Engagement Ring Cost & Wedding Rings

[buzzlightyear]

This has been a conversation that is relevant to a few friends ATM. Two questions.

First is, when considering to buy an engagement ring, what is a reasonable amount to spend. $5k, $10k, more?

Sure I realise that it comes down to your income or ability to pay, tastes etc. I have heard some female friends talking about rings that they like, which are $10k some even closer to $15k.

How did others here decide how much to spend on an engagement ring? Was it a joint decision?

Note to self: increase cash buffer

Second is, do guys here wear wedding rings?

I know my father for instance has never worn his and yes he is still happily married to my mother
A couple of close friends who are married, one wears his, another doesn't.

Interested to hear people's thoughts.

 

[Xenia]

My husband wears a wedding ring. It is just a symbol and a choice and has nothing to do with the quality or value of your marriage.

We looked at big diamond engagement rings and I did not like anything under$10,000, it seemed too cheap. I decided I would rather have nothing than something that looks cheap so we optend to spend the money on deposits for 3 properties (around $30,000). This was 8 years ago and the best thing we could have ever done. There is now around $700,000 in equity in those properties which we would have never achieved in a ring.

The idea was to buy the rings when we earned enough equity.

In the mean time however the money made in the properties was borrowed out to buy more properties, develop and start our businesses and support 3 children.


My taste for rings has gone up to the $30,000 ones and I am still waiting

 

[Nards]

Hey Buzz

I think the engagement ring is very much an individual preference - unfortunately your fiances, not yours! I guess really it comes down to how much weight your fiance puts on the "bling". I personally couldn't care lees about the jewellrey - my husband and I went shopping together for the ring, and I ended up choosing something that was less than $1000 (6yrs ago), although it wasn't a diamond (I dont like them much!). Now I know there are people on the forum who are right into diamonds etc and would be horrified to be presented with what I have! But I love it, and it suits me. I could NEVER justify spending 10-15k on a ring - would much rather a great holiday...and I dont think the value of the ring represents the value you put on your relationship...but thats just me!

As for wedding rings, my husband wears one - but many that work in his industry cant for safety reasons. My brother just got married and just cant get used to the feeling of wearing a ring - so he's put it on a chain around his neck. I personally think a married man should wear a ring - for no other reason than its a symbol to the rest of the world that he has a commitment to someone.

Its all very personal isnt it? You'll work out whats right for you...

Nadia

 

[tobe]

I think its supposedd to be something like 3 months of a mans salary.... I got one from an estate jeweler, much cheaper (30 to 60% off) and some really nice old designs. But then, I also get my suits from op shops (dead mans pants...) I proposed the old fashioned way, we didnt discuss it first, and I hid the ring in an egg I had dyed pink in the chook house..... I wear a wedding ring.

 

[Aaron Sice]

my wifes engagement ring is a single 100% clear and white diamond in white gold but ony 1/2 a carat.

it still wasn't anywhere NEAR $10k!

her wedding ring has about 6 smaller diamonds along the band, again all the best quality diamond available with white gold and again, nowhere near $10k.

what a horribly exorbitant amount of money to spend on a ring! $10,000. say it ou tloud for me.

ten

thousand

dollars

for a rock and some metal.

my wedding ring is titanium with an 18ct gold band thru the middle. i wear it always.

 

[Petal]

The rule of thumb is three months pay which I believe came about through some clever marketing back in the olden days.

It really depends on your significant others view on jewellery.

I have girlfriends who only like expensive jewellery.

My engagement ring came from Cash Converters because that was my wish as I can't see the value in buying jewellery that is marked up 70 - 90%

Unfortunately many many women see a large engagement ring as some sort of status symbol and to them I guess it represents how much their partner loves them because of the amount of money he spent on "the ring"

If your mates are getting engaged to someone they should know by now their intendeds view on spending money on jewellery and let that be their guide.

To tell you the truth I would feel nauseas if I was wearing jewellery worth thousands of dollars because I think it is just a waste of money. But that is just me

 

[GoAnna!]

I have a wedding ring only and no engagement ring. I am not into diamonds. My ring cost less than $2K. I chose it. I can't recall who paid for it. GoMichael wears a ring and I really like that he does

I am not into bling. But that's just me.


I think you need to check this out wth your girl !

 

[Jayro]

Well my wifes engagement ring wasnt expensive but still very nice. Cost was around the $4k mark. As already mentioned some believe the ring should be 1/3 the mans salary. My brothers wife/family was like this. My brother at the time earned about $60k and ended up spending $20k on a custom made peice of bling. Is it nice? yep. Could they have got one from a shop window for 1/4 the price and no one would ever know? yep. But they think money spend on property is a waste as well so each to there own.

Yes I wear a wedding band and as does my brother and most of my mates.

Cheers Jayro!

 

[RumpledElf]

We just bought ourselves two pretty little sterling silver rings off eBay, with the designs on them chosen very carefully for our own evil little reasons (trust me, you don't want to know)

Anyway, mine cost $US17 and his cost $US13 including postage

They're much nicer and better quality (and cheaper) than the crappy silver ones you always find at fairs and in those shops that sell dope pipes and amethysts with healing powers, and they do the job. We got sized at a jewellery store and converted the sizings to US before we bought on eBay, so no issues with the fit.

Do I win a cheapskate award?

 

[Aaron Sice]

no you win the "spend your money on something else" award.

 

[PrimeCommercial]

Unfortunately... I've had the opportunity to buy 2 engagement rings.
The first one was a 1.1 carat pear shaped diamond that I got custom set for a tad over $10k.
I ended up with that given back to me about a year later and sold it for $4k which I was told was about the best I could hope for.

