How much to spend on engagement ring?

[Apollo1]

three month of my pay or three month of her pay? she makes more money. a lot more

ad Apollo1: this diamond stuff is quite complicated. how do i find out what a realistic price of a 1 carat high quality stone is as a basis for bartering?

go to your local jeweler and ask to see a D color 1carat solitaire, expect to pay around $10,000 for it you should be able to get at least a 10% discount but aim for 15%....never pay ticket price, if you want to spend less then i recomend getting a lower color G to H and you'll pay about $6000 but still try and get the 15% discount.

 

[dmr727]

Holy crap, thank God for low maintenance women.

 

[Tomorrow]

This should be really easy, just follow three simple rules:

1. Forget what any commercial says. The point of a commercial is to get you go buy something you might not otherwise buy. Bad idea there.

2. If you think you're being a cheapskate, then you probably are.

3. If you think you're spending too much, then you most certainly are.

 

[iBlue]

Holy crap, thank God for low maintenance women.

*high five*

I think the whole "3 months salary" thing is a ridiculous way to start building a life with someone. Isn't the primary reason for divorce money issues? Way to start off on a bad note, with a financial kick in the junk. I'm sure clearing out 3 months salary for a ring is not an issue for some but I'd venture to say it's an issue for most. It's a frickin ring, a symbol. It doesn't need to be all flashy and I hasten to add that those who think it does may be compensating for something, or they're a jeweller.

I've mentioned it before on this thread (I think) that I have one ring. It's exactly what I wanted and that is because we went to pick it out together. This is a highly underestimated way to do things. Platinum and diamond band:



Traditions and big romantic gestures are nice and all but it's not for everyone.

 

[TwinCities Dan]

It's a frickin ring, a symbol. It doesn't need to be all flashy and I hasten to add that those who think it does may be compensating for something, or they're a jeweller.

If reincarnation is true, I call "Dibs"!

E who?

 

[skunk]

I bought a lump of freshly-mined gold in Ballarat, Victoria, for about A$50, and Ms Skunk made her own ring from it. Marry a goldsmith is my advice.

 

[0098386]

*high five*

I think the whole "3 months salary" thing is a ridiculous way to start building a life with someone.

Zuctly. Me and teh girlfriend have decided to go for £100 rings When the time comes. The money would be better spent elsewhere, like on a mini holiday or on some gadget.

 

[dmr727]

I've mentioned it before on this thread (I think) that I have one ring. It's exactly what I wanted and that is because we went to pick it out together. This is a highly underestimated way to do things.

Exactly.

My wife and I went shopping for it - I told her to get what she wants. She picked it out, we got it sized, and I surprised her later with it. As she says, the ring is just a formality - what's important is me. ::blush::

 

[partyBoy]

dont get married its a trap !!!!

 

[heehee]

I bought her a nice shiny ring that's appraised for over $20,000 (I paid no where near that price, nice to know people ). When she showed it to her mom, her mom asked: "what brand is it?". Fml

 

[GoCubsGo]

I bought her a nice shiny ring that's appraised for over $20,000 (I paid no where near that price, nice to know people ). When she showed it to her mom, her mom asked: "what brand is it?". Fml

A $20k ring? Whether you paid that or not, it's still absurd. Even if you know people I'd guess you got at least 50% off that deal making it still a very pricey piece of metal. I hope to never be that girl who commands a $20k ring then again I'm 100% certain I'll never be that girl who needs to shop wedding rings!

 

[125037]

i agree with this 100%. a ring is a ring is a ring. who cares if it's $400 or $6000. the point is you love her and you're going to marry her and she better realize it.

That is how we, as me, see it. Not to them. You have to realize that the views between us and her are VERY different. What if she told you that instead of buying you the new iMac you wanted; she was just going to pick up a G3 beacuse it is way cheaper and a computer is a computer. We care about things the couldn't care less about and vise versa. I'm not trying to be mean or a smart-ass but good luck with that mentality.

