Should she return the engagment ring?

liney

Legally, and morally she should keep the ring. She hasn't broken her promise, he has. He obviously proposed too quickly and will know not to jump in head first next time. Unfortunately the lesson has cost him £8k. Ho hum.

CB1979_2

yep that's it all the man haters crawl out again.

obviously you're getting one side to the story.

but it's unlike a woman to show her true money grabbing self again

melancholly

CB1979 wrote: »

yep that's it all the man haters crawl out again.

nice that see that you're being pretty predictable too

LadyMorticia

I split up from my fiancee on New Years Day-ish. The ring wasn't expensive though but I am going to send it back to him. The reason I haven't done so yet is because I'm thinking of the most creative way I can to send it back and declare that I am perfectly fine without him.

xx

Lunar_Eclipse

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Why do i say that? Because engagement rings are a show of wealth, not love. They aren't an investment, they're just money in diamond form. It's the jewelery equivalent of designer brands. Sure, some look a lot nicer than others, but you wear one brand rather than another to show that you can afford to do so.

It therefore goes that people who want to show their money will also do so with their wedding.

I think the '17k average' is a bit of an underestimate. I've been to lots of weddings where a hell of a lot more was spent than that. Just the catering costs for my wedding are 12k.. wish the whole thing was going to come up at the 'average'.

Average wedding costs = 17k
Average engagement ring spend = £1200 (according to this)

Of course (some) rings can be an investment, ie an asset that appreciates in value over time. It's just that the majority aren't and this is usually not a consideration when bought for engagement purposes.

I would happily spend 8k on a ring (assuming it was not too ostentatious), but not 17 on a wedding. Especially if some people as you mentioned will see this as a display of wealth. I'm not into that kind of thing, but that's personal and each to their own.

But the important thing I wanted to pick up from your message is that your wedding budget is within your control. So if you really want it to come in at an average cost (17k), then this is perfectly achievable, unless you are from an exceptional background (eg titled) and thus upbringing dictates otherwise. I had a fantastic wedding with a multiple michelin star wedding breakfast in a private castle followed by an incredibly memorable evening party with catering and varied entertainment at my parents period home. And whilst this was 9 years ago (today!), it came in at significantly less than that 'average' wedding cost. In fact I can remember thinking it was less than the average wedding cost at that time and certinaly wasn't what anyone would deem an average wedding (nothing wrong with those though!) However, the average is seriously distorted by the handful of people every year spending millions on their wedding. Judging by posts on this forum, it looks like people with average incomes spend about 5k on their wedding, with top earning professionals spending about twice that. So slash the budget and be free, lol! It is perfectly achievable, even in luxury. But maybe you're too far down the road now. Have a lovely day whatever you do.

MX5huggy

She should throw it into a lake or the sea or it will bring bad luck for ever!

robnye

who says its worth 8k...... might been on offer, ...... get it valued and determine whether he did think she was worth 8k, if it is valued at 8k.... then the dilemma is..... give it back or keep....