2005

Brides Calling the Shots In Diamond Ring Purchases

April 2005

Contrary to the quaint idea of shocking a bride-to-be with the ring of her dreams, most grooms go the safer route and consult with their future wives before making the purchase.

According to a survey of more than 32,000 couples by theknot.com, 64% of all engagement ring purchases involve direct input from the bride and 79% of all engagement rings purchased involve direct or secretly obtained information from the bride.

Brides not only influence the cut of the stone, the metal for the setting, and the size of the stone, but also where the ring is purchased. Brides conduct more hard research than grooms via the Internet and magazines.

Brides who visit a retailer without their fiance to research their preferences are significantly less satisfied with the retailer experience than grooms.

Brides are apparently partial to princess cuts and, not surprisingly, men shopping alone go for simple solitaire settings, while brides favor settings with more design elements to the ring.

The most popular price segment for an engagement ring is $1,500 to $5,000.