 

[heehee]

A $20k ring? Whether you paid that or not, it's still absurd. Even if you know people I'd guess you got at least 50% off that deal making it still a very pricey piece of metal. I hope to never be that girl who commands a $20k ring then again I'm 100% certain I'll never be that girl who needs to shop wedding rings!

The reason why I got her a super expensive rock is because of culture and part of it is her mom. She's from a wealthy family (I'm not) and I wanted to show her mom, who hates me btw, I can take care of her. I can't even imagine the comments if I got her a lesser ring.

 

[Sdashiki]

The reason why I got her a super expensive rock is because of culture and part of it is her mom. She's from a wealthy family (I'm not) and I wanted to show her mom, who hates me btw, I can take care of her. I can't even imagine the comments if I got her a lesser ring.

Sucks you care more about showing off than actually loving her and her family.

And whatever % you did pay of $20k, I can assure you that at least by most people's standards...you are "Wealthy".

 

[sushi]

The reason why I got her a super expensive rock is because of culture

What culture is this?

part of it is her mom. She's from a wealthy family (I'm not) and I wanted to show her mom, who hates me btw, I can take care of her. I can't even imagine the comments if I got her a lesser ring.

So getting an expensive ring shows that you can take care of her?

Confused.

Anyhow, I always thought that love was more important.

 

[heehee]

Sucks you care more about showing off than actually loving her and her family.

And whatever % you did pay of $20k, I can assure you that at least by most people's standards...you are "Wealthy".

Did I say I don't show her I love her and her family? You don't know how I treat her.

You can call me "Wealthy" all you want, but the house they had, they spend more per month on maintenance than people with a $500,000 mortgage.

What culture is this?

So getting an expensive ring shows that you can take care of her?

Confused.

Anyhow, I always thought that love was more important.

Chinese people especially people from Hong Kong and Taiwan care about money more than anything else. To them, money = security. I don't like this idea myself, but I have to play by the rules.

 

[Melrose]

Am I the the only one that thinks a nice heirloom diamond ring is a lot sweeter than some ostentatious object any old woman can walk in and buy?

 

[dmr727]

Am I the the only one that thinks a nice heirloom diamond ring is a lot sweeter than some ostentatious object any old woman can walk in and buy?

No, not at all. I would have done that myself if I had the option.

 

[sushi]

You can call me "Wealthy" all you want, but the house they had, they spend more per month on maintenance than people with a $500,000 mortgage.

Assuming that a 500K mortgage has a payment of 3K per month, yes, that is a lot to spend on maintenance.

I guess it all depends on how you define wealth.

Chinese people especially people from Hong Kong and Taiwan care about money more than anything else. To them, money = security. I don't like this idea myself, but I have to play by the rules.

Understand.

Is it worth it for the rest of your life? (To play by their rules.)

Am I the the only one that thinks a nice heirloom diamond ring is a lot sweeter than some ostentatious object any old woman can walk in and buy?

Family heirlooms are cool. I would have done the same if possible.

 

[ravenvii]

I don't believe in an expensive engagement ring, when she's going to get another ring at her wedding anyway.

Three months of income? Completely insane - I only plan to spend a little more than half of one month's income - and I only earn about $15,000 a year.

Money isn't everything, you know.

 

[maccompaq]

Spend a year's salary on the ring. That much of an investment will encourage you to stay with her.

 

[bruinsrme]

I spent $11,000 on the diamond back in 2000. It's stunning.

 

[Bronken]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A5274d Safari/7534.48.3)

Whow guys, 6000$ for an engagement ring?
I spent 500€. But here in Germany there is no such thing as a rule of thumb.

Well spent more on the wedding rings though. Something in the 2000€ category maybe...

 

[torbjoern]

Chinese people especially people from Hong Kong and Taiwan care about money more than anything else. To them, money = security. I don't like this idea myself, but I have to play by the rules.

Hehe, how practical. Asians (including the Chinese) do actually seem to believe in romantic love, though, but to a slightly lesser extent than we Westerners do. What will happen when the lust and romance is gone?

 

[AdrianK]

I'm glad I'm of an age where parental consent is required for marriage, don't have to deal with social-political decisions like this. *dances*