In February, The Knot fielded its third annual Engagement & Jewelry Study, canvasing 14,000 brides and 1,750 grooms on The Knot Wedding Network to assess their thoughts on the bridal jewelry buying process, from how they conducted research to choosing gifts for their wedding party.

We’ve broken down the highlights into four distinct categories focused on the research, the retailer, the engagement ring, and after the engagement.

The Retailer

• 42% buy the ring at a local or independent jewelry retailer

• 9% buy from an online retailer

• The top three national chains are Kay Jewelers (27%), Zales (20%), and Jared (13%)

• The top three websites are Blue Nile (21%), Amazon (7%), and eBay (5%)

• About 3 in 10 who didn’t buy online (27%) considered buying at least part of the ring online

• 69% who didn’t buy online wanted to see the ring/stone in person; 35% were concerned about customer service if something went wrong; 33% felt they needed more personal attention

JCK