A diamond is forever, but trends do change

This is the ultimate engagement ring for American brides

Years of marketing have taught Americans that “A Diamond is Forever.” That lesson is proving insusceptible to the changing whims of fashion, not to mention cultural shifts toward marriage.
In a survey of about 13,000 recently engaged or married people in the U.S., 84% said they chose an engagement ring with a diamond stone, as opposed to 8% who selected another kind of precious stone. The survey was conducted by wedding planning website The Knot.
The Knot’s data on various ring style selections yields the following portrait of the No. 1 style of engagement ring today: The ring features a clear, round-cut diamond center stone weighing between 0.5 and 2 carats. The ring band is white gold, and the center stone accompanied by side stones or accent stones.

Ring trends are very much subject to the dips and swings in commodity pricing. White gold, a silver-colored alloy of gold with nickel, platinum, or another metal, continues to be a popular, cheaper alternative to platinum (it has served that purpose as far back as the 1920s). For ring shoppers looking for a hue other than silver, rose gold, which is a mix of silver, copper and gold, became popular five to six years ago, coinciding with a peak in gold prices of nearly $1,900 an ounce in 2011.
The round diamond cut popular today is a return to decades-old styles and a shift away from the princess cuts of the 1970s and oval cuts of the 1980s, which were largely influenced by the oval cut of Princess Diana’s sapphire ring.
The price tag for a ring fitting this No. 1 style varies widely depending on diamond quality, size and jeweler brand. A one-carat diamond ring with two side stones and a platinum band at Tiffany & Co. TIF, +0.24%  costs over $15,000. At Jared, a similar style in white gold instead of platinum costs about $1,800.
Engagement ring trends tend to evolve slowly, starting in urban areas and boutiques and then gradually over years and even decades making their way to national outlets like Zales, Kay and originator of the “Diamond is Forever” slogan, De Beers.

What the “ultimate” ring looks like at major jewelers: Clockwise from left: the Tiffany model features a platinum band and 1-carat diamond and costs $15,900; a Jared ring with 1-carat diamond center stone, white gold band and two side stones is priced at $1,799.99; a similar model from Zales sports a 0.5-carat diamond and costs $937.30; Brilliant Earth’s three-stone diamond ring with a 0.55-carat center stone costs $4,045.

One emerging trend today is “halo” settings -- a center stone circled by smaller accent diamonds.
“A halo setting really makes your ring look more dramatic, and a lot of brides are drawn to that,” said Kellie Gould, Editor-In-Chief of The Knot. “It makes your diamond look larger.”
The halo setting was seen in just 7% of rings in 2011; that number has tripled since then, with The Knot reporting halo settings now seen in 22% of rings.

Rings designed by Lauren Wolf at her shop Esqueleto in Oakland, Calif. Her rings are made using mostly “flawed” diamonds, or diamonds that wouldn’t otherwise sell at traditional jewelers. “Environmental and ethical concerns come up all the time,” Wolf said. About 40% of her customers care about where the diamond came from, she says.

Millennials in urban areas are increasingly driving interest in unique rings that combine vintage and modern aesthetics.
“People are gravitating toward organic, natural designs,” says Lauren Wolf, an Oakland, Calif.-based designer. Her rings use repurposed diamonds that likely wouldn’t sell at a traditional jeweler.
“There’s been a huge explosion in what some would call a flawed diamond,” she said. These diamonds are appealing to buyers looking for cost-efficient, environmentally friendly options that are one-of-a-kind.
“Everybody got cookie-cutter product overload,” she said.

Engagement rings on display at Esqueleto in Oakland, Calif.

American brides increasingly are taking a bigger role in choosing an engagement ring, with 51% pointing out styles they like while shopping, and 36% telling their partner which ring to buy outright, according to data from The Knot. Eleven percent of women said they dropped a hint by leaving ring ads or pictures laying around.
The average person spends $5,978 on an engagement ring, up from $5,403 in 2013 and $5,095 in 2011, according to The Knot. Wolf says the average customer at her store in Oakland, Calif., called Esqueleto, spends between $2,000 and $6,000.
She says younger people today are largely ignoring the “Two Month’s Salary rule” that originated in a campaign De Beers ran in the 1980s, suggesting that’s how much one should spend on a ring.
“The idea was you really had to show you were making a huge commitment through the ring,” Wolf said.
“A ring used to be a huge investment. Now millennials don’t want that.”