Jewelry Judge Blog
February 23rd, 2015
Newly betrothed Lady Gaga revealed a secret design detail of her new heart-shaped diamond engagement ring — a sweet and sentimental element she calls “my favorite part" of the ring. That's saying a lot because the 8-carat center stone is magnificent.

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When Gaga surprised her 5.7 million Instagram followers last Monday with the announcement of her Valentine’s Day engagement to actor Taylor Kinney, the photo accompanying the post was a view from the top, offering a detailed image of the heart-shaped diamond. The image also offered a glimpse of a thin diamond pavé band.

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On Wednesday, she posted a second photo, this time showing the beautifully crafted underside of the ring and a surprising detail.

Instead of adding an inscription, fiancé Kinney and celebrity jeweler Lorraine Schwartz collaborated on a neat enhancement to the band — “T [heart] S” spelled out in pavé diamonds. “S” is for Stefani, Gaga’s birth name.

Here’s how Gaga captioned her Instagram photo: “My favorite part of my engagement ring, Taylor and Lorraine designed “T [heart] S” in white diamonds on the band. He always called me by my birth name. Since our very first date. I'm such a happy bride-to-be! I can't stop smiling!!”

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We think there’s good reason to believe that many future brides and grooms will be asking jewelers to add a similar detail to their engagement rings. More than 384,000 of Gaga's followers on Instagram liked the “T [heart] S” photo.

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Although she would not divulge the actual cost of the ring, Schwartz told Brides.com that the center stone is actually more expensive than some of the estimates she had read. That would put the price in excess of a half million dollars.

Jewelry expert Shari Fabrikant of Robert Fabrikant Inc. had told HollywoodLife.com that the heart-shaped center stone appeared to be about 8 carats in size. “The setting is simple with a few round diamonds down the side,” she noted. “If the stone is an E color and VS1, it would run close to $500,000.”

Zaven Ghanimian, CEO of Simon G. Jewelry, had told E! News that he was confident the stone weighs in at about 6 carats. "I would estimate at least SI1 clarity or better, G color or better," he said. "For a stone of this size and quality, the price could be up to $400,000."

Images: Instagram/LadyGaga