How much do engagement rings usually cost?

[Emulex]

Of course, its not realistic. I think you can get a nice custom band with a good 1 carat rock for about $5000-6000 which is far less than that rule. Course i'd be making her buy the wedding bands!!

 

[Superdoopercooper]

TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH for fossilized carbon. Ugh :|

Actually, the diamond dudes "de Beers" started (at least they advocate) 2 months salary. However, there has got to be some minimum. I mean... if yer making $40 per week on a paper route, then a $320 ring aint gonna cut it.

It all depends. I know some girls who got a small ring b/c fiance is still in school. But then later, after he makes some bank, he gets them an awesome 5 year anniversary ring.

I would suggest at least 1/2 carat. No worse than K color. And clarity is less important, but I'd stay away from VS2 or lower. I think if you get 1/2 carate of VS1 clarity and J color... in a simple 14k gold setting, you could probably get by on 1 or 1.5 bills ($1k - $1.5k). I think... It has been a while.

Also... look into (and this may sound weird) a certified jewelwer on the internet. My best friend from high school (and also another guy I work with) found some jewelers in NY that were selling ISF (or whetever the certification is) diamonds... adn they are about half of what the local jeweler would cost. THey received them by insured mail, and even took them to a local jewlwer to have the checked out. A-OK. Then, they had them set in whatever setting they picked out from a local jewlwer... because they don't ream you as bad on gold as they do on diamonds.

Also, make sure you get a 6 prong setting, esp. if you get 3/4 karat or above. 4 prongs are likely to give you "diamond losing" problems in the future.

Hope this helps

 

[bunker]

Oh, one other thing. Get it insured. I don't know of any homeowners policy that covers jewelry over $1000 unless you pay for a special rider. I pay $60 a year for insurance on both our rings.

This is the company I use. It was recommended by my jeweler (whom I trust).

 

[sugajay]

I heard those 0.25 cent machines have some nice stuff.

 

[wyvrn]

I bought my wife's engagement ring at a local dealer, Village Jewelers. I found this place after going to all of the mall joints like Zales and Service Merchandise. I spent time getting to know the manager (really nice guy). Found out he flies to Asia and purchases all of the stones himself, and does not settle for less than the best quality. He spent over an hour showing me how to tell the quality of a diamond, from the color to the amount of imperfections. Then