If sales of engagement rings are any indication, a growing number of couples hunkered down in quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic are asking themselves: why not?
In Connecticut, jewelers say theyโve seen a noticeable spike in demand for engagement rings from mid-March to July compared with previous years.
For the first two months of quarantine โ if things were going well โ couples browsed online. In May, as jewelry and other retail stores opened under Gov. Lamontโs Phase 1 guidelines, future brides and grooms scouted in person.
At Lux, Bond & Greenโs six retail locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts, co-owner John Green estimates his engagement ring business is up 25% from the same period last year.
โWhen we shut down in March, we got emails and an appointment requests,โ John Green, co-owner of Lux, Bond & Green, said. โWe made special appointments and lots of social distancing and masks and gloves and the whole business.โ
โMany couples are saying, โWho knows when weโre going to be able to get married, or maybe weโll just do a small civil service, but letโs get engaged,โโ Green said. โTheyโve talked about getting married, but in this generation, thereโs no rush. Now, itโs like, โWeโve talked about it: why donโt we just do it?โโ
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