engagement ring

Errata

burnoutbabe wrote: »

its not just "if people can afford it". We can afford it but no way would i want a 10k rock on my finger, would be a total waste of money to me. if people think it somehow signifies how much he loves his bride, thats just sad.

Rule of thumb is made up by the diamond sellers! the most biased people ever in how much you should spend on a ring!

A £10k engagement ring can be a very handy thing to have around at divorce time. And given the current divorce rate who knows when the finger of fate will point at them.

Seanymph

My first husband spent about a thousand - and we were living apart within six months.

The next b/f who proposed spent nearly three thousand - and we never made it to church!

My current husband said he wouldn't spend more than two hundred, we went around antique shops, looked at ebay, went to auctions, and I ended up with a fire opal and diamond ring I love - we chose it together, it cost a hundred and sixty pounds, and sits alongside my two hundred pound wedding ring. And I love them both.

We had better things to spend our money on, he had nothing at all to prove - and the shopping became a joint expedition that went on for weeks after he'd asked me.

In my experience the value of the ring has no bearing on the success of the marriage......

Lou67

Sweet story Seanymph

Lou67

Errata wrote: »

A £10k engagement ring can be a very handy thing to have around at divorce time. And given the current divorce rate who knows when the finger of fate will point at them.

I'm assuming you're joking.

If not, then that's the most depressing thing I've read all week

megela

Mine was about £150 20 years ago, we were only 19 and saving for a house/wedding - no way were we willing to pay out hundreds/thousands for a ring (and we are still together over 20 year later!)

Spend only what you can afford, and put plenty of thought into what she would like. I know I would appreciate that more.

Georgiegirl256

Mine cost about £500, my OH chose it himself, and I love it, he chose well, it's 3 diamonds in a row and white gold, he knew I'd prefer that to yellow gold, he never asked, he just knew! He also knew that I'm not really a jewellery person, so while he wanted to get a nice ring, he didn't want to pay a fortune....personally, I think £500 is more than enough to pay! Especially, since I hardly ever wear it. My wedding ring cost £600.

The spend 2-3 months wages is a load of bull! It just puts unnecessary pressure on men who think they have to spend that much or people/their fiance will think less of them, and if that is the case, then are they really worth it?

If anyone dared ask me how much my rings cost, I'd tell them where to go! :rotfl:

SingleSue

To add to my cheap engagement ring, my wedding ring cost £17! A family friend had given us £40, so off we went to Argos and got both our wedding rings.

It still looked good 16 years later when I sold it after we split.

neverdespairgirl

ska_lover wrote: »

The most common question I get asked, after I show people my ring is 'how much did that cost?'.

I honestly haven't been asked that once. I would tell any such enquirer to mind his or her own business, but no such questions were asked.

LondonDreamer

burnoutbabe wrote: »

its not just "if people can afford it". We can afford it but no way would i want a 10k rock on my finger, would be a total waste of money to me. if people think it somehow signifies how much he loves his bride, thats just sad.

Rule of thumb is made up by the diamond sellers! the most biased people ever in how much you should spend on a ring!

Kynthia wrote: »

I always heard it was one month's take home, not three months salary! I think the diamond industry have managed to increase it over the years. I think three months is unaffordable for most people and would lead to many having a ring they were afraid to wear in case it was lost or a lure for muggers.

Spend between what you can afford and what buys a ring your OH would like. For most of us that is definitely less than one month's take home pay.

Agree with both of these points. And it was definitely advertised (yes advertised - have only seen these "rules" on diamond adverts!) as two months when I got engaged 9 years ago so it has definitely crept up over time.

My ring cost about 40% of DH's monthly take home at the time. He could have afforded to spend more, but we got a good deal on the ring. And I only know the price because I was there when he bought it. What it represents is its true value, would be worth just as much to me whether it was 10k or a tenner.

OP, work out a budget that you think is realistic based on what you can afford, and not some arbitrary figure that you "should" spend.

eleanora_

Mine cost about £100 (I found out by chance, OH didn't tell me) - it's 9-carat gold, with a sapphire and little cubic zirconia "stones" each side of the sapphire. I love it and look at it all the time and my wedding ring (a plain 9-carat gold band, slightly shaped to fit alongside my engagement ring) cost £100 from a local jeweller.

My rings are perfect and I love them!

edit: OH proposed with my ring (as opposed to using a token ring)