March 18, 24
(IDEX Online) – Couples are buying bigger diamonds than ever for their engagement ring, with almost half opting for lab grown ones.
That’s according to the Real Weddings Study, by The Knotswhich surveyed over 9,000 US couples on all aspects of their big day.
One in three engagement rings now weighs over 2.0 carats – including side stones and accents – that’s a 10 per cent increase on 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
“The rise of lab-grown diamonds contributes to this increase as they’re typically less expensive than natural stones,” says the report.
In all, 46 per cent of center stones were lab grown, nearly four times as many as in 2019.
Diamonds remain the most popular stone by far (85 per cent), followed by Moissanite which is particularly popular among Gen Z couples.
Solitaires are more popular (up 10 per cent on 2015) and side stones/accents are down 12 per cent.
Rounds are still the most popular shape (chosen by 34 per cent of pairs, but down 15 per cent drop since 2015), while oval (23 per cent) and pear/teardrop (8 per cent) are increasing.