.

Prior to Swift’s announcement, Lash was already seeing clients bring in family heirlooms in antique cushion and old mine cuts to be reworked into new settings.

“Couples are choosing unusual cuts because they want something that feels more personal and unique,” she says.

Lash also anticipates that modern brilliant cut cushions will spike in popularity. With lots of tiny precise facets, the modern brilliant cushion is extremely sparkly. “Antique cushions, on the other hand, were hand-cut, with big, chunky facets that give off a candlelit glow,” she says.

Master gemologist Harold Lindsay of Imperial Gem Lab in Vancouver believes that Swift’s old mine cut stone may not actually be vintage, however. “I’ve never seen an old mine cut in those dimensions, so I believe that diamond is probably a modern cut done to take some of the characteristics of the old mine cut.”

Nora Malhi of Ecksand, a Montreal-based jewellery atelier, has also seen a resurgence of antique styles. “Vintage-inspired cuts are more about romance than perfection,” she says. “Instead of uniform brilliance, the cut and setting of each stone prizes warmth and character.”

Swift’s ring also follows the trend of celebrities choosing non-traditional shapes for engagement rings. Examples include Selena Gomez’s marquise cut diamond and Zendaya’s east-west solitaire. Other influential ovals include the supersized approximately 35-carat ring Cristiano Ronaldo proposed to Georgina Rodríguez with earlier in August, Lady Gaga’s monster-sized sparkler on a pink diamond pavé band and Hailey Bieber’s original engagement ring from 2018, as well as the upgraded solitaire she received from Justin Bieber last year.

“Ovals are very popular because they have a very big look,” Lash says. “When you put a one-carat round-shaped diamond beside a one-carat oval-shaped diamond, the oval is going to look bigger because it’s elongated. People love that, and they look great on the hand.”

Not surprisingly, Lindsay says the price point for a natural diamond of Swift’s size will be beyond the reach of most Swifties.

“But you’ll probably see a lot of diamond cutters in India cutting lab-grown diamonds in similar designs,” he adds. A lab-grown diamond can be valued at up to 90 per cent less than a natural diamond of similar quality. The larger the diamond, the bigger the difference in price between lab-grown and natural.

Ultimately, the experts agree that it’s the meaning behind the stone that counts more than ever.

“Today, it’s about finding a diamond that resonates personally,” Malhi says. “Taylor’s ring mirrors this shift beautifully.”