In many parts of the world, getting married is indeed a big deal. One of the essential aspects of it in most countries is what starts it all, which is engagement. If you are thinking about leveling up your relationship to the next level, there are many things you need to learn before you propose. One of those is learning about engagement rings. The ring is among the most important things that you need if you are planning a wedding proposal.
When you get down on one knee, the next step is presenting a carefully chosen engagement ring. In addition to the wedding ceremony, the engagement ring is among the most expensive purchases that you are going to make in life. It is the cherry on top of every dream proposal. To help you on your shopping journey, we have compiled in this post some of the engagement ring statistics, which can surely give you some food for thought.
1. How much do average engagement rings cost?
Before you decide to buy an engagement ring, you need to learn about the price ranges first. Based on research, in 2022, the average price of an engagement ring is $6,000. That is quite a lot of money, right? But a lot of people are willing to spend that much for an engagement ring.
2. Average spend on engagement rings.
In the United States, approximately one-third of shoppers can spend between $1,000 and $4,000 on an engagement ring. There are around 50% of couples spend less than $5,000 on their engagement rings, while 20% spend more than $10,000. Most of the time, couples spend 16.7% of their wedding budget on rings.
3. Rate of engagement ring spending vs. rate of divorce.
Around 3,000 adults who, at one time or another, had been married for more than 13 years have been studied by a university in the United States, and the research gathered interesting results. People who have to spend between $2,000 and $4,000 on an engagement ring were 1.5 times more likely to end up divorced compared to those who spent $500 to $2,000. Those who spent less than $500 also had higher divorce rates. This only shows that the cost of the diamond ring does not have to be equal to how much you love your partner.
4. Budget priority for engagement rings.
In 2018, around 10,000 couples were surveyed, and 24.4% of them answered that they have allocated a large budget for engagement rings, while 54.8% said they have a medium budget for it. There were only 21.8% of people said that they allocated a low budget for the engagement ring.
5. Engagement rings and lifestyle statistics.
Around 80% of couples admit they dropped hints to their partners when it comes to their ring preferences. About 45% of people usually begin to search for the perfect engagement ring more than five months before the proposal based to a Wedding Wire survey, and 71% of them said that they bought the ring less than two months before the proposal. Also, based on research, most proposers visit three retail stores in person and look at around 15 rings before they make a purchase.
6. Engagement ring sizes, shapes, and gemstones statistics.
Here are some interesting statistics about the sizes, shapes, and gemstones of engagement rings:
- The most common gemstone for engagement rings is diamond. About 87% of people prefer diamonds for their engagement rings.
- Around 43% of buyers are into round diamond, 15% prefers oval cut diamond, and 13% want a princess cut diamond.
- The average size of the center stone of an engagement ring nationally is 1.3 carats.
- There are 48% of people prefer white gold metals for their engagement ring settings, while 16% like yellow gold. There are about 13% who prefer platinum, and another 13% are into rose gold rings.
- Based on most buyers, the style and setting are the most important features to consider when choosing a ring, followed by the shape and type of the center stone.
- Around 48% of buyers choose to customize the design elements of the ring, making the personalization of engagement rings very popular.
7. Statistics of the most expensive engagement rings of all time.
Here are the statistics when it comes to the most expensive engagement rings out there:
- Billionaire James Packer, back in 2016, presented Mariah Carey with a 35-carat emerald-cut diamond ring in a solid platinum setting. This ring has an estimated price of $10 million.
- The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond is 33.19-carat and has Asscher-cut white diamond set in a platinum ring. This ring was sold for $8.8 million in 2011 by the Hollywood icon’s estate. This was given to Elizabeth Taylor in 1968 by actor Richard Burton. He paid $307,000 for it at an auction.
- The engagement ring of reality star Kim Kardashian from Kanye West in 2013 was a 15-carat cushion-cut diamond set on a think platinum band. This ring cost $8 million.
8. The engagement ring features statistics.
For most women, here are the most important features of an engagement ring:
- Overall design: This feature is rated number 1 by 86.2% of women.
- Price: This was rated number 1 by 62.7% of women.
- Diamond color: This was rated number 1 by 58.5% of women.
- Diamond size: This was rated number 1 by 47.7% of women.
- Sentimental value: This was rated number 1 by 58.3% of women.
With this, we can say that most women or soon-to-be brides pay attention more to the color and carat of the ring rather than the stones cut and clarity as far as diamonds are concerned. Also, the overall design is more important than finding a ring with the best quality diamond.
9. Brides who buy their own ring.
Did you know that not all grooms are footing the bill for the ring of their future wives? Based on a survey done by Wedding Wire, brides or women are picking up the tab 20% of the time.
10. Does a proposal require a ring?
Well, not every proposal includes a ring, but the majority do. There are 89% of people answered that they popped the question with an engagement ring in hand. Having a ring is indeed better rather than proposing empty-handed.
Conclusion
You need to remember that an engagement ring is more than just a financial investment, as it is also the symbol of your commitment to your future spouse. How much you spend depends on your budget and what your partner is expecting. If you feel worried about the cost, you can propose to your partner without a ring. However, getting a positive answer is more likely if you have an engagement ring on hand. You don’t really have to spend too much on it. You just need to let your partner see that you’ve put effort into buying a ring that you think she will like. We hope this post helped you learn more about surprising facts about engagement rings.