How Much is Reasonable for an Engagement Ring?
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My feeling is that your soon to be wife should be the most important thing in your life. If you spend $500 on her ring and $50k for your new vehicle what does that say?
How much money do you have cash?
What are your current expenses?
How much do you make?
How much do you value her, what does she value?
Quality first size second.
Cut above all!
How much money do you have cash?
What are your current expenses?
How much do you make?
How much do you value her, what does she value?
Quality first size second.
Cut above all!
My wife's complete set was around $12,500 about 4 years ago. The main stone is a 1 carat oval, VS1, D color. I paid cash and worked through a local jeweler that has always treated my family very well. I don't regret the expense at all. My wife loves her ring and gets regular compliments on it.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a nice set. Do your research, figure out what you want, and go from there. It's really apples to oranges trying to compare against what other people bought/spent.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a nice set. Do your research, figure out what you want, and go from there. It's really apples to oranges trying to compare against what other people bought/spent.
I don't know about you or other guys, but when I'm around my my wife receives compliments from friends or even strangers on her ring, it's a point of pride for me personally. I enjoy it as much as she does. That may be selfish and superficial, but knowing that type of thing brightens her day, also brightens mine.
I knew the style of ring my wife wanted and I knew I wanted all of her friends to be stupid jealous. I had a good job and minimal bills, so I went all out on the ring (and the wedding/honeymoon). It was around $10k (1.5 carat, princess cut GIA certified that appraised/insured for $20k). We have been together for 18 years (married 8) and I would gladly do it all over again. The wedding was still the best I have ever been to and all of my friends agree, even after they got married. Zero disappointments spending a chunk of money on something that I will never have to upgrade or be even remotely disappointed in.
Nate
Nate
I financed the ring I bought. At 0% interest for 12 months if I applied for and use the store's credit card. Used the credit card, got interest free for one year and paid it off within that one year. Never used that card again.
I use 0% on anything that's available. It allows me to hold onto my cash for the term of the loan.
It's a tough pill to swallow but you need to watch this
I wonder how many women would be able to tell the difference between a real diamond & lab grown with only their naked eye...
99% of people would never know.
While I would agree this is a good reason not to get married, it assumes there aren't any reasons to get married. If money is your driving factor in not wanting to get married, you're probably somebody that doesn't want to get married anyway and are just using it to rationalize your decision.
There's nothing wrong with not wanting to get married, just as there's nothing wrong with wanting to get married. There is self sacrifice in either decision.
I could pay around $2k for wedding rings (both).
My girlfriend is looking at rings for about $100 each, says she don't care about fancy rings. She just wants a ring she like.
My girlfriend is looking at rings for about $100 each, says she don't care about fancy rings. She just wants a ring she like.
I used to be jeweler many moons ago for Sterling (Kay, JB Robinson, etc.) and worked as a manager for 14 years. Here is my take on your question:
How much to spend is relevant to your household income. Obviously, you want to show her how much you care for her and the time you took to choose "the right ring". A.) Choose quality over quantity. B.) Decide on a bridal set or solitaire. You will get better quality and larger carat weight for the money with a solitaire. C.) Look for a diamond at least an SI 1 or SI 2 clarity grade. D.) Choose a color grade of at least an h or g. E.) Choose the best shape of diamond with the optimum cut. The shape may be Round ( brilliant), Pear, Marquise, Oval, Emerald Cut, etc. The round is most brilliant of all shapes. E.) Carat weight is the size diamond you like. The carat weight will directly impact how much you will spend relevant to the other "C's" (cut, clarity, color). Optional: Request a GIA or AGS certification on the diamond. The certification is your diamonds grading by an appraiser.
How much you spend is up to you, but go quality. My wife has a solitaire round brilliant cut, .58 carat weight, F color, VS1 clarity and is GIA certified. She's had it for 20 years and she says it outshines larger lower quality diamonds all the time. You know women, they show other women what you bought them. Also, remember.....she will not be seeing the variety of rings as you will see when making your selection. The ring you choose is always the right ring!
My two cents.
