The Jewelry Trends Of 2022: Retailers May Expect New Kinds Of Requests
New year means new exciting opportunities for growing your business. And to do that, it’s better to be ready for any type of demand. We’ve combined the forecasts made by the fashion experts and store owners to find out what jewelry trends are likely going to be big this year.
Men’s engagement rings
Men’s rings should no longer be just metal bands with no gemstones. Masculine designs for solitaire settings have been gaining popularity for some time. They may grow into a proper trend this year.
A big lab-grown diamond brand announced the launch of a men's engagement ring line last week. With a simple design, the gemstone of choice can be both round, or fancy shaped. But what’s more important is its affordability. Men are often considered pragmatic about their jewelry. And with lower prices and more flexibility of lab-created diamonds, it seems as if this is a match made in heaven. It won’t be a surprise if we’ll see more brands and retailers starting their collections, as well as the increase of the custom orders for men’s solitaire rings this year.
Oval center stones
It’s likely that a round brilliant cut will always stay a classic, but there is one shape that may come very close in regards to popularity. According to experts, demand for elongated cuts, especially ovals, will continue to increase this year and may become even more prominent.
“We saw a rise in oval cuts from 2% in 2015 to 19% in 2021,” Shelly Brown, The Knot’s senior Fashion and Beauty editor, says. Ovals look perfect in solitaire and east-west settings, and are a welcome choice for a lot of creative designs. Accessibility of lab-grown diamonds makes a bridal ring with a 3 carat or bigger oval more affordable than ever, and such jewelry pieces will certainly be a hit during this year’s holiday season.
Three-stone settings
Solitaire setting is simple, yet elegant, which made it an obvious choice for an engagement ring design. However, the CEO of one of the biggest online retailers forecast consumers getting more into other styles in 2022, with the three-stone setting as the most noteworthy of them.
This trend is likely going to be influenced by Paris Hilton’s stunning three-stone emerald-cut diamond bridal ring. And flexible prices of lab-grown gems may allow for the increase of the numbers of orders, as consumers now have the chance to purchase three man-made diamonds at the price of a single mined stone.
Fancy colored lab-grown diamonds
While fancy-colored diamonds used to be more of a niche and unique choice, the demand has grown with the spread of the lab-created stones. Accessible and eye-catching jewelry will attract more consumers this year. According to the experts, retailers are seeing more and more requests for fancy diamonds, and it seems as if the yellow color will be the most asked for in 2022. HPHT process of growing diamonds allows to get as-grown, non-treated yellow gems that shine and look just like the mined ones. It’s a no-brainer that jewelers will get at least a few orders like these in the near future.
Sustainability angle
According to Shelly Brown, “an eco-conscious mindset is rising among couples, with 34 percent finding it increasingly less important that the ring’s stone be a natural stone,... nearly one in four engagement rings in 2021 featured a center stone that was man-made.”
Millennials and Gen Z now represent more than a half of all jewelry consumers, which means that the trend of promoting the sustainably sourced materials will continue. Almost every recent collection launch or an advertising campaign was connected to pushing eco-friendliness in one way or another. Last year, the sustainability certificates for lab-grown diamonds started spreading across the industry. It’s an easy forecast that the demand for stones with these certificates will only increase in 2022.
Awareness and demand for lab-grown diamonds will continue to grow
What do all of the above-mentioned trends have in common? It’s easier to follow them for consumers that are choosing man-made diamonds. Both industry experts and many retailers agree that lab-created gems are not going anywhere. Actually, they’re going to gain a bigger share of the diamond market in 2022. We at LaBrilliante can see it first-hand as suppliers of lab-grown diamonds. And we invite all the retailers to join us this year to be ready for the increasing demand.