Hey people....I have a question about your engagement ring and the cost????

Question

I would like to know if the ladies out there picked their own ring or did the man go and get it and made it a suprise? I also would like to know what was spent on the engagement ring or bridal set?? I am doing some ring shopping and would like to know your experiences and what you think is reasonable to spend on a ring?? Thanks and have a good day!!

Answer 1

there are no rules, you can decide what you wish. it was nice to be able to shop together to get a ring we were both excited about and a good way to start off your future life together sharing big and special moments together.

Answer 2

My guy and I are looking at rings together....he figures since it's going to be on my hand for the rest of my life, I should get something I like LOL. A lot of people say this takes the "surprise" out of the proposal, but to each their own.

We're debating over a bridal set (which is usually a bit cheaper than purchasing the rings separately) and an engagement ring w/plain wedding band.

A lot of men pay about two to three times their monthly paycheck for the rings. I think that's ridiculous. You pay what you can afford, or what you feel comfortable affording. Personally, I didn't want a flashy ring...the meaning behind the ring is more important to me than the sparkle of the diamonds. He's planning on paying less than 2K for the ring, though the "traditional" amount of 3x the monthly paycheck would allow him to spend about 10K. This extra money can then be saved for a down payment on a house, our honeymoon, whatever.

Basically, you just have to do what works for you, whether it be traditional or otherwise. Some good sites for checking out rings are:

www.shaneco.com
www.zales.com
www.helzberg.com
www.jareds.com
www.bluenile.com
www.barskydiamonds.com
www.jamesallen.com
www.danforthdiamond.com

And if you aren't into diamonds, check out moissanite.

Good luck :)

Answer 3

My fiance gave me a family heirloom engagement ring which is worth about $4000 (of course, it didn't cost him anything). I didn't know he was even going to get me a ring.

His dad proposed to his mom before they got a ring. They both went to an estate sale to buy an engagement ring, for a good price (although I forgot).

Honestly, I personally wouldn't care how much money was spent on the ring, if it was a simple $10 silver ring with a pretty stone, I would have been very happy (heck, I would have been happy without a ring, I mean I'm getting a great man). It really depends on the girl, some are more materialistic than others. I've seen girls on this Y!A section only accept no less than 2 carats...I'll keep my opinions to myself.

Answer 4

My, now, husband and I had been out window shopping and I was noticing his taste was vastly different then mine. He liked the big diamond cluster rings in yellow gold which are totally not my style... frightened that he might actually buy me on these rings and I would be forced to wear something I HATED on a daily basis for the rest of my life... I felt I had no choice but to be direct about what I wanted... a simple diamond solitare in a white gold setting. The end. AN ENGAGEMENT ring.... when the time came we could pick out wedding bands together. Having a solitare I had have a whole of choices.... he took that to heart and bought me exactly what I wanted.... my solitaire. I don't know how much he paid for it exactly just what we have it insured for.

Answer 5

My husband completely surprised me. We didn't go shopping together, and he didn't ask me anything about a ring. I had no clue! And he picked out the perfect ring for me.

What's reasonable to spend on a ring is totally up to the person making the purchase. I think it's more important to have a quality stone (no matter what kind) rather than the size of it. Some people go for big, but you can just tell the quality isn't there. I don't think guys should go into debt trying to impress their girl or others around them.

Good luck!

Answer 6

He asked me to give an idea of what I liked after trying to shop in secret and getting totally overwhelmed. I gave him several examples and he's working from there.

I wanted 1ct, antique style setting. Gemstone rather than a diamond. For my wedding band I'm getting a 1/4ctw diamond anniversary band. Hopefully something durable like stainless steel but definately NOT platinum. I think it's pointless. You pay twice as much and it has just as much upkeep (usually more) than if you just went with white gold.

Engagment ring: Don't know for sure but less than $600.
Wedding ring: Retailed for $400 but promo made it only $150.

Could I have had a 1ct diamond? Certianly. But I can think of much better things to do with that 6/7k than walk around with it on my finger....especially with my job! We a few arguments because he was worried people would assume he got the gemstone to be cheap.

Answer 7

My fiance' is picking out my ring =] It was important to us both for it to be from him, and would not have been nearly so special if I went ring shopping with him. I'm hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised, and since he knows me so well, I'm sure I will be. The ring doesn't matter nearly as much as the sentiment, but recently when I was purchasing a piece of jewelry, I saw a white gold diamond solitaire for $188 that I would be more than happy with.

Answer 8

We used the ring that my grandfather gave to my grandmother for the birth of my father (their 7th child!) It was left to me when she passed away and I never had any intention of having another ring on my finger when I finally got engaged. This ring has so many wonderful meanings that no ring bought in a store could ever compare with for me.

However, if my husband would have bought me one, I dont think I would want any sort of input on the ring at all, I would want to be surprised. However, I would dearly hope that he would speak to my mother or best friend for a bit of guidance just as an insurnace policy on me liking it!

I dont know about cost, its too hard to say because everyone's fincancial situation is different, but I think anything more that 10K is way too much. (Actually, I think thats too much money too!)

Answer 9

I didn't pick my ring but I am not complaining because i love it. He knows me so well we've been together for 13 yrs. we will be getting married may 3 2008 and I am 23. I just love him so much. anyway, he propose to me on a dinner cruise in new york without a ring of course i said yes. The next day i woke up and there it was my beautiful 3 stone 2 1/2 carate diamond ring. I was in skock i have no idea when he put it on a hand. he is just so romantic. it cost him 7 thousand. and it was worth it.

Answer 10

My boyfriend and I tried to let each other know what kinds of rings we'd like, but both of us have such varied-yet-specific tastes that it wasn't working. He'd show me 10 rings that he liked, and I wouldn't be able to see what the 10 he liked had in common with each other -- or even figure out what distinguished them from the 10 he didn't like. It was stressing us out to make such a big purchase without knowing what the other really wanted for sure.

We decided to place a max price tag of $200 on our rings. First of all, there is a greater variety of beautiful rings in silver and gemstones than diamonds and precious metals, so we can find rings that are more symbolic and special. Second, we can buy each other engagement rings that will be meaningful surprises, without the worry of "What if I spend thousands of dollars on somethings (s)he doesn't really like?" We figure the engagement rings are a symbol of our affection for one another and it would be weird to pick them out together. We're only planning to wear our engagement rings when we're engaged, though. Our wedding bands will be the fancier, pricier rings and we are planning to design them with a jeweler -- together. That way we can make sure that the ring we wear forever is one that we really want to wear forever.

So in answer to your question: Engagement rings are a surprise and we're spending $1000 each for our wedding bands and $200 each (or less) for the engagement rings.

Answer 11

I was surprised by my ring. My grandmother gave my husband a cocktail ring that had a beautiful center diamond. He had the diamond removed and picked out a setting on his own.

One tip I might offer is to educate yourself on the world of diamonds and gemstones. Learn about the 4 c'-Carat, Color, Cut, & Clarity. All of those are dependent upon the price tag. Don't set yourself on something that is truly out of your personal budget. A ring can always be upgraded over the course of a marriage. Have FUN trying on rings and getting a feel for what something might look like on your finger. Then when you and your boyfriend are seriously talking engagement, you can share with him what you like, don't like, style, shape, and price range.

Good luck to you :-)