Engagement Ring Costs

[Jen5283]

I know that money is often a main factor in picking out a ring.

 

To some it's important to have a lot of bling, to others not so much...

 

For those of you that are married or engaged, how much did you spend on your ring?

 

Sorry, if too personal!

[alwaysthegirlfriend]

i'm not engaged or married but my friends and family who just recently got engaged. their rings cost anywhere from 1,000-10,0000 it all depends on the ring you pick out.

 

some girls got a small plain ring and others wanted more than 2 karats and platinum.

 

but money shouldn't be the issue. if he is planning to surprise you he will pick a ring that he things you will like. most guys don't care how much they spend and just make the payments on it.

[melrich]

I won't tell you how much I spent and I think it's probably irrelvant anyway because $1000 to me may be like $10 to you (if you know what I mean).

 

But personally, I think it is an important symbol so it requires appropriate THOUGHT and some sacrifice. I'd spend what you are slightly uncomfortable with but what won't financially hurt you for more than a few months. (If that makes any sense??!)

[second_opinion]

my friend got engaged and her man brought her a $15000 ring!!!

[Im Alive]

I wouldn't care if my engagement ring cost $100, or $10,000. Well, as long as it didn't look horrible.

 

It's the thought that means the most.

[alwaysthegirlfriend]

i agree i don't think i would care how much it cost. he can get me a ring pop all that would matter to me is that he wants to marry me

[Jen5283]

The money is not what would matter to me, but I do think there is some correlation between the amount of money spent and the love or commitment.

 

I had a friend whose boyfriend got her a $20 engagement ring. I think it was of her birthstone. Anyway, their relationship didn't last. He was all about me, me, me!

 

alwaysthegirlfriend...

 

You would really be ok with a ring pop?

[shes2smart]

Engagement ring - less than $100

Wedding rings - about $100 for the pair

Wedding costs - $40 for license, $20 tip for minister, $2 courthouse parking....no guests, no reception.

 

End result - just as married as couples who spent thousands without the bills.

 

Edited to add: This all took place 5 years ago, so it's not like you're looking at prices from decades ago.

[shes2smart]

Oh, and if you're talking about intanigbles like "happiness," we're quite good on that score.

 

A gal I used to work with got married in 1999. Her engagement involved a trip to Paris, a pricey ring presented to her at the Eiffel Tower, and a big, lavish wedding. By 2005, they were getting divorced.

[alwaysthegirlfriend]

I told him that I didn't care if I got a ring pop. I also told him one time we were at the mall we were at a pet shop and he knew I've always wanted a dog. I told him he could propose to me with a ring pop or a dog.

 

On our 5 year anniversary he surprised me with a dog. He got down on one knee and said you said you wanted a dog or a ring pop. That day he told me that he didn't have money for a ring but the dog was a promise that he will me marry me. So I got a promise dog instead of a promise ring.

 

I would be ok with a ring pop as an engagement but I would also want at least a wedding band when we finally legalized it.

 

You're right if a guy spends $20 he must not be serious. Although I would be ok with the ring pop he said I deserve better and he would get me something that I wouldn't be able to eat.

 

I'd be ok with it as an engagement but as a symbol forever i'd want a ring.

[shes2smart]

I'm a frugal person. I'm also not a jewelry-wearing person. If he would've spent more on an engagement ring, it would've been a dead giveaway to me that he didn't really know me all that well.

 

A couple years ago we were watching TV and one of those deBeers diamond commercials touting some sort of anniversary piece of jewelry came on. He looked at me and said, "I promise...I will NEVER buy you something like that." It was a beautiful moment.

 

This topic has come up on the board before. One time, a male poster put forth his theory that the happiness of a couple is inversely proportional to the amount spent on an engagement ring. (So the more expensive the ring, the less happy the couple is over time) This was not a poster I have historically agreed with much, but on this particular point I think he made a pretty good case.

 

Then again, that could be simply because it already fit in with my rather dim view of the whole wedding industry.

[Jen5283]

I think whether it's a ring pop or something frugal what matters is if it's what YOU want.

 

My mother is the same way as you shes2smart. She has never been a jewelry person, and her wedding ring is plain Jane, but she loves it!

 

I guess a lot of it depends on what you can afford and what the women themselves want.

 

I'm sure that some men buy extravagant rings just to show that they have money, and to me that is just as bad as a getting a $20 birthstone ring.

[redrose85]

alwaysthegirlfriend- you and your man are too cute. your post made me LOL. Promise dog

 

I LOVE jewelry, and I know what my dream ring is, but honestly, if I got the incredible gift of my man wanting to be with me forever, any symbol would do. It doesn't matter how much the ring costs, but it does have to suit the woman's taste. My ex fiance bought me a costume jewelry ring, and it was so big and gaudy, I felt so weird wearing it. He wound up getting me a very cheap ring, (long story behind that one) By then, I knew that he really didn't know me at all, and I physically could not wear that ring, it just felt really..awkward on my finger, though it was pretty. I broke off the engagement not long after that. I know that my bf now knows me really well, and I'd be proud to wear the exact same ring if he were to give it to me if he proposed. Just because this time around, it would feel "right" I went on a bit of a tangent..

[sharsachan]

My ring cost $50. it is silver with a jade stone, the silver band has eagle wings etched into and i think it's absolutely gorgeous. no it doesnt look like most wedding rings that my peers have. i have never been a gold and diamonds person. i think they are way too over rated and expensive.

