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Engagement Ring Prices On the Rise, Says The Knot
Nov 16, 2017 4:09 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Prospective grooms are spending significantly more money and time on their engagement ring purchase than they did five years ago, research by wedding resource website The Knot showed.
The average amount grooms spend on an engagement ring jumped 25% since 2011 to $6,351 this year, according to The Knot’s 2017 Jewelry & Engagement Study, released last week. Men are also investing more effort in planning their proposals, with the average time spent looking for a ring increasing to 3.5 months from 3.3 months in 2011. Planning a proposal takes an average of 4.4 months, according to the study, which surveyed more than 14,000 engaged or recently married brides and grooms in the US.
The search for the perfect ring is thorough: The average
groom-to-be looks at 26 rings before making a purchase. Some 72% of grooms reported
facing challenges during the purchase process, mainly because they did not know
if they were getting a good deal or did not have a strong knowledge of diamond
terminology.
The shock element is declining: the proportion of brides who
report being surprised by the proposal has fallen to 35%. And buying the ring
is often a joint effort, with one in three couples saying they shopped for it
together.
“We’re seeing proposers put more time, thought and effort
into creating the perfect proposal, as well as an engagement ring they know
their partner will love,” said Kristen Maxwell Cooper, editor in chief of The
Knot. “And while proposals are less of a surprise than in years past, there’s
an uptick in grooms returning to time-honored traditions, like proposing with
the engagement ring in hand and getting down on one knee.”
Predictably, more grooms bought their ring on the internet,
though this is still just 14% (versus 10% six years ago), with 63% of those
online buyers reporting better prices on the web. This reflects changing
relationships: 19% of brides said they met their spouse-to-be through online
dating or social media, up from 14% in 2011.
As for diamond specifications, the average center stone was
1.2 carats, with the average total carat weight for rings coming in at 1.8
carats. Among brides and grooms, the most important considerations were the
stone’s cut and shape, followed by the ring style and setting, and then the
quality of the stone, The Knot said. Round was the most popular shape,
attracting 52% of those surveyed.
Data from The Wedding Report, another resource on nuptial
spending habits, showed a much lower outlay: Couples spent an average of $3,399
on an engagement ring in the second quarter of 2017, down from $3,406 in the first quarter.
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Tags:
Diamond prices, engagement rings, Rapaport News, The Knot, The Wedding Report, Weddings
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