One ring per lifetime: DR Ring lost ¥52B of market cap in nine months

Di'ai listed on ChiNext on December 15, 2021 selling a single promise: a man may commission only one DR engagement ring in his lifetime, bound to his ID. The first-day close was ¥165.01, up 41.18%, market capitalisation over ¥66 billion; at the intraday high the company was worth more than ¥70 billion. Engagement rings were 77% of revenue and the gross margin ran near 70%. The founder-couple's bet was that China's marriage market would keep paying a premium for the proof of one true love.

The brand broke in public. In September 2022 a trending post claimed a bestselling DR ring cost ¥1,000–1,100 to make; alongside it ran a rumour that purchase records could be erased for a fee — later ruled false — but the public verification system was shut down, and 'IQ tax' stuck to the name. The market cap fell to ¥18.7 billion in nine months. Revenue fell three years running — −20.4% in 2022, −40.8% in 2023, −32.0% in 2024 to ¥1.48 billion — orders down 20%, average spend down 13.7%, a deducted loss of ¥126 million in 2024, and 172 store closures: a net loss of 155 doors.

The industry moved against diamonds: the market fell 26.8% in 2023, Shanghai Diamond Exchange turnover dropped 35% to $2.02 billion in 2024, and gold's 70%-plus surge took the wedding budgets. Di'ai's answer was shrinkage: 28 more net closures in 2025 to 345 stores; revenue steadied at ¥1.52 billion (+2.5%), net profit rose 162% to ¥139 million — mostly from cuts, with rent, renovation and labour down ¥103.8 million — while overseas sales almost doubled to ¥94 million. In Q1 2026 part of the profit growth came from wealth-management returns.