Cost of Engagement Ring V salary??

Sand Wedge

Hi all,

How much are you meant to spend on an engagement ring. I have heard talk of 2-3 times your monthly salary. Has anyone else heard this and is it 2-3 times Gross salary or net salary?

Would take a long time to save that much (a couple of years to be honest) but don't want to seem tight by not having a big enough budget.

All thoughts and advice greatly appreciated.

Cathmandooo

Spend what you can comfortably afford. Shop around and get the best deal. A €2k ring in one place isn't the same as a €2k ring in another. There's a sticky at the top of the forum recommending places to get your engagement ring.

ElleEm

Cathmandooo wrote: »

Spend what you can comfortably afford.

+1 to this.

Also, think about your partner, and whether she would feel happy with you spending thousands on a piece of jewelry for her. I, for one would not be happy wearing a ring worth that amount!

bren2002

It's bollocks, started by DeBeers because they control the diamond trade. Don't get sucked into a higher carat stone either, the cut and colour is far more important than the size.

Bluenile is a good option too.

Pat McGhee

I just got engaged last weekend (spur of the moment decision by both of us, influenced by beer! ), and I'm researching my own ring as himself, by his own admission, is clueless when it comes to jewellery. Much as I'd love a sparkly diamond, given our current financial situation that's not going to happen. So I'm looking into alternative options like moissanite and asha stones. Both are diamond simulants, have gotten great reviews (http://betterthandiamond.com/discussion/) and in many cases, are considered better than the real thing. But the best bit, they're a FRACTION of the cost of a diamond.

If my OH were to spend a few k on a diamond for me, I'd kill him, but then I'm not your typical girlie girl. Your missus may prefer the real deal. If you're going for a surprise proposal, you could buy moissanite as a token ring from littlewoods, (they seem to be the only ones selling in Ireland right now), afterwhich give your OH the option to choose her own ring. She may surprise you and love the token ring instead!

Do your research, and best of luck however you decide!

PS: I am in no way affiliated with any moissanite or asha supplier, I'm just offering my two cents....

Ballyman

Sand Wedge wrote: »

How much are you meant to spend on an engagement ring. I have heard talk of 2-3 times your monthly salary. Has anyone else heard this and is it 2-3 times Gross salary or net salary?

I've heard it's 2.84 times your gross salary + 12.8654% of your annual bonus minus the price of 4 tyres.




Buy what you can afford. Your girlfriend will love it regardless of price.

toadfly

Dont put yourseld in debt to buy a ring. I would hate if my BF done that.

Suppose it depends on what your girlfriend is like, some girls go crazy for this kind of thing, some of us dont care on price of the ring.

Bride2012

TillyGirl wrote: »

Dont put yourseld in debt to buy a ring. I would hate if my BF done that.

Suppose it depends on what your girlfriend is like, some girls go crazy for this kind of thing, some of us dont care on price of the ring.

+1 Only do what you can afford. My ring was 2.5k and I love it. I know that I would have preferred to get engaged now with my ring than wait a few years for 3 times his monthly salary or whatever. I love him and want to spend my life with him, that's the important bit.

You are not "meant" to spend anything except what you can afford and is reasonable. Some people would be uncomfortable carting around a very expensive ring

Sand Wedge

Thanks for all the replies.

I intend to propose with a Token ring and let herself pick out the engagement ring. She is a girly girl and loves sparkles! It will have to be platinum and diamonds. We both have good jobs but I have only started earning a good salary and as such have no savings built up as yet. I think i could manage to save 5k in a years time. If i had the money i would propose shortly but don't want to propose until i have the budget to buy the ring. Also we are trying to save for deposit for house and both 30 so don't want to wait to long to propose and we have been going out 4 years.

antiskeptic

bren2002 wrote: »

It's bollocks, started by DeBeers because they control the diamond trade. Don't get sucked into a higher carat stone either, the cut and colour is far more important than the size.

Bluenile is a good option too.

The whole notion of a diamond being valuable at all is 'bollocks, started by De Beers because they control the diamond trade"

Cut is no more valuable than colour than colour is more valuable than carat .. for the simple reason that diamonds hav no intrinsic worth in the first place.

They sure are pretty. But so are bluebells.

