As the U.S. recovers from the pandemic, engagement ring sales soar

In a vaccination-era wedding boom, couples in the United States are racing to get married, with venues and vendors such as jewelry stores in high demand.

“We’ve seen a resurgence in both engagement ring and wedding band sales as couples start returning to normal life,” Price Blanchard, chief customer officer and executive vice president at Shane Co., a privately held jeweler with stores in 14 cities, told CNN Business.

Ring demand and sales skyrocketed in the spring, largely due to COVID-19 vaccinations, fine jewelers say. Travel restrictions loosening also helped the surge because customers are more likely to pop the question while on vacation.

A Los Angeles-based fine jeweler credits the increase in sales to the bonds formed and strengthened through the pandemic. “Love is what has really propelled everything,” Mark Broumand, founder and president of Mark Broumand Inc., told CNN Business.

Diamond ring demand and sales are not the only things soaring: Their price is, too.

“Our average price for our rings sold now has gone up substantially since COVID,” Brenna Lyden, founder and CEO of Everly Rings and East West Gem Company, told CNN Business.

Most experts recommend leaving two to three months between purchasing the ring and proposing to allow space for potential issues that could arise, such as diamond shortages.

During the pandemic, global diamond shortages were caused by pent-up demand and a drop in production due to COVID-19 regulations. Cutters and polishers, who form the backbone of the worldwide diamond industry, are now competing fiercely for stones. “I had a hard time gearing up the production to sustain the demand,” Katarzyna Zygnerska Rosales, founder and designer of Kasia Jewelry in Solana Beach, California, said to CNN Business.

“The rough market is hot. There’s enthusiastic buying across all rough categories,” Anish Aggarwal, a partner at specialist diamond advisory firm Gemdax, said to Bloomberg. “There are supply shortages at the moment. That’s creating a sense of scarcity at every stage of the pipeline.”