The second time round I spent a tad over $15k (you'd think I would have learnt)
I got put onto a diamond wholesaler and got a very good quality 1.2carat princess cut (square) diamond and another 1.2 carat of square baguette diamonds for the band. I had these custom set by a jeweller in Sydney who I had used previously.

I cant say that I saved money buying from a wholesaler and having it set, but I definately did get a better quality/bigger diamond for the same money compared to walking into a jewelery shop.

Just a note to be aware of
You will always be told that the valuation is much more than you pay and you will be offered a certificate to confirm this, so when it comes time to insure it, they sting you for more because its valued at more than you paid.
What you paid for it, What its valued at and what its worth are all very different value's
For instance, A diamond valued at $20k, you could easily pick up for $12-$15K and if push came to shove you'd be lucky to sell it for $5k.

Get used to it if you plan on getting married, you get torn a new arseho1e when you buy the ring and it only gets torn bigger as you start to organise/pay for the wedding



And yes, I wear a wedding ring. Its a plain gold ring, nothing fancy and its cost $600 from memory.

 

[RumpledElf]

Get used to it if you plan on getting married, you get torn a new arseho1e when you buy the ring and it only gets torn bigger as you start to organise/pay for the wedding

I knew there was a reason I wasn't planning on getting married

We have a joint baby and a bunch of joint bank accounts and a joint house instead.

 

[Simon]

I was given my grandfathers signet ring that I wore as a wedding ring for a year or so. But it was getting damaged via my work as a soldier so I took it off. I was always worried about OHS after seeing the poster of the soldier jumping from a truck and catching his ring - then "degloving" his finger. Even the term makes me feel queasy.

After I left the Army I bought a 24 carat gold ring for about $150 - gold value - was weighed and priced! That was in Malaysia. I wore that until things ended 6 months ago. Still got the mark on my finger. Wonder how long that takes to dissappear!

 

[Petal]

Simon from what I know of you through your posts you may not have that finger ringless long enough for the mark to fade. You sound really nice and eminently eligible so be prepared for what the future holds

 

[topcropper]

I think its supposedd to be something like 3 months of a mans salary.... .

Three months salary...???

The engagement ring I bought the misses cost $1200.
The wedding ring cost $400.

I showed her this thread, and she was amazed at the amounts being spent.


I wouldn't wear a ring. Can't think of any of my mates that do either. It would get destroyed if I wore a ring anyway.

See ya's.

 

[steveadl]

We're probably looking at spending about $3k or so on my fiancé's ring when we get it made - at the moment she's wearing a cheap one I picked up from Zamels so I could surprise her with the proposal. My mates spent over $7k & $5k on their rings.

I do plan on wearing my band after we tie the knot. From memory my mates wear their's as well.

 

[Minx]

As posted earlier it comes down to personal preference. Like most girls I would like an excellent quality sparkler. I think the cost of the ring should depend on the wages. I mean it's a bit silly to fork over 15k for a ring if the man is on 40k. I do know that I will be getting my rock wholesale and getting it custom made and he will also be spending between 10-20k. I think thats reasonable as if we were to go by the whole three month rule, I should be scoring a 50k ring.

Edit: My partner will prob get a cheap wedding ring as it is highly unlikely it will be worn. He works in construction and the ring will get ruined and for OH&S reasons he wont wear one. However my cousin who is a pen pusher got a platinum ring with tiny black diamonds around the side on both sides.

 

[LynnH]

The rule of thumb is three months pay ...

Three months pay????? Mmmmm, I really must have a serious talk to hubby!!!!! Methinks a visit to Tiffany's may well be required!

But, seriously, I decided against an engagement ring - preferred to put the money into a property!! Hubby and I both wore plain white gold wedding bands, but I have absolutely no idea what they cost.

Several years - and three children - later, hubby surprised me one Christmas with a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring!!

Cheers
LynnH

 

[willair]

This has been a conversation that is relevant to a few friends ATM. Two questions.

First is, when considering to buy an engagement ring, what is a reasonable amount to spend. $5k, $10k, more?

Sure I realise that it comes down to your income or ability to pay, tastes etc. I have heard some female friends talking about rings that they like, which are $10k some even closer to $15k.

How did others here decide how much to spend on an engagement ring? Was it a joint decision?

Note to self: increase cash buffer

Second is, do guys here wear wedding rings?

I know my father for instance has never worn his and yes he is still happily married to my mother
A couple of close friends who are married, one wears his, another doesn't.

Interested to hear people's thoughts.

If you know a bit about diamond grading and don't want to use retailers who issue their own in-house certifications, then try the auctions most that i see above one carat 1.00 that are sold go for below 1k, i just buy the stones and have the rings reset after all the stone is the most important part..

I only spent 900 bucks 22 years ago on the bosses-wife first ring it was a funny day my wife had worked out which ring she wanted the sales lady said she woud drop 5% off for cash, by the time i went to the bank and back the sales lady had a already talked her into another more dearer ring so i had to go back to the bank again,still makes me laugh men have got no chance when it come to Ladies and diamonds..willair..

 

[PrimeCommercial]

Oh, and dont forget she'll probably want a wedding ring to match the engagement ring and an eternity ring after 1 year or first baby.
I kept saying after first baby ( thinking it would be a couple of years off) and she said no no, its after 1 year of marriage. I got screwed because we had a baby after 10 months and she wanted an eternity ring then.