Ruby Kinglet · Industry
Jewelry Industry Statistics, 2026
The jewelry business, in numbers. Every figure sourced and linked. August 2026.
The global jewelry market reaches $397.7 billion in 2026. Lab-grown stones sit in 61% of new engagement rings, 88% of couples customize the ring itself, independent jewelers remain the largest sales channel at 35%, gold touched $5,405 an ounce, and 19.8% of US businesses now use AI. The numbers behind each figure, with primary sources, are below.
How big is the jewelry market?
About $398 billion worldwide in 2026, and jewelry is projected to be the fastest growing category in fashion through 2028.
Global jewelry market, 2026
Estimated at $381.5 billion in 2025 and projected to reach $578.5 billion by 2033, a 5.5% compound annual growth rate.
Jewelry unit growth vs clothing, through 2028
Jewelry is forecast to be the fastest growing fashion category by unit sales, expanding at nearly four times the rate of clothing.
Projected annual sales growth through 2028
Costume and fine jewelry are both expected to grow within this band each year through 2028.
US jewelry sales growth, 2025
Spend per item rose 14%, more than offsetting a 5.6% decline in units sold. Consumers bought fewer, better pieces.
Consecutive declines in US loose natural diamond sales
Loose natural diamonds fell again in 2025, the worst performing segment of the US jewelry market.
What do couples spend on engagement rings, and how custom are they?
The average ring cost $4,600 in 2025, and 88% of couples custom edited or custom designed it.
Couples who custom edited or custom designed their ring
Nearly nine in ten engagement rings bought in 2025 involved custom edits or a full custom design.
Average US engagement ring spend, 2025
Down from $5,500 in 2023 as lab-grown center stones reset price expectations across the category.
Engagement rings with lab-grown center stones
A 239% increase since 2020. 40% of couples say a lab-grown stone is specifically important to them.
Average engagement ring center stone
Lab-grown pricing pushed average size up while average spend fell. Solitaires remain the top setting at 38%.
Proposals made with a ring in hand
The ring still leads the proposal. Over half of proposers feel pressure to make the moment highly unique.
US weddings in 2025
Couples spent over $100 billion on weddings, averaging $34,000 per celebration.
How far have lab-grown diamond prices fallen?
A 1 carat lab-grown stone lost 76% of its retail price between early 2020 and mid 2025, while sales volumes kept climbing.
1 ct lab-grown retail price, early 2020 to mid 2025
A popular 1 carat stone lost 76% of its retail price over the period. A 2 carat stone lost 80%.
Lab-grown wholesale prices in 2025
The quarterly rate of decline slowed to 4.7% by year end, the smallest drop since the category emerged.
Lab-grown wholesale index since 2018
Prices sit near the production cost floor. In Q2 2026, 1 carat wholesale prices rose 1%, the first increase on record.
Lab-grown jewelry sales at US specialty retailers, Q2 2026
Growth came from higher unit sales even as prices kept sliding. Demand and price are moving in opposite directions.
What did record gold prices do to jewelry demand?
Volume fell to pandemic-era lows while spending set records: 18% fewer tonnes in 2025, 18% more dollars.
Gold all-time highs set in 2025
The annual average price of $3,431 per ounce was up 44% on 2024. Total gold demand topped $555 billion.
Gold peak per ounce, January 2026
Q1 2026 averaged a record $4,873 per ounce. Q2 eased to $4,506, still 37% above the prior year.
Global gold jewelry spend in 2025, on 18% lower volume
Consumers bought 18% fewer tonnes but spent a record $172 billion. Lighter pieces, higher prices, undimmed appetite.
Global gold jewelry volume, Q2 2026
The lowest quarterly volume since the pandemic. Spend still rose 14% year on year to $40 billion.
Who sells America's jewelry, and how many stores are there?
Independent jewelers are the largest channel at 35% of US sales. 16,822 US jewelry retailers as of late 2025, shrinking about 3% a year, mostly through retirements.
Independent jewelers' share of US jewelry sales, 2025
The largest single channel, ahead of chains at 28%, online retailers at 22%, and department stores at 15%. Specialty jewelers held over 70% in earlier decades (IDEX Online Research).
Independent jewelers' gross margin on lab-grown diamonds
The strongest margin in the independent store even as lab-grown prices fall. Average price per item at independents rose 11.4% in 2025.
US jewelry retailers, end of Q3 2025
Down 3.0% in a year. North America counts 22,858 jewelry businesses in total, including wholesalers and manufacturers.
US jewelry business closures, first nine months of 2025
Closures ran 14.9% below 2024. JBT attributes the contraction mostly to retirements rather than failures.
Online share of jewelry sales, Top 1000 US retailers
Online penetration was 29.2% in 2023, down from 31.4% in 2022 as shoppers returned to stores. The most recent full-year measurement published.
How many businesses actually use AI?
19.8% of US businesses as of May 2026. Retail trails at 14%, while 36% of engaged couples already plan weddings with it.
US businesses using AI, May 2026
Retail trade sits at about 14%, with 17% expecting to use AI within six months.
AI use among firms with 250+ employees
Under 20% of firms with four or fewer employees use AI. Adoption tracks company size more than sector.
AI adopters using it for sales and marketing
The most common business function for AI, ahead of strategy at 45% and IT at 41%. Two thirds of adopters use AI only to augment tasks.
Engaged couples using AI for wedding planning, end of 2025
Nearly double the February 2025 rate and up from under 10% in 2023. The customer is adopting AI faster than the industry.
From the Ruby Kinglet platform
Measured data from the 3,000+ jewelers who work on Ruby Kinglet, published here as a recurring series.
In preparation: AI render adoption among working jewelers, designs generated per month, and configurator conversion benchmarks. Each series publishes once the underlying data pull is verified. Measured platform data only, never estimates.
Cite this page
Ruby Kinglet, “Jewelry Industry Statistics, 2026.” rubykinglet.ai/industry/statistics
Every figure above links to its primary source, and citing the primary is always right. Charts may be reproduced with credit to the primary source and a link back to this page. Writers on deadline can use the copy button beside any figure for a ready citation.
Sources
Compiled and verified by Richard Fisher, GIA Graduate Gemologist, and Sara Lai, AJP and practicing jeweller. Figures update as primaries publish; the date above changes only when every number has been rechecked.
