Sellers of diamond engagement rings and wedding bands look forward to the holiday season because it is the most popular time for hopeful grooms to pop the question.  Known as the Engagement Season, with the Christmas spirit in the air and the hopefulness of the New Year ahead, many smitten men find it to be the perfect time to propose.  Whether under the mistletoe, beside the Christmas tree, on a horse drawn carriage through the wintery park, or as the ball drops at midnight, the holidays offer many perfect settings for an engagement proposal.  It is estimated that one third of all proposals take place between Thanksgiving and Valentines Day.  In America, that is approximately one million couples!

The Nielsen Company had predicted that last year’s holiday sales would be rather flat, with a modest positive result.  They anticipated that sales would increase about 0.03 percent, with 44 percent of households spending the same amount of money as last year, 42 percent spending less, and only 4 percent increasing their holiday budget. With turbulent economic conditions, sales are affected in all areas of retail.  Jewelers, like other sellers, were unsure what to expect this holiday season, but it seems that even in times of financial depression, men and woman are still planning weddings.  Engagement ring and wedding ring sales this last November and December were much better than forecasted.  Maybe hard economic times are actually bringing people closer together, and reminding Americans that love and family are the most important aspects of life.  The demand for engagement rings and wedding rings has not just held steady, but it has actually begun to climb!  This is not only great news for wedding ring and engagement ring retailers, but the condition of the American family as well.

Many engagement ring and wedding ring websites and brick and mortar stores are advertising and promoting recession friendly ring options, and expected to see a surge in the less expensive silver and gold engagement and wedding rings, but this has also not been the case.  Platinum wedding and platinum engagement rings, typically the most expensive option, have shown strong sales.  This is especially true in the United Kingdom, and Ben Roberts of Clogau Gold, a Welsh jewelry company says, “It could just be that the Christmas spirit overwhelms couples – or that girlfriends and fiancées’ hints are not as subtle as they once were.” This may be true, but these high sales of Platinum wedding and engagement rings in the United Kingdom could also be due to the fact that the British Pound has held a much higher value than the American Dollar.  Either way, it appears that even in a recession, people still find love a priority and look forward to making their commitment official with an engagement proposal or wedding ceremony.