Engagement ring? We’re more intrigued by the Cartier watch Taylor Swift is wearing
The discontinued Santos Demoiselle stole the show
TRADITION DICTATES THAT an engagement announcement is all about the ring, especially when it’s people at the level of fame that newly-engaged Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are. The cut, the carats, the close-up of clasped hands (literally, it’s in the Instagram post) that lets the diamond do the talking. Yet when Swift and Kelce dropped the news that they’re headed to the altar, it wasn’t the ring that drew our attention. It was the watch.
On her wrist: a timeless diamond-set Cartier Santos Demoiselle in yellow gold. Small, the iconic square dial and quietly luminous, it carried more intrigue than any solitaire could hope for – not least because the Demoiselle no longer exists in Cartier’s catalogue. Discontinued nearly a decade ago, the model has become a whisper among collectors, a piece that slips in and out of auction listings with just enough scarcity to fuel desire.
The watch was a gift from Kelce
Swift has been a fan of Cartier’s designs for some time now, and this particular watch is rumoured to have been a gift from Kelce. The singer had started wearing it around Christmas time last year. Knowing Swift’s penchant for easter eggs, symmetry and synchronicity, it makes perfect sense that this is the timepiece she would be wearing when Kelce added an extra weight of gold to her hand.
The Cartier Santos Demoiselle
The Demoiselle was introduced in the early 2000s as a feminine evolution of Cartier’s pioneering Santos. Where the original was built for flight, the Demoiselle was built for refinement: a slimmer case, softer proportions, and a bracelet that fused watchmaking with the maison’s jeweller’s eye. Its name borrows from Alberto Santos-Dumont’s lightweight aircraft, La Demoiselle, a subtle reminder that elegance and innovation can share the same wing.
Cartier’s decision to retire it left the watch in an odd limbo.
According to the brand, however, while this exact style is no longer available in their boutiques, it has been reimagined and included as part of the Panthère line. The differences are small – the Santos Demoiselle worn by Swift has diamonds set into the lugs, while the Panthère keeps them firmly within the square of the case.
The Panthère Cartier, medium
What makes Swift’s choice even more pointed is how it shifts the narrative. Rings, however spectacular, are expected. Watches, particularly discontinued ones, carry a different weight because they’re personal. They convey a sense of history, too.
While everyone will be rushing out to mimic the Ralph Lauren dress worn by Swift in the photo, or Kelce’s gym-teacher aesthetic, and of course, the ring, the real winner in the picture was on Swift’s left wrist: a discontinued Cartier masterpiece, suddenly back in the spotlight.
Today, surviving examples circulate for between $27,800 and $47,000, depending on condition and provenance. But Swift’s endorsement all but guarantees a surge of interest. The so-called Swift effect has sent everything from books to boots into bestseller status; now, it’s about to ripple through the secondary watch market.
Related:
Travis Kelce dressed like a “gym teacher” to propose to Taylor Swift
Taylor, Travis and the appeal of musician/athlete relationships
