HOW WAS IT FOR YOU?

2nd October 2017

At ROX we’re here to support you every step of the way, from the beginnings of a blossoming relationship to engagements and throughout a lifetime of wedded bliss.

We recently ran a survey in partnership with Confetti.co.uk, so we could get an even better understanding of your proposal to ensure that our service remains at the highest standard.

The results of the survey, completed by almost two and a half thousand people, are illuminating. It’s fair to say that at our heart, we’re a nation of romantics.

The UK might be all about progression and moving with the times, but we’d say that there’s still more than a little place reserved in our hearts for sticking to tradition.

• 61.55% of people who got down on one knee chose the ring themselves, without their partner, prior to popping the question
• The majority of respondents maintain that they didn’t wish that the ring had been chosen together

However, 30.13% of couples shared the experience and chose the engagement ring together, while just 8.32% of people opted to propose using a token ring.

Over 75% of those that responded said that their partner knew their tastes and style really well. That leaves almost a quarter who may have benefited from a little help in choosing the right ring.

While those that got down on one knee did  know their partner’s style and tastes really well, jangling nerves still had to be overcome to ask that all important question.

Indeed, planning the perfect proposal was the thing that made most people nervous (31.69%), much higher than the fear of being rejected (18.40%) and asking the permission of their partner’s family (14.99%). Our proposal planning guide will help anyone preparing to pop the question keep nerves to a minimum!

There’s a lot to consider when planning the ultimate proposal, but we know that getting the perfect ring is absolutely critical. That’s why we now offer both an in-store and online concierge service.

So what type of rings are people getting and how happy are they with the choices that are being made?

Stone

Most people are sticking to tradition when it comes to the stone, with over 85% of respondents in our survey receiving a diamond engagement ring. Sapphire and emerald respectively are the next two most popular stones. However, there is so much more to choosing the perfect ring than just picking the right stone.

Size

Getting the right size ring isn’t as crucial as you might think as all of our customers are offered the option to exchange their ring for one that fits perfectly. Still, we know that when making those treasured memories you want to get everything just right. 36% of couples took preemptive steps by discussing ring size prior to the proposal.

There’s a lot to consider when planning a proposal, so it’s no surprise that many of our respondents admitted that their partners faced challenges when deciding on the ring they wanted to propose with.

We found that there were two overwhelming themes in the challenges that were overcome:

• Deciding on a budget
• Getting the right style.

Along with the support provided by ROX, there are other places that proposal planners can turn to for help.

Hints

Our survey found that there are a wealth of hints that are available to take advantage of. Being able to pick up on them is crucial though (which is why we’ve created a handy guide to help).

Over 69% of people dropped hints, almost 93% of whom said they received the perfect ring. We also found that dropping hints increased the chances of getting the perfect ring by over 10%.

So, what are the most effective hints to drop?

Advice

Despite the amount of hint dropping, it appears that proposing Brits don’t feel comfortable armed only with the hints they’ve gathered.

Trust in the experts is the primary source of advice, with almost 37% of people getting advice from jewellers. Friends and family, either their own or their partners’ provided advice for 23.58% of people planning to propose. 25.76% of people opted for surety over secrecy by asking their partners whilst only 12.83% used the internet.

Price

When it comes to price, we found quite a simple correlation between the cost of the ring and delighting the love of your life. Spend more than she expects you to and she’s almost three times more likely to think it’s perfect.

What if you don’t know what she expects? There is some confusion surrounding the tradition of spending one, two or three month’s salary, and our results showed a difference of opinion about what’s expected:

This expectation changes by age and location too:

• People in the East of England have the lowest expectations when it comes to spend, 48.84% expected their partner to spend less than 1 month’s salary.
• Londoners are the most demanding, 7.44% of people from the UK’s capital expected their partner to spend more than 3 month’s salary.

Happiness with spend

Does it matter where the ring is purchased?

The majority of those that spent less than their partner expected shopped at a high street chain jeweller (61.94%), while the most popular choice for those spending more than their partner expected was an independent jeweller. When it comes to overall happiness with the ring based on where it was bought from, bespoke rings were most likely to be perceived as perfect (91.11%).

• People in the East of England have the lowest expectations when it comes to spend, 48.84% expected their partner to spend less than 1 month’s salary.
• Londoners are the most demanding, 7.44% of people from the UK’s capital expected their partner to spend more than 3 month’s salary.

Happiness with spend

Does it matter where the ring is purchased?

The majority of those that spent less than their partner expected shopped at a high street chain jeweller (61.94%), while the most popular choice for those spending more than their partner expected was an independent jeweller. When it comes to overall happiness with the ring by where it was bought, bespoke rings were most likely to be perceived as perfect (91.11%).

We can now officially confirm where people are most and least happy with their engagement rings.

Top 3:

• Scotland – 88.99% thought they got the perfect ring when they said aye.
• 88.49% of people in the South East of England said yes to the perfect ring.
• The men in the North East of England did well, 87.21% got the perfect ring for their spouse-to-be.

Bottom 3:

• Wales – almost a quarter of people were left a little disappointed with just 77.78% of people saying they were proposed to with the perfect ring.
• 78.5% of brides to be in the North West of England said that their engagement ring was perfect for them.
• In the South West of England, almost 1 in 5 weren’t entirely happy with what they got, 80.25% of respondents said they received the perfect ring.

While some people are using all the tools and information at their disposal to ensure that they are getting the perfect ring for their beloved, some people are still falling short.

Common pitfalls

Of those that said they didn’t get the perfect ring, the majority of the issues were related to the style (51.62%), with the size of stone being the most common issue.

Again, we saw a bit of variation by region, of those that would have preferred a bigger diamond.

In the North East of England, 7 out of 10 people would prefer a bigger diamond than the one they got, whereas in the West Midlands and the East of England around 8 out of 10 people didn’t agree that bigger was better.

Broaching the subject

We asked Britain’s blushing brides how they would feel about telling their partner that they didn’t like their choice of ring:

• 57.51% would keep it to themselves, claiming that they wouldn’t want to say anything.
• Almost a quarter would remain diplomatic, with 22.28% saying they would approach the topic carefully.
• 20.21% said that it wouldn’t be an issue to mention that they weren’t happy as they would prefer to get the right ring for them.

Finally, we wanted to know how people feel about upgrading their ring, surely a true measure of how perfect they feel their current engagement ring is?

Almost a third of people would consider the option, with 18.54% saying they would consider an upgrade in a few years and 15.91% saying they would upgrade now if they could.

In summary, while there’s no shortage of people proposing marriage with rings that couldn’t be more perfect for their partners, there’s still room for improvement.

That’s why we’re making sure that there’s plenty of help available to ensure that your partner ends up with the ring of their dreams. Book an appointment at a ROX store or use our online concierge service and we’ll ensure that the biggest purchase of your life is as easy as possible.

Getting down on one knee to pop the big question can require a lot of planning. We’ve teamed up with some other wedding experts to provide you with 10 surefire ways to pick up on all the hints you need from your partner to ensure you provide them with the proposal of their dreams – and get that all important “YES!”

We know a thing or two about proposals and we want to help make it as easy as possible for you to make your partner’s dreams come true. That’s why we’ve put together the ultimate proposal planning checklist, to guide you through the whole process and make it go as smoothly as possible.

We’re famed for our dedication to providing the best possible experience and the highest levels of service to our customers. That’s why we’ve replicated our in-store concierge service right here on our site to help you find the perfect engagement ring. Just answer our five simple questions and we’ll show you the ideal engagement ring options for your partner.