Swarovski's CEO Just Described Your Next Bridal Customer
Author: Alex K., CMO at Labrilliante
What's happened:
- Swarovski CEO Alexis Nasard told the Financial Times that lab-grown diamonds are letting women buy diamonds for themselves, not just receive them as gifts
- Nasard says more than 60% of U.S. engagement ring diamonds are now lab-grown, and predicts that could reach 80% within two years
Swarovski CEO Alexis Nasard told the Financial Times, that lab-grown diamonds are increasingly letting women buy diamonds for themselves - no ring-bearing partner required. He described the pattern playing out in stores: a woman tries on a piece, likes it, and buys it for herself, without waiting for someone else to make the decision. Nasard called the shift "endearing and encouraging".
That's not a small behavioral change. It's a second customer walking through the door who isn't shopping for a proposal at all.
The Numbers Behind the Shift
Nasard put a figure on just how far bridal has already moved: more than 60% of diamonds in U.S. engagement rings are now lab-grown, and he expects that number could climb to 80% within two years. Beyond bridal, analysts estimate lab-grown stones already account for roughly a fifth of the global diamond jewelry market.
Price is doing a lot of the work here. De Beers reported that wholesale lab-grown diamond prices have fallen 93% since 2020, down to roughly $100 a carat - though retail prices at the counter haven't fallen anywhere near that much. That gap between wholesale cost and retail price is exactly where a well-stocked, well-priced retailer makes its margin.
A Different Kind of Bridal Customer
While the traditional engagement-ring narrative has always centered on the moment someone else picks the ring, Nasard's comments point to a customer who wants to make that decision herself - on her schedule, in her budget, without waiting for a proposal. That's not a departure from bridal demand; it's an expansion of it.
For retailers, this means the self-purchase customer deserves the same attention as the traditional engagement-ring shopper: pieces she can try on and decide about in the moment, price points that don't require financing conversations, and staff who treat a self-purchase with the same warmth as a couple shopping together.
What This Means for Your Floor
Nasard's framing lines up with what the bridal numbers have been showing for months - lab-grown diamonds aren't just replacing mined stones in the same transaction, they're pulling in buyers who weren't part of the traditional engagement-ring sale at all. If his 80% prediction holds, lab-grown will stop being an "option to mention" and become the default assumption walking in the door.
Retailers who build self-purchase into their bridal and everyday assortments now - not as an afterthought, but as its own customer journey - will be the ones capturing that growth as it happens.
LaBrilliante is here to help you stock for both customers: the one being proposed to, and the one proposing to herself.