Women Purchasing Their Own Engagement Rings – Many women don’t need much convincing. One woman interviewed by CBS News, Mindie Barnett, a 45-year-old public relations specialist based in New York and New Jersey, says she often buys herself diamond jewelry to reward herself. The single mother of two young children says she has three businesses going in tandem.
She also hopes to pass down her diamond collection to her children one day.
“I feel like if I can buy a present for myself every so often, you know, why not?” Barnett said. “I think that it’s special. I love it. I see it in a mirror, I see it in a dress, and it makes me feel good.”
Barnett’s experience echoes the trend of women buying jewelry for themselves, analysts said.
“Women are living on their own more, they may be taking care of others, so they’re more comfortable with taking their money and putting it back into themselves,” Alexis DeSalva, senior research analyst at Mintel, told CBS News. “I think this campaign is a really good example of how a brand is giving them permission to do that.”
Women buy pricier rings
De Beers also noted that the number of women who are buying their own engagement rings outright doubled between 2013 and 2017 — and observed that those women report paying more than their fiancés would. According to the diamond conglomerate, brides who bought their own rings spent about $4,400 in 2017, while grooms spent roughly $3,300.
It’s a trend that Tina Smith, who owns a rare and vintage jewelry store on Boston’s Newbury Street, said she has seen grow in her own shop over the past two years. Women — whether they’re earning more money or starting a second marriage — are dictating what they want from the beginning, she said.
They’re also often paying more for cut, color and clarity, Smith said. “We have seen that the more women participate in the purchase of their engagement ring, the higher the cost and quality of that engagement ring,” she said.
