2017 Engagement Ring Survey: Nearly Half of Guys Spend More on Their Engagement Ring Than Their First Car

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Survey of over 2,000 recently-engaged gives up-to-the-minute stats on the budget, style and success of the rocks and rings that people are buying right now.

It's peak engagement ring buying season in the run-up to Valentine's day, which means that all over the country guys are preparing to make one of the most important purchases of their life.

To help them get the most beautiful ring for their budget, Ringspo, the world’s most comprehensive engagement ring consumer guidance website, today released the results of its 2017 Engagement Ring survey. The report surveyed over 2,000 recently-engaged couples to produce up-to-the-minute stats on the shape, size and styles of the rocks and rings that people are buying right now and a whole host of other facts.

Top 2017 Engagement Ring Statistics:


Budget:

- 77.8% of guys know about the ‘three month salary’ budget rule, but only 0.9% followed it exactly
- The average cost of an engagement ring is $4,325
- 46% of guys spent more on their engagement ring than they did on their first car

The buying process:

- 35.1% of rings were a total surprise, while for the remaining 64.9%, the ring recipient gave some input into the ring choice
- 31% of rings were purchase from a chain jeweler, 28% from an independent jeweler and 11% online.
- 28.4% of people only visited one jeweler before purchasing their engagement ring, meaning that they didn’t do any comparison shopping at all

The Ring:
- Diamonds are still a girl’s best friend – 82.3% of engagement rings have a diamond center stone
- The most popular size (mode) of diamond is just over 1 carat, with 16.9% of rings having a center stone of between 1 and 1.09 carats. This is because 1 carat is a 'magic weight' that
- Average (mean) diamond carat size is 0.84 carats
- The most popular setting style is the classic solitaire (33.6%), with the halo setting (19.1%) as second most popular
- Round brilliant diamonds remain the most popular shape, with 6.1.%, Princess cut is second (12.2%), then Cushion (7.1%) and oval (4.8%)

Satisfaction levels:

•95.8% of women said that they were happy with their ring


Alastair Smith, founder of Ringspo.com said:

“Buying an engagement ring can be confusing and jewelry shops definitely aren't most guys’ natural habitat. It’s a significant purchase, so one that guys really need to research to make sure that they are getting good value and aren’t getting ripped off.

The aim of this survey is to give engagement ring buyers a point of reference, help them avoid common mistakes and ensure they make an informed decision on their purchase ring. By providing this information, we hope to help more ring buyers get the most beautiful ring for their budget, to make their proposal even more special.”


About the Ringspo 2017 Engagement Ring Survey:


The 2017 Engagement Ring Survey captured responses from 2,432 couples who had been engaged in the 3 months to December 31 2016. Respondents were recruited from individuals who had changed their status to ‘engaged’ on Facebook. All qualified respondents attested that they were 18 or older and had become engaged within the specified period.
Survey respondents represent a variety of ethnicities and educational and income levels, and are geographically dispersed across the USA.

More graphs of the results for use can be found here: link