It has been revealed that British people are spending less on their engagement rings. It is thought that Brits now spend 19% less on their engagement rings than they did 5-10 years ago.
Research carried out by Protect Your Bubble, the jewellery insurance company has shown that the cost of wedding rings has fallen over the course of the last 5-10 years by around 6%. It is thought that during the current tough economic environment, and the increasing costs of other aspects of a wedding has led some to spend less on the ring. Couples are currently struggling to stretch their salaries in order to accommodate all of the expenditure, so are cutting their costs by cutting the carat.
It has also been shown that 18% more couples who have bought engagement rings over the last five years have managed to spend less than £500 on an engagement ring. Another 8% of couples have opted for wedding rings that cost below £500. Therefore, the trend shows that brides expecting to wear a ring equivalent to Amal Clooney’s £450,000 rock, they may be slightly disappointed.
In a rebellion against tradition, couples are going against the idea that an engagement ring must cost three-month salary. 47% of those asked said that their ring was closer to the value of three weeks’ salary. In other cases, 13% of couples are looking at rings that are the equivalent of less than one weeks’ wage. It is thought that Millennials that have proposed or got married are the category that spend the largest amount of engagement and wedding rings. Over the course of the last decade the average 16-24-year-olds spent £1,473 on an engagement ring and £2,827 on wedding rings. In contrast to this massive figure, those aged between 45-54 spent just £691. When looking regionally it is those that live in London that are spending the most on their rings, and couples in Scotland are spending the least on rings.