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How much to spend is relevant to your household income. Obviously, you want to show her how much you care for her and the time you took to choose "the right ring". A.) Choose quality over quantity. B.) Decide on a bridal set or solitaire. You will get better quality and larger carat weight for the money with a solitaire. C.) Look for a diamond at least an SI 1 or SI 2 clarity grade. D.) Choose a color grade of at least an h or g. E.) Choose the best shape of diamond with the optimum cut. The shape may be Round ( brilliant), Pear, Marquise, Oval, Emerald Cut, etc. The round is most brilliant of all shapes. E.) Carat weight is the size diamond you like. The carat weight will directly impact how much you will spend relevant to the other "C's" (cut, clarity, color). Optional: Request a GIA or AGS certification on the diamond. The certification is your diamonds grading by an appraiser.
How much you spend is up to you, but go quality. My wife has a solitaire round brilliant cut, .58 carat weight, F color, VS1 clarity and is GIA certified. She's had it for 20 years and she says it outshines larger lower quality diamonds all the time. You know women, they show other women what you bought them. Also, remember.....she will not be seeing the variety of rings as you will see when making your selection. The ring you choose is always the right ring!
My two cents.
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I ended up spending around $7k on my wife's engagement ring. A friend told me not to even bother with under 1ct, so I started the search there. Found a stone that I was happy with the specs, then found the perfect solitaire setting that I knew my wife would like. Went for platinum because if I'm going to spend the dough, might as well get the best. My wife still thanks me and brags to others about the ring 2 years later. And I got it all online at whiteflash.com and got a decent discount for paying cash. No way I was financing a ring.
As for wedding bands, we bought our own. She found a nice platinum band that matched her engagement ring for like $400 on blue nile. I got a couple different titanium and tungsten carbide rings off amazon for like $15 each to see which ones I liked lol. So I still have 4 other wedding bands sitting around that weren't worth the cost of return shipping.
My wife was perfectly fine with a lab created diamond. They are chemically and physically the exact same thing, so of course you can't tell the difference. Except the one made in the lab should technically be flawless.
I looked everywhere and because it's so difficult to make a diamond in the lab that is big enough to put on jewelry, they aren't any cheaper than the real thing. The use the technology mostly for cutting blades and abrasives where the diamonds are very small.
To be honest, your best bet would probably be moissonite if you want to go not diamond. It's just below diamond on the hardness scale, harder than CZ or any other 'fake diamond'. My wife has a 2+ ct moissonite ring that cost her just over a grand and it looks exactly like a huge diamond.
As for wedding bands, we bought our own. She found a nice platinum band that matched her engagement ring for like $400 on blue nile. I got a couple different titanium and tungsten carbide rings off amazon for like $15 each to see which ones I liked lol. So I still have 4 other wedding bands sitting around that weren't worth the cost of return shipping.
My wife was perfectly fine with a lab created diamond. They are chemically and physically the exact same thing, so of course you can't tell the difference. Except the one made in the lab should technically be flawless.
I looked everywhere and because it's so difficult to make a diamond in the lab that is big enough to put on jewelry, they aren't any cheaper than the real thing. The use the technology mostly for cutting blades and abrasives where the diamonds are very small.
To be honest, your best bet would probably be moissonite if you want to go not diamond. It's just below diamond on the hardness scale, harder than CZ or any other 'fake diamond'. My wife has a 2+ ct moissonite ring that cost her just over a grand and it looks exactly like a huge diamond.
I ended up doing the same thing. Why not keep some liquidity if you have the option to? I ended up spending around $5k just a few months ago. We still have not bought the bands so I don't have a final total yet. For me, I wanted to get her a nice ring in the style she likes and try to stay around $5k because she is frugal also, so she wouldn't want me spending much more than that. Secondly, I just wanted to make sure that it was bigger and better than her sister's ring. In the end, like everyone says, just get what you can afford and she will be happy (as long as you aren't too much of a cheapskate)
Paid $1200 for my GF ring no band i'll get that when its that time. She gets her ring next week.
I think I spent about $1400 on the setting. My mom was getting upset that I was taking too long to get engaged and offered me a diamond from her ring that was originally her grandmothers. About 1 carat rock miners cut. Saved me a fortune. Once again procrastinating paid off. Not to mention, when my now wife learned the story behind the diamond it made it 10 times better than anything store bought. The bottom line is don't spend more than you can afford. If you need to take out a loan then you are spending too much! Good luck.
You people are ****in soft.
When my wife and I started talking about engagement rings I said you want a ****in ring go out and buy one so guess what? she did.
And when I proposed to her I said here take this now what's for dinner?
When my wife and I started talking about engagement rings I said you want a ****in ring go out and buy one so guess what? she did.
And when I proposed to her I said here take this now what's for dinner?
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