Can secondhand engagement rings actually become a thing? MyGemma thinks so.

Brides and jewellers have spent years engaged in the natural versus lab-grown debate, and now a new contender is joining the fight: secondhand engagement rings.

At luxury resale platform myGemma, CEO Andrew Brown says pre-owned Tiffany engagement rings offer customers a way to buy into a recognizable brand while paying considerably less than they would for a new ring. Most Tiffany engagement rings the company sells are priced at a 40%–50% off retail, he told Retail Brew, and arrive repolished with a Tiffany certificate and blue box.

Clearly, there is an opportunity to be part of a growing resale market. A 2025 report by Bain & Company, for example, estimated that global secondhand luxury goods sales reached 50 billion euros, rising 4%–6% and outpacing new luxury goods sales. Watches and jewelry accounted for approximately 83% of that secondhand market.

But Brown’s perspective comes with a bit of a variation. His engagement ring business has been consistent, rather than suddenly booming. “It’s always been a very steady, strong business for us,” he said.

Rock bottom: He added that Tiffany accounts for the vast majority of the company’s engagement ring business. And while he believes value is the primary motivation for shoppers, he couldn’t assign a percentage to the reasons customers buy secondhand.

But this range also spans budgets as the company sells Tiffany engagement rings with about one-third carat stones for around ~$1,500 to ~$2,000, but sold a 5-carat Tiffany engagement ring last year for close to $250,000.

Beyond price, Brown believes younger consumers’ interest in sustainability has helped the category as he has seen less resistance to buying a ring that belonged to somebody else over time.

“I would say 15 years ago, there was some element of a stigma for sure,” he said, noting that a previous owner doesn’t necessarily mean a broken engagement or divorce as people also trade up or down, and sellers don’t necessarily explain their reasons.

Ring cycle: Resale is one option in an engagement ring market increasingly shaped by lab-grown diamonds. The Knot’s 2026 Real Weddings Study, which surveyed 10,474 US couples married in 2025, found that 61% of engagement rings featured lab-grown center stones.

Brown, however, said he hasn’t seen a substantial impact from lab-grown diamonds on the pricing of secondhand Tiffany engagement rings.

In fact, to decide its selling price, myGemma considers its own sales over the previous 6–12 months, current Tiffany prices, competing listings, and auction results. It buys items outright from consumers or accepts them on consignment, calculating offers by factoring in its margin and costs.

The platform also offers a way to inspect a purchase before committing. Its “try-before-you-buy” service places a hold on the customer’s credit card for the item’s value, and then customers have 10 days to return it without being charged. Those who decide to keep it are charged.

Ultimately, bridal jewelry remains a considerable part of a business that also sells handbags, bracelets, and necklaces. Brown expects secondhand rings to gain share, while leaving room for shoppers seeking something custom. “There’s always going to be an element of the market that’s new and custom,” he said. “But is [secondhand] going to grow as a percentage? Yeah, I 100% believe that it will.”