The Hidden Tribute in Jordyn Woods’ 15-Carat Engagement Ring From Karl-Anthony Towns
After the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, Jordyn Woods‘ “lucky” handbag was the talk of the town. But Karl-Anthony Towns’ fiancée has another accessory worthy of some attention as well, and that’s her gorgeous engagement ring.
Woods and KAT have been dating since 2020 and got engaged on Christmas Eve in 2025. Woods took to Instagram to share the happy news with a carousel of pics and later gushed about the proposal, saying, “I keep replaying this moment in my head.”
Some of the photos show Towns down on one knee at Overstory, a rooftop bar in Manhattan, and the New York City skyline in the background, with Woods appearing emotional. In other snaps, the model proudly showed off her stunning 15-carat engagement ring, yes, 15 carats. Here’s what else we know about her huge sparkler.
Towns turned to New York-based jeweler Bernard James to help execute the perfect design for Woods’ ring.
“My goal was to translate Jordyn’s personality and our shared journey into a custom design,” the athlete told Town & Country. “A ring that stands as a meaningful symbol of the connection we’ve created together.”
The ring features a large center elongated emerald-cut diamond in an open basket setting, flanked by a hidden halo of smaller stones. The band is paved with smaller accent diamonds that feature a color gradient shifting from pink to white.
“From afar or to a viewer, it looks like there’s a simple classic white ring, but get up close or look underneath, you see that pop of color through the stones,” the designer explained.
But there is something so special and touching about those specific stones as they are a tribute to loved ones they lost.
“There are both of my parents’ birthstones, as well as mine on one side of the band and [Towns’s and his parents’ birthstones] on the other, and it is symbolic of our family becoming one,” Woods shared about what she called her favorite thing about the ring.
In 2017, Woods’ father, John, passed away following a cancer diagnosis, while Towns’ mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died from COVID-19 complications in 2020. The couple has been open about how they connected on a deeper level because they both had experienced the loss of a parent at a young age, and their shared experiences with grief helped strengthen their bond and created a relationship built on understanding and support.
When he designed the ring, James said that he was initially only going to put Woods and KAT’s birthstones in the band, “But to have a story that’s centered around the love of their family and the unfortunate loss of loved ones was really special and important to have in such a meaningful piece.”
There is also a secret message engraved on the inside of the band. However, neither have shared what it says. Therefore, Towns and Woods are believed to be the only ones who know.
