engagement ring costs

sirron

looking for advice
i got engaged last weekend but i must still buy a ring. i got engaged using a token ring. i am just wondering how much should i spend on a ring. i dont want to sound cheap but i havent a clue when it comes to this. None of my friends are married yet so cant really ask them. Would you get a nice ring for 2k-3k. i could afford that right now but would have to save if it was more. I know you should spend as much as you can afford and its a life investment but using that argument i could go away and get a loan of 20k and buy a ring and pay it off.

ElleEm

sirron wrote: »

looking for advice
i got engaged last weekend but i must still buy a ring. i got engaged using a token ring. i am just wondering how much should i spend on a ring. i dont want to sound cheap but i havent a clue when it comes to this. None of my friends are married yet so cant really ask them. Would you get a nice ring for 2k-3k. i could afford that right now but would have to save if it was more. I know you should spend as much as you can afford and its a life investment but using that argument i could go away and get a loan of 20k and buy a ring and pay it off.

You would get a great ring for €2k but Would your fiance want or expect a ring that expensive?
I know there has been loads on this topic before on this forum, but personally, I would love a ring for a few hundred and go on a great celebration holiday with the rest of your savings.
Unless you're planning on selling the ring on, I don't see how its an investment. Its a piece of jewelry!

Dinkie

Congratulations. You will certainly be able to get a very nice ring for that. There is a sticky which has links to engagement ring website so you could have a look through and see what you can get for your budget.

Mine is costing about E700 and I love it. I don't think the more money the better.

Our budget was much more then that, but the ring I wanted was that price.

daltonmd

sirron wrote: »

looking for advice
i got engaged last weekend but i must still buy a ring. i got engaged using a token ring. i am just wondering how much should i spend on a ring. i dont want to sound cheap but i havent a clue when it comes to this. None of my friends are married yet so cant really ask them. Would you get a nice ring for 2k-3k. i could afford that right now but would have to save if it was more. I know you should spend as much as you can afford and its a life investment but using that argument i could go away and get a loan of 20k and buy a ring and pay it off.

The "old fashioned" measurement was that you should spend a months salary. I would say for 2/3k you would get a lovely one.

Gareth2011

When I got engaged my wife came with me and we picked and paid for her ring the same day. 750 yoyo and she loved it.

sirron

thanks for all the help. i always had it in my head that €2000 was the minimum for a ring. As i said in my orginal post i know nothing about jewelery.

Dolbert

sirron wrote: »

thanks for all the help. i always had it in my head that €2000 was the minimum for a ring. As i said in my orginal post i know nothing about jewelery.

Some people believe in a 'minimum' amount for an engagement ring, it's total BS in my opinion. Don't listen to people who tell you what you 'should' be doing.

Gareth2011

Th is thing of a month or 2 wages on an engagement ring is boll*x too. You get what you can afford be it a cheap ring from argos or a ring from tiffanys in new york. The fact you got engaged shows that you love each other very much and the price of the ring shouldn't come into it.

John Mason

i would beat the head off my OH if he spent 2k on a ring :eek:

i love my ring and it cost nothing near 2k.

it all depends on what you and your partner want and can afford to spend.

you will get a lovely diamond for 2k

Moonbeam

2-3k is loads for a ring.
It depends what she wants.

Sleepy

Like irishbird, my fiancée would have battered me if I spent anything like two grand on her ring.

Diamond engagement rings are one of the greatest strokes ever pulled on the buying public: diamonds are not rare, their high price tag comes from market manipulation by the likes of DeBoers so there's no such thing as a ring as an investment: a jeweller may value your ring at more than it cost you in New York or Antwerp but the valuation is merely based on what you'd pay for a replacement: not what you could ever sell it on for.

My fiancée wanted a vintage art-deco ring from the 1920's, we found it on eBay and despite my initial reservations at buying something so important based on a photo she loves it. Brought it in to be re-sized and the jeweller valued the ring at 6 times what I paid for it saying it would be on-sale in the antique jewellers next door with a pricetag of 9 times what we'd paid.

Some girls place an enormous amount of importance on the value of the ring, the "4 C's" of the ring etc. TBH, I'd never have been buying a ring for that type of person.

EveT

you can get some lovely cluster rings for under a grand, like really really nice ones. I have one I got I love for 700, its not my engagement ring but I love it.

If you want a solitaire it can be more expensive, youd get a 0.5/0.6 ct reasonable quality diamond ring for 2-3k, if they are offering a bigger stone than that question the cut. If its a bad cut it wont sparkle as much.

You can also get some lovely 3 stone rings for that price, go look, youll realise you have loads of choice!!

tinkerbell

Hi OP, the first thing you ask yourself is how much can you reasonably afford which will not put you under financial strain? You've already answered that - €2k or €3k.

Don't mind asking your friends how much is the norm to spend - it's nobody's business. I suggest you and your fiancée go to a jewellers, tell them your price range and they will bring out a selection of rings in that range. You can buy a great ring for €2k - €3k, in fact it will be fabulous. Remember that what's important are the 4Cs - cut, clarity, carat, colour. The carat size is the least important. You could get a giant diamond with poor cut, clarity and colour that will just look like a lump of glass on a ring - it won't sparkle and will look dull. If you focus on getting an excellent cut, high clarity and a good colour (D, E or F), even though the carat will be smaller it will way outshine a bigger diamond as it will sparkle and glisten like crazy.

Also another thing to remember is that usually the jewellers display price is not the price they charge - you can usually get a discount. So you could even look at rings a bit over your budget but you'd pay a price within your budget. If you're based in Dublin, I'd highly recommend Applebys - they have a wonderful service, make the whole occasion really special and they have a budget to suit everyone. And the most important - the cut of their diamonds is excellent.