 

however, if thats what you/your girl likes, that's the difference. i dont think the price of the ring means anything about the love the two people share. my personal thought is to spend as much money as the ring she loves costs. if she loves a simple ring, you get to spend a little less. if she loves a more elaborate ring, maybe you have to make payments or set up a credit account with the store. but dont spend more because you think it will mean more. buy her a ring she will love.

[Aleadragonhawk]

Instead of proposing with a ring, my fiance proposed with a loose stone. I've never really liked the coldness of diamonds, so I was ecstatic when we found an intense lollipop orange heart-shaped sapphire. The price was a good bit less than that of diamonds (and a good bit less than a stone that was already set). I've figured out by now that I don't really want an engagement ring, so I'm planning to have the stone set in a delicate pendant.

[ghost69]

if i spent over $500 for a ring, even if it was off of ebay or something and was a $2000 ring, and i gave it to my girl and she was like this ring sucks, i'd find a new girl. cost should not matter. it's the concept. then again, i'm not sure if i'm eve going to get married.

[anydaynow]

OP- my ring was just under $3000.

 

Like most people here, I don't care what the ring cost. I told him I didn't even need one and said if he must he ought to go with a high quality cz. He wanted to give me something nice, something high quality, something that would last. Something I could look at for a lifetime and remember the day we got engaged. He agreed that a CZ in a high quality setting would work. But he decided on a setting that the retailer would not sell alone (without a diamond center stone). So I ended up with a real diamond.

 

I do think that whatever your budget, if you are buying a diamond, go with quality over carats. I've seen some really hideous diamonds at the mall stores- aka "frozen spit." My fiance went with a smaller stone (between 1/2 and 3/4 carats) but it is an ideal cut and a high rated color and clarity. It sparkles like mad! And he was right, whenever I look at it, I remember very fondly the night he proposed. Of course, it is still very easy to remember because it was only 6 months ago!

[greenmonster]

I spent right at $8,350 on an engagement ring...

 

walked in on her getting nailed by the air conditioning repair guy before I had the chance to give it to her...

 

never even took it out of the box...

 

haven't thought about that ring in over 2 years...amazing what you can block out of your memories

[Jen5283]

I spent right at $8,350 on an engagement ring...

 

walked in on her getting nailed by the air conditioning repair guy before I had the chance to give it to her...

 

never even took it out of the box...

 

haven't thought about that ring in over 2 years...amazing what you can block out of your memories

 

Sorry greenmonster for bringing up traumatic memories. Wow

[Aurian]

I dunno, but the pawnshop said it was worth five bucks...

 

When my ex gave it to me, I didn`t care it was tiny. I loved the symbol of it.

 

My ex treated me horribly though and my marriage ended.

 

My now-bf saw the ring my ex gave me in my junk jewelry drawer and literally cracked up over the size of the diamond.

[Jen5283]

Ok...so I have a new question for you all.

 

Since it seems like most of you don't care about the cost, but instead what the ring symbolizes, did you all have choices in picking out your rings?

 

I mean, did your fiances just pick out the ring and say "will you marry me?"

 

Was there a particular stone/carat that you all wanted?

 

I like hearing about all the different tastes in rings.

 

(Especially the ring pop!)

[alwaysthegirlfriend]

I told him the ring pop would have to be a flavor I like. So I picked blue rasberry or strawberry or watermelon. he still thinks i'm silly till this day.

 

every now and then he buys me a ring pop and reminds me that he still wants to marry me. right now we are both at points in our life we are trying to figure what it's like to be individuals. We have gone through a lot this past 2 months. but we are still working things out.

 

the last time we went to the mall and we went into a jewelry place cause i wanted to buy earrings for myself he still goes to the ring departments and compares prices. he tells me he is shopping around for when he has to get one.

 

he knows i'm not a yellow gold person. and knows if he ever proposed to me in yellow gold i'd kill him.

 

i am a short asian girl so my hands are really tiny. once when we were at the store he made me try on rings. he then learned that I have really small fingers and my ring would have to be custom size 6. We even tried on sizes of the diamond he said he wanted to get me a big diamond and told him it wasn't necessary. I tried on a 2 karat and it looked ridiculous because it was soo big it took over my finger. so we both decided on taste and our budget that as long as it was not yellow gold and not bigger than 2 karats it will be perfect.

 

he knows what i like and i know when the time comes he will pick out something perfect.

[jengh]

alwaysthegirlfriend--it sounds like you have a keeper--seriously...i love everything you've had to say about this...

 

me, personally..i hate yellow gold.. aside from one pendant igot in spain, i won't wear it...

as for a diamond...i'm "traditional"in the sense that i want a diamond..it could be cz,i dont care...ijustlike the sparkle...i want an emerald cut...the setting, everything else--i could care less...i just love the emerald cut

[alwaysthegirlfriend]

i'd prefer a princess or round cut. the round cut is probably more traditional. and princess cause it's simple. what i don't like is baggets i think they are kinda ugly.

[melrich]

You need a very high quality diamond for an Emerald cut. Because there are braod flat surfaces on an Emerald cut, flaws and lower grade coloring are far more noticeable.

 

Princess cut is very flattering on a diamond. It is multifaceted and one cut that really makes a diamond sparkle.