WHEN MEGAN THEE Stallion showed up at the NYFW Coach Fashion Show in February 2022 wearing a Mateo Secret Initial Ring, I started to think about how many celebrities I have seen this ring on throughout 2021-22 and why it became the item to own. The ring is a staple in the Mateo Collection, allowing the wearer to personalize with initials or motifs. I have spotted the ring on Mindy Kaling, Andra Day, Rita Ora, Cynthia Erivo and Amanda Gorman, to name a few more of the stars wearing the designer’s ring. It’s handmade in the Mateo New York workshop with a pane of antique-cut quartz overlaying a diamond-encrusted letter motif and then framed in gold with prong-set round diamonds. While there are pendants, detachable charms and bracelets, it seems the ring is the must-have of this collection, at least as far as the stylists for celebs and magazine covers are concerned.
Initials are cyclical like everything else in jewelry (I know because I have written many stories about them for different magazines over the years and the creative license that has replaced the small basic diamond block or script initial pendant). They had made a major comeback approximately a year before the pandemic hit. Then with individualism and the customization trend becoming even stronger during COVID-19, initial looks have evolved even more. Bolder rings have also been trending. Women still stack but are looking for that bolder signet or cocktail ring to wear alone or next to their mix and match thin bands. So put the two trends together and you have personalized rings that can bear your or your loved one’s initial that you can basically wear with everything you own fashion- and jewelry-wise. And, even better, you can wear it on any finger on your hand as shown.
The rings retail for $1,675 to $2,325 here.
Mateo secret inital rings