John Mason

5k on a ring:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

kandr10

No need to follow what other people spend. Have a look in jewellers/online and try to price the type of thing she's likely to go for. Base your budget on that. (I know it'd be only a rough idea as you're letting her pick). Bear in mind the cost of the future wedding and having to save for that as well as your mortgage! A grand or two saved on the ring could help you out with that

spezi

I don't think there is a rule for that and think you should just pay whatever you can afford and definitely don't get into debt to buy a ring.
But seeing that it's something your OH shall wear and cherish for rest of her life, I suggest to set a budget and let her choose. If you want to spend more, wait a few months more and save some more... once you decide to get the ring I think Kilkenny is a great place for engagement ring shopping and you could make it a lasting experience, maybe tying it in with a romantic weekend getaway. There are 15 Jewellery outlets in the KK city centre and all within walking distance. They offer engagement rings in all price ranges, styles and designs from high street brands through exclusive Irish designers and craftsmen to vintage rings- you'll definitely find a great selection here and great value for money too. Best of luck with your engagement!

janbaby

I honestly think people who go on and on about their rings need to be shoot!

My OH got me the most amazing ring and it was what he could afford at the time so its perfect. I would have hated for him to take out a huge loan to get me a ring. Buy what you can afford.

Evonatron

My OH bought me a token ring so I would have something to wear whilst we were shopping for a "real" ring. Imporatant word "we" I wouldnt let my OH save or pay for a ring on his own. It would be something we both pay towards.

In the end the ring he bought me was so lovely and I was shocked he picked out something so nice on his own that I am keeping it as my engagement ring anyway! I always had great ideas that I would design my own ring etc etc but I am happy now with the ring he gave me. Also only we know how much it actually cost, as long as you and your OH are happy thats all that matters!!!!:)

The 2k that I would have spent on the ring is now a deposit for our wedding.

Theboinkmaster

Spend what you can afford and are both comfortable with and ignore anything else you read or hear from other people.

JDD

Look, lets be honest if she's a girly girl she'll probably want something conventional, like a diamond solitaire or the like. A word of advice, I wouldn't go over one month's salary - that whole two to three times salary is something I only heard over the past few years and honestly unless you're thinking of getting her a J-Lo-esque pink diamond rock, there's no need to go that far. And that's after-tax one month's salary, not pre-tax.Could you be honest with her on your budget? I know some people like to keep this element secret but you know we live in different times where both partners contribute to the household budget. You're going to have to start being open about each other's finances anyway once you're married, so perhaps telling her the wedding ring budget is a good place to start. Now, having said about the one months salary (yes, yes, I know it's a DeBeers perpetrated myth) that should be your upper limit, not a target. There's no harm in going to a few shops and getting her to try on some rings so that she sees what might suit her. Don't buy in Dublin though, it's far too expensive. Either go down the country somewhere, go to Antwerp, or buy off Blue Nile online (which we did). Blue Nile will save you about 30-40% on Dublin prices, so you can always get a ring that's a little bigger/better quality.

Theboinkmaster

Sand Wedge wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies.

I intend to propose with a Token ring and let herself pick out the engagement ring. She is a girly girl and loves sparkles! It will have to be platinum and diamonds. We both have good jobs but I have only started earning a good salary and as such have no savings built up as yet. I think i could manage to save 5k in a years time. If i had the money i would propose shortly but don't want to propose until i have the budget to buy the ring. Also we are trying to save for deposit for house and both 30 so don't want to wait to long to propose and we have been going out 4 years.

If she loves sparkles then pay special attention to the CUT grading of the diamond, as this dictates how much it will sparkle.

Do some research online on the 4Cs etc - an excellent cut 1c diamond will appear larger than a 1.5c good cut diamond, so don't automatically think the bigger the better. IMO the order of importance would be:

1 - cut
2 - colour
3 - carat
4 - clarity

Everyone's different though - best of luck.

ALBUR182

I saved for 3 months, really hard, and managed to scrape together €2,000. Last weekend I bought my beautiful lady a ring, we went together to the jewellers. We set a price ceiling of €2 grand, and the lady brought out about 30 of the finest rings for that budget, and we sat down in a small room and my girl, in her element, tried on one after another, until she settled on a unique ring which she is thrilled with, and which ended up costing me €1500, after a little haggling on my girlfriends part!!

i suppose what I'm trying to say is, the days of saving 2-3 times your monthly salary is gone (and if it isn't, then it should be). As a previous poster said, its not all about the size. The cut and clarity can make a cheaper ring sparkle like no other. any girl who is all about the bling hasn't got your real interests at heart, and the €500 saved went straight into a C Union wedding fund. Well its a start, isn't it?

