From red carpets to retail counters, design trends in engagement rings are subtly shifting — and natural diamonds may be the big winners, reports diamond analyst Paul Zimnisky.
U.S. actress Zendaya made news by wearing a flashy “East-West” diamond ring at the Golden Globe awards earlier this year. What later was confirmed to be an engagement ring from British actor Tom Holland, features a 5-carat oval-cut natural diamond set in an 18-karat white gold bezel setting with a yellow gold band. The ring was designed by London-based jeweler Jessica McCormack and is estimated to retail for well in excess of $100,000.
Traditionally, rings with an elongated diamond, such as an oval, are set vertically, corresponding to the length of the finger. However, an East-West setting positions the diamond horizontally along the finger, giving it a unique look. The design was popular a century ago during the Art Deco era, but in more recent times a vertical setting has been the mainstay as it creates the illusion of a larger diamond.
Given the Zendya buzz, British Vogue anointed the East-West ring “2025’s defining jewellery trend.”
Larger elongated fancy shapes in general have notably been in demand in recent quarters – albeit most are still set in a “North-South” fashion. There are currently reported shortages of higher-quality 1.5-3.0-carat ovals, pears and even marquises. This has translated into demand for corresponding rough categories such 5-9-carat white gem goods, which are up as much as 10% year-to-date 2025. These categories seem to be leading what is a modest early-stage recovery in the larger diamond market – despite the more recent uncertainly due to the tariff war.
Other engagement ring design trends include a gravitation towards more traditional solitaire ring settings, for example simple, minimalistic styles that are lower-profile and thus draw more attention to the diamond – rather than busier settings like cathedrals or those with side-stones, a halo or hidden-halo, which have been more popular in the recent past.
This could in part be related to efforts to reduce the amount of metal used in settings amidst soaring gold prices. The yellow metal surpassed the psychologically important threshold of $3,500 an ounce in April – gold is now up 10% over the last month, 20% over the last six months, 40% over the last year.
The development could consequently benefit diamonds, as the stone becomes an even greater focal point in solitaire jewellery.
With a heightened focus on the stone, the natural diamond industry is perhaps presented with an opportunity to recapture the narrative that its product is not only beautiful but also “rare and valuable” – especially in markets like the US where that messaging has seemed to be overshadowed by the temptation of “big” and “less expensive” offered by LGD.
Additionally, the circumstances perhaps present an opportunity for the trade to lean into the narrative around the origin of a natural diamond. The timing could be opportune as Botswana and De Beers just finalised a multi-year negotiation around their partnership agreement which gives Botswana more responsibly to promote its product. In a recent interview with US trade publication JCK, Botswana’s new resource minister Bogolo Kenewendo said “we are setting up a high-level steering committee and marketing board…we tell the diamonds-for-development story, we tell the Botswana story, and we ensure that we are doing category marketing quite strongly as well.”
Kenewendo added, that they are mulling a campaign around a branded “elephant diamond or a zebra diamond or Okavango diamond,” to bring attention to the stone’s origin. For a nation like Botswana, the incentive is there as the country relies on natural diamonds for upwards of 80% of its exports.
Paul Zimnisky, CFA is an independent diamond industry analyst and consultant based in the New York metro area. For regular in-depth analysis and forecasts of the diamond industry please consider subscribing to his State of the Diamond Market, a leading monthly industry report; an index of previous editions can be found here. Also, listen to the Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts for exclusive full-length conversations with special guests from the gem and jewelry industry. Paul is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business with a B.S. in finance and he is a CFA charterholder. He can be followed on X @paulzimnisky and on YouTube @paulzimnisky.
Paul will be speaking on “What the Future Holds for Diamonds” at the Swiss Gemmological Society Central Conference in Wilen (Sarnen), Switzerland on 16 June, 2025.
Disclosure: At the time of writing Paul Zimnisky held a long equity position in Brilliant Earth Group and Newmont Corp. Paul is an independent board member of Lipari Mining Ltd, a publicly-traded Canadian company with an operating diamond mine in Brazil and a development-stage asset in Angola. None of the above constitutes investment advice, please read full disclosure at www.paulzimnisky.com.
