Taylor Swift Jeweler Talks Designing Engagement Ring on TODAY

Jewelry designer Kindred Lubeck. She's a goldsmith, hand engraver, and vintage jewelry collector. And you might recognize her name because of the very special piece she created for a certain music star. Take a look. I just caught a glimpse of the ring. Oh yeah, you want to see? Yes, we do! Well listen, so am I right in saying that Travis designed that ring? He did. He did. He designed it with this amazing jeweler, Kindred Lubeck is her name, and she does all of her gold engraving by hand. And I had shown him a video of like, I just thought her stuff was so cool, so I'd shown him a video like a year and a half ago, and he was just paying attention to everything it turns out. Because when I saw the ring I was like, I know who made that! I know who made that! I know who made that! How cool is that? And now we're here with the woman who made that ring. Kindred, good morning to you. Hi, it's so nice to be here. I told you I went in a deep dive on your Instagram last night, so it must feel pretty cool to hear Taylor sing your praises. Oh my gosh, yes. And the fact that she recognized my work, that is such an incredible honor. She said, I know who made that. When I heard her say that, that was the most exciting thing. I love hearing that Trav was listening a year and a half ago. He stored that away somewhere in case that day came. What has it been like since she's gone public and talked about you as the designer of this beautiful ring? What's it been like for you personally and for business? For me personally, it's just like, this is something that I think you only dream of happening to you, and so it's incredibly surreal. Like, I have a pinch me moment every day. But also, it's just such an honor. Like, I feel so, so honored. Well, I was reading about you. I know you've worked incredibly hard to get here. This didn't happen overnight. So, when did you get into hand-graving rings and the intricacies that you do? Right, yeah. So, I think that was 2021 is when I took my first engraving course, and I was bit immediately. I was totally hooked. I stayed way after hours at my dad's store, and I was coming in on weekends, and I was just obsessed with it. So, you kind of grew up around it. You mentioned your dad's store. From a young age, you were very interested in this business. Well, so actually, the fact that I joined the business was a surprise. Yeah. So, even though I have a baby picture of me in my dad's chair in front of his bed, but I have a degree in psychology. So, it was a surprise that I joined, but it was like the most natural thing in the world. Well, I love that Taylor Swift is a fan, and so everybody is now looking at your Instagram page. I heard everything's sold out, so popular, but you can show us some of the popular things that people are talking about. So, the first one, obviously, hand engraving. Can you show us some examples? Yeah. So, this is a great example of hand engraving. Let's see if we can get the camera there. Let's see if it'll pop out. There you go. Oh, wait, look. Oh, perfect. There we go. Yes. So, this is the Nixie pendant. It reflects back like water, like sunlight on water. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. And that's hand work. You've done all that. That's one of your signatures, right? Yes. Okay. Now, let's talk about antique stones. What are we talking about here? Yes. So, this is an excellent example of an antique stone. Okay. This one? Yeah. This is an old mine cut diamond. Yes. And it just, you see how it has these big, broad facets, whereas a modern cut... I just see that it's blinging. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. The modern cuts are like more like a disco ball. They're super sparkly, whereas the old cuts are just like a little bit more. The flashes are broader. It's like creates this kind of romantic subtlety. And I've noticed you talk a lot about colored stones, too. Or you have some of those. Yes. I love colored stones. What are we looking at here? This is a stunning blue sapphire. And that one is actually from Sri Lanka. This one is Montana. Oh, that's beautiful. And then platinum is another area you like working in, right? Well, so I expect platinum to be on the rise, but I work predominantly in gold. I expect platinum to be on the rise for two reasons. The first reason is the cost of gold is soaring. The second reason is that gold has been in like really, really, really popular for about, I would say, five years. So that pendulum does kind of start to swing back into another direction. So I don't think gold is going anywhere. I don't think it's going out, but I expect platinum to be on the rise. One last question. Do you design Super Bowl rings? I would. Say yes. I was just about to say, I'm like, Kendra, say yes. Yes. How amazing would that be? The patience it must take to sit there and do that. It doesn't feel like I have to have patience for it because I it's so Zen. It is such a meditative experience for me to start engraving. It's amazing. It was only four years ago. You take an engraving class and here you are now. I couldn't have told you, like I had no idea that I would couldn't have. Congratulations. You're really good at it now. Thank you, Kendra. Thanks, Kendra. Good to meet you. Spotify or wherever you listen.