On May 30, pop superstar Taylor Swift was "elated" to share some major news with her 281 million Instagram followers. After a years-long legal battle, she had successfully purchased her masters from Shamrock Capital in a reported $360 million deal. "All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright with no strings attached, no partnership, with full autonomy," she wrote. "I will be forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital for being the first people to ever offer this to me."
Swift celebrated securing her first six albums' ownership with a down-to-earth photoshoot. She sat in front of a backdrop wearing a Khaite polo sweater, light-wash jeans, and white sneakers, with her original vinyls fanned out in front of her. Paired with her signature blonde bangs and red lipstick, Swift seemed to reference how she styles herself in the recording studio. There, she isn't modeling Dôen dresses or sampling off-the-runway Dior tartans; she's an all-around relatable artist, from love songs she's sang since 2006 to the denim she pulls on to write them.
Swift didn't leave her reveal at just those basics, however. Zoom in on her photos, and a symbolic diamond ring—plus a shiny Cartier watch—subtly emphasize the strong-willed business behind her emotional moment.
To celebrate the music that "belongs with" Swift, the star wore one of her most elite Cartier watches: the Panthere De Cartier. The chain-link timepiece is crafted from yellow gold and retails for $10,000—the definition of a power pick, and a symbol of how long she's waited to reclaim what she created.
Then came her jewelry stack: a Tiffany "T" diamond ring, a Steven Battelle Ancient Greek coin pendant, and a diamond Evil Eye ring by Jacquie Aiche. All three pieces hail from collections Swift has worn throughout her recent loud luxury era. Jacquie Aiche's earrings also accompanied Swift onstage throughout the Eras Tour—the same exploration of her music that, with its $2 billion-plus in ticket sales, gave Swift the cultural and capital momentum to buy her masters back.
Of the three pieces visible in Swift's look, it's her Evil Eye ring that's the most layered with meaning. For one, it's drafted entirely from diamonds—a stone that jeweler Jacquie Aiche describes as "providing radiant self-confidence while inspiring new beginnings" on its website. In her letter, Swift states how being "reunited with her art" through securing her recordings is the start of a new chapter in her life. Specifically, one where she owns all of her work for the very first time.
The diamonds aren't just cast in a simple setting. They're arranged in a shape that has historically symbolized vigilance, awareness, and protection in a tradition dating back to ancient Mesopotamia. After fighting since 2020 to reclaim her catalog, Taylor Swift can now wear her Evil Eye diamond ring as a sign that the universe is finally on her music's side.
