Get that Markle sparkle and support a good cause, too.
Meghan Markle was spotted wearing two diamond pinky rings during her trip to New York this week — as well as at last month’s Trooping the Color and the Invictus Games in April — and it turns out the piece has a special meaning that ties into the spirit of women’s empowerment in sports.
The “1972 Tennis Pinky Ring” from New York-based jewelry brand Shiffon was designed to honor the 50th anniversary of Title IX — which made gender equity in education a civil right and paved the way for women’s equality in sports.
In order to further opportunities for women in the field, 19.72 percent of profits from the soon-to-be-launched ring will go toward Shiffon’s Women in Sports Investment Fund.
The diamond ring is an updated version of the spiral-design 14k gold “Duet” style ($595) the Duchess of Sussex wore on the cover of Time last year, and the brand hosted a special sneak preview of its new tennis collection at The Centrale in Midtown Manhattan Monday night.
Shilpa Yarlagadda, who launched Shiffon from her Harvard dorm room in 2017, told guests at the event — including Olympic gold medal-winning tennis player Bethanie Mattek-Sands, “Dear Evan Hansen” star Laura Dreyfuss, model Ashika Pratt, and Minnie Mills of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” — that proceeds from her brand’s jewels are now supporting 12 female-founded companies.
“We designed the Shiffon Co. ‘Duet’ pinky ring to represent the pinky promise to pay it forward to support women — and so many of the women here have been our mentors and created the energy of the ring, which donates 50 percent of the profits to fund seed investments for female founders,” she said, addressing the crowd of well-heeled guests.
Adding that tennis was the first sport to offer equal pay to men and women, shared in Yarlagadda her excitement about the new tennis collection — which will eventually include other pieces alongside the ring — with “19.72 percent of the profits going to the first Women In Sports Fund.”
The new ring, which is available for pre-order now, is offered in both 14k and 18k white, rose or yellow gold and is priced from $2,580 to $2,800.
As a longtime supporter of women’s rights, the duchess is a natural fit to wear the brand, which has a mission to “financially empower a million women across the globe by 2025.”
Markle isn’t the only celebrity fan of Shiffon; Michelle Obama, Nicole Kidman, Hailey Bieber, Serena Williams, Emma Watson, Mandy Moore, Malala Yousafzai, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and more have sported the “Duet” ring or the brand’s hoop earrings, which were launched in collaboration with Obama’s When We All Vote initiative.
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