Engagement Rings?

Question

How much does the average ring cost?
What size is most common (size of stone)?

And whats a good place to look online for them?

I'm not going to buy mine online, nor will he... i just want some ideas of what i want mine to look like to show him. we've talked about marriage and decided that both of us picking out the ring willl be better... he wants to get it right.


but i didnt know there was rules about buying them... and thats what i needed to know! =]

oh, and I'M NOT A GUY!
I AM NOT BUYING THE RING.

i want to know the 'average' size of the carat because i know nothing about rings and sizes... just because WE can only afford an average carat does not make us any less special.

rings are expensive and i dont want him to spend to much because we're trying to START A LIFE TOGETHER. and a $4000 ring and no car or house is not a good start, personally i'd rather have a smaller one, get started, and get a nicer one on a anniversary or something.... geez.

Answer 1

I personally have worked in and independent/local jewelry store as well as managed a chain store. And I can tell you that ther is no such thing as average. What I can tell you to look for is a ring with a center stone clarity of SI1 or better and color of I or better. Now there are a lot of couples out there getting rings that have a 1 ct stone or bigger. Keep in mind that a 1ct stone of decent quality SI1/H is going for almost $8000 dollars now. I know that we couldn't afford that tyoe of ring. My engagement ring is 1.05ct total weght and the center stone is a .65ct round. The setting makes the stone look bigger. I do know form experience that a lot of brides to be say they are okay with a smaller diamond and a year or 2 later want to upgrade.

If you are thinking about buying online make sure to find a site that offers a money back refund policy. You can get good jewelry online. Just like anything else everything seems to be cheaper online and you need to make sure you are getting it from a reputable vendor. Also be sure to steer clear of anything with the terms fracture filled or clarity enhannced, those are not diamonds yuo want to buy. If you do purchase online and like the ring you bought take it to an independent jewelers that has a trained gemologist on its staff and ask them to look at teh ring, most will do this a free service to their customers and if you intend to keep it definitley get teh ring appraised. Here is a website my bestfriend's fiance got her ring from, her ring was gorgeous and appraised double what he paid for it. It is such a neat website that another of our friends also bought from there:
www.whiteflash.com
If you are looking for some affordable rings try:
www.worldjewels.com
they seem to have nice stuff for reasonable prices, but do research on them first. I have never purchased from them.

Try to stay away from chain jewelry stores i.e. Crescent, Kay, Zales, ect if you are looking to buy a solitaire, their solitaires tend to be overpriced for what they are, however wedding sets and multi stone engagement rings seem to be competitively priced, clarity on teh stones will be lower.

My best advice after all this is to fall in love with your ring. You are the only one looking at it day in and day out. If you focus too much on the stats of a diamond you are missing the emotional tie to the ring.

Believe me any stone with clarity of SI1 or better to the naked eye looks the same. Color is important but again anything H and above looks teh same to an untrained eye. Also pay attenetion to the cut of the stone. If you go to a store ask to see the ring in a natural light like outside and ask to see it in low lighting, the diamonds should sparkle wherever you take it.

Answer 2

The most common yet affordable diamond ring would be a round .50-.99ct, once you hit the 1.00ct mark the price will significantly jump. Have you considered clarity enhanced diamonds? You can get twice the diamond for half the price and they are natural diamonds that come with certificates to back them.I would definitely suggest buying a diamond online since you will be able to get a wholesale price instead of going retail where they mark up the price 3x off the wholesale.A lot more people are trusting Ebay and online merchants, you just need to do your research. Check price, feedback, return policy, and what the extras are. An example of a well known EBay merchant would be diamondgenius, they have a store and have items starting at $300 to $1200 for what you are looking for. You can get a simple solitaire or set for cheap.

Good luck!
Ron S.

Answer 3

Promise rings are not the same as engagement rings. A promise ring is a ring promising to stay true to each other. There is still no promise of marrying with a promise ring. An engagement ring is a ring that symbolized that the 2 people agree to get married and plan a wedding in the near future

Answer 4

The average cost and size of the stone totally depends on your finances and economic class. My husband is a blue collar worker. The average size for my friends, family and I, is a little over a half carat. I have a 1/2 carat center stone with a spray of small diamonds around it. Now, I worked in an office at a hospital. I had a working relationship with some of the nurses. Their average stone size was a minimum of one carat and up. I'm sure the doctors, had I had any interactions with them, would have been two carats and up.

Answer 5

Your average engagement ring price will vary depending on the carat. But you must also take into consideration what she likes, too. Does she wear a ring right now? Is the stone in it small or medium or big? Or what about the size of the stones she has in her earrings? This is a very good indication of what you should get her. Is she into gold or silver? Depending on size of the stone and if it is gold or silver can start off at $99 to well over $2000.

Answer 6

I think it also depends on where you are in life. I don't think that people should break the bank to buy the biggest stone that they can when they are young and just starting out in life. A big diamond is nice, but a house and car are nicer!

There's some kind of rule of thumb about buying an engagement ring, like it should cost 2 months salary or something like that. I'm sure if you look online you can find some guidelines about what is appropriate for your income level.

Answer 7

I would look at www.bluenile.com. They have a great education link. Also go into an actual jewelry store and look at the actual stones, and types of settings in person. Find out what looks best on your hands. I would hit up a diamond wholesaler for your diamond. I would also go with a certified diamond. I know they cost more, but your getting exactly what the certifying agency says it is.

I would like to add.. Think about what your occupation. If your working around skin alot ie (hospital, barber/beauty shop) then you might want to consider a lower mounting. People can get hurt from rings that are set up high.

good luck.

Answer 8

I wouldn't get your ring online! Use it for ideas and styles, but I wouldn't recommend getting something that priceless online. There are all kinds of sizes and costs to stones. The better the clarity of the stone the more expensive (diamonds). First you will choose a rock and then pick out the setting. The rock is what costs you the most usually. Also, if you go with platinum it will be very expensive. I went with white gold and didn't regret.

Answer 9

The 2-3 months' salary is ridiculous - he should buy what he can afford without going into debt. Mine was just under $1,000; but I would have been happy with something less expensive because it still means that he loves me & wants to marry me.

Stone size depends on your tastes, and the size of your hands (I know a really big rock would look silly on my hand, and I prefer simplicity).

My FI bought my ring from ShaneCo.com - we live in IL, where they don't have a store, so he didn't pay sales tax -- but we're close enough to a ShaneCo in MO that I can take it in for resizing/cleaning/etc.

Answer 10

Leave it up to him to choose something he thinks you might like, and he will be able to comfortably afford.
Like you, I didn't want something expensive and large - because I wanted to wear it every day, doing everything.
My husband got me an engagement ring with a small solitaire and shoulder stones, in 14k gold; the matching wedding band has three of the smaller stones. The engagement ring was just under 800, the band under 400. I would say that's pretty average.
something like this is lovely -
http://www.ice.com/customer/product_detail.jsp?product=127997790&bs=r