Rise of the ‘green’ engagement ring as Gen Z ditch new diamonds

Generation Z are buying second-hand engagement rings because of the environmental impact of newly mined gemstones.

Pre-owned rings were previously considered bad luck because the jewellery was linked to a relationship which might have ended badly.

But as consumers turn away from newly mined stones because of concerns about the impact of mining on the environment and communities living nearby, shoppers are prepared to overcome the superstition.

Simon Green, co-founder of Lillicoco, an antique jewellery dealership, said consumers were increasingly conscious of the environment and sustainability, but were still looking for pieces with meaning and personality.

“The people that we speak to, we hear that they appreciate the ethics and sustainability of antique jewellery but also the way that is also combined with a feeling of history,” he said.

Mr Green said young consumers are also plumping for used rings to save on cost. His sales of vintage and antique rings grew 55pc between 2021 and 2022.

“That’s one of the things people love about it as well,” he said. “Whereas on the high street they might have been able to buy a half-carat solitaire, when they’re looking at antique rings they’re looking at stones that are bigger.”

Antique engagement rings can be found for as little as £200, although those looking to spend more can pay out up to £10,000.

Sarah Holmes, a shop owner, said that she and her now husband found her engagement ring while shopping together in Ludlow.

She said: “I didn’t like the modern rings as they all felt a bit plain or the stones a bit small. I told my husband, Angus, about one I found at an antique jewellers. He went in and more than likely haggled to buy it (I think he paid £525). It felt nice to give an old ring a new life and story and to be loved again.”

Mrs Holmes, 41, had a claw on the ring fixed, and now wears it daily alongside her wedding ring, which fits around her statement stone.

Pre-owned diamonds are typically worth much less than newly mined stones, but efforts have been made to shore up the market.

Miners De Beers launched a used diamond buying scheme in 2016, after research found that it was almost impossible to sell used gems for a fair price.

A spokesman at the directory for Hatton Garden said there has been an increase in demand for second-hand engagement rings, but said pawning the jewellery was less common.

Harriet Kelsall, a former chair of the National Association of Jewellers and the Institute of Registered Valuers, said younger consumers were also buying old rings to have them remade with the same stones.

“I would say we’ve noticed an enormous increase in that since about 2020 or 2019,” she said.

“There’s been a really steady year-on-year increase in people wanting to reuse their materials.”

Ms Kelsall said a second-hand ring could be cheaper upfront, but consumers may have to spend between £300 and £400 on repairs.

“People do worry a lot about mining fresh gemstones, what damage things are going to the ground, who is cutting the stones, especially the younger generation, the people now in their 20s,” she added.

Ruth Mary Chipperfield, a jewellery designer based in Birmingham, said younger couples were coming into her business to have family rings redesigned.

She said: “That’s when I’m increasingly being asked to resize, at which point I always look at the ring as a whole, because there’s no point in me resizing a ring if the stones aren’t secure.”

Ms Chipperfield said she often uses second-hand stones in her own designs because it is more sustainable and said: “No one has thought that to be strange so far.”

For conscious consumers, another option for gems is lab-grown, identical to natural stones but which come at a fraction of the cost.

Global sales of lab-grown diamonds increased to £9bn globally in 2022, an increase of 38pc on 2021, a diamond industry analyst said.

The stones are made by subjecting pure carbon to high heat and pressure, but unlike antique gems, have little to no resale value.