P.S. 2 times my monthly salary would mean me paying for a ring worth around €5,800. I know a highly reputable hotel that can seat 150 guests for a wedding reception for close to that price. Go figure!!

cocker5

OP....

spend what you can afford... no more.... she will adore her ring regardless of cost... do research the 4 c's...

my ring cost €7,800 5 years ago ....i didnt pick it... my H2B got it made..... it has excellent clarity but isnt huge.... quality rules over quantity every time. I think years ago people went by salary etc but alot has changed in 5 years...

do i love my ring??? yes
would i allow him to spend €7,800 again? Def Not

i didnt even know the cost until 2 years after the fact when i saw our house insurance with my ring listed on it....:cool:

snowstreams

Dont spend too much because it can be difficult to insure. I found this out the hard way after it went missing!

seanmc1980

a ring isn't hard to insure?? you just get ring insurance? whats hard about that??

Spend what you can afford, shop around i'd recomend bring the OH with you. its hard to predict what she will like. set your limit and crack on,

cocker5

agree with last poster... engagement rings are not hard at all to insure... you will ned a valuation (which you will get once you buy the ring)... send it into the insurance company and it will be insured... your policy price will go up a bit but nothing too much

Best of luck :pac:

snowstreams

cocker5 wrote: »

agree with last poster... engagement rings are not hard at all to insure... you will ned a valuation (which you will get once you buy the ring)... send it into the insurance company and it will be insured... your policy price will go up a bit but nothing too much

Best of luck :pac:

Could be true if you have a house insurance policy. But we rent so dont have one. And moved homes a good bit too. The price to get the ring insured on its own was crazy, a few hundred for 1 year! I must look around for a home insurance again sometime.
Well OP make sure you get insured some how so.

Theboinkmaster

snowstreams wrote: »

Could be true if you have a house insurance policy. But we rent so dont have one. And moved homes a good bit too. The price to get the ring insured on its own was crazy, a few hundred for 1 year! I must look around for a home insurance again sometime.
Well OP make sure you get insured some how so.

we rent and have contents insurance and to add the ring wasn't that much more.

cocker5

snowstreams wrote: »

Could be true if you have a house insurance policy. But we rent so dont have one. And moved homes a good bit too. The price to get the ring insured on its own was crazy, a few hundred for 1 year! I must look around for a home insurance again sometime.
Well OP make sure you get insured some how so.

even if you rent... you should still have insurance???

house contents insurance?? its insures all your personal belongings... like TV, etc......

I rented for years and always had insurance... even if you have only have contents insurance ... your ring could be added to that.

snowstreams

cocker5 wrote: »

even if you rent... you should still have insurance???

house contents insurance?? its insures all your personal belongings... like TV, etc......

I rented for years and always had insurance... even if you have only have contents insurance ... your ring could be added to that.

We are going to get contents insurance because it works out a lot cheaper than insuring the ring on its own. I must read the small print to see if it covers the ring in any situation, on holidays etc.

cocker5

snowstreams wrote: »

We are going to get contents insurance because it works out a lot cheaper than insuring the ring on its own. I must read the small print to see if it covers the ring in any situation, on holidays etc.

when you insure yourt ring it covers it for everything.... being stolen, accidental damage (ie stone falls out etc)..... covers you for travelling with the ring etc... but you can only claim for a ring once.... so say you loose it... get another one and loose it again... they will only pay out once per policy

Beruthiel

Sand Wedge wrote: »

It will have to be platinum and diamonds.

It doesn't have to be platinum you know. My ring is made from palladium. A tougher metal at a fraction of the price of platinum.

I think i could manage to save 5k in a years time.

We got my ring in Antwerp at a lot less than that! Here are my comments on that experience.
Honestly, you don't have to spend 5k for a great ring.

John Mason

Beruthiel wrote: »

It doesn't have to be platinum you know. My ring is made from palladium. A tougher metal at a fraction of the price of platinum.



We got my ring in Antwerp at a lot less than that! Here are my comments on that experience.
Honestly, you don't have to spend 5k for a great ring.

+1

i have seen Beruthiel's ring and it is stunning;)

snowstreams

Beruthiel wrote: »

It doesn't have to be platinum you know. My ring is made from palladium. A tougher metal at a fraction of the price of platinum.



We got my ring in Antwerp at a lot less than that! Here are my comments on that experience.
Honestly, you don't have to spend 5k for a great ring.

That sounds like a great metal to use. I never heard of it till now. Its rarer than platinum but for some reason not as expensive. Take advantage while you can!