The BriteCo Jewelry Price Index 2026, a new annual report tracks what Americans actually pay for jewelry and watches, and what it would cost to replace them
EVANSTON, IL, UNITED STATES, September 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — For the first time, more than half of newly appraised engagement rings hold a lab-grown center stone. That is the headline finding of The BriteCo Jewelry, Diamond, & Watch Price Index 2026, the first edition of a new annual report from BriteCo, a leading jewelry and watch insurance provider.
The index draws on real jewelry and watch appraisals recorded from January 2019 through June 2026, across all 50 states and Washington, DC. Its 52 charts cover engagement rings, wedding bands, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, eternity and anniversary bands, fancy colored diamonds, colored gemstones, precious metals, and luxury watches, with state-by-state breakdowns, seasonal patterns, and projections through 2028. The index will be updated every year at the same address, and all of its charts and data are free for publishers to use.
Key Takeaways
– Lab-grown diamonds appeared in 51% of newly appraised engagement rings from January through June 2026, up from 6% in 2019.
– Engagement rings had a median sales price of $6,939 in 2025. The median appraised value, the insurance replacement value, was $9,676.
– Natural diamond engagement rings had a median sales price of $12,961 in 2025, versus $4,557 for lab-grown.
– The median engagement ring center stone doubled in size, from 1.01 carats in 2019 to 2.0 carats in 2025.
– Yellow gold overtook white gold as America’s jewelry metal, 39% to 38% in 2025. White gold held 51% in 2019.
Two Prices for Every Piece of Jewelry
Every piece in the index carries two numbers, and the difference between them is the report’s foundation. Sales price is what buyers typically paid, estimated from thousands of real sales recorded alongside appraisals. Appraised value is the insurance replacement value, what it would cost to replace the piece at retail today. The appraised value is typically higher than the sales price to account for inflation, sales tax, or discounts provided at the time of sale. In 2025, the median engagement ring sales price was $6,939 while the median appraised value was $9,676.
“Every piece of jewelry has two prices. There is the price you paid at the counter, and there is the price it would cost to replace the piece today, which is what insurance is based on. Most people never see both numbers side by side. This index shows both, for every category, every year since 2019,” said Dustin Lemick, CEO of BriteCo.
The Lab-Grown Tipping Point
Lab-grown adoption climbed every year of the index, from 6% of engagement rings in 2019 to 47% in 2025 and 51% in the first half of 2026. Prices moved the opposite direction. The median lab-grown diamond sales price fell from $4,622 per carat in 2019 to $2,057 in 2025, while natural diamonds ran $8,428 per carat. The result is two markets at very different price levels: a median natural diamond engagement ring sold for $12,961 in 2025, a lab-grown ring for $4,557.
Bigger Stones, Different Gold
Falling lab-grown prices coincided with a doubling of the typical center stone, from 1.01 carats in 2019 to 2.0 carats in 2025. Metal preferences shifted just as sharply. White gold fell from 51% of jewelry pieces in 2019 to 38% in 2025, letting yellow gold take the lead at 39%, while platinum grew from 11% to 16%.
Watches Tell the Other Half of the Story
The median watch sales price was $8,442 in 2025, against a median appraised value of $11,000. The gap depends heavily on brand: across the full data window, Rolex watches had a median sales price of $10,081 and a median appraised value of $13,900.
Well Beyond the Engagement Ring
The index gives the same treatment to the rest of the jewelry box. Among the gift categories, wedding bands had the highest median sales price in 2025 at $7,252, and December is the strongest month for jewelry shopping in the complete-year data. Yellow leads the fancy colored diamonds, blue sapphire tops the colored gemstones, and moissanite has been climbing steadily. The watch section breaks down prices by brand, movement, case material, and complications, and a projections section extends the engagement ring trends through 2028.
Free to Use, Down to the State Level
The index reports lab-grown adoption and engagement ring prices for all 50 states and Washington, DC.
The full index, including every chart, the state-level breakdowns, downloadable data, and the complete methodology, is available at https://brite.co/research/jewelry-diamond-watch-price-index/. Journalists and publishers are free to republish the charts and data with attribution and a link.
Dustin Lemick
BriteCo
+1 312-809-9100
email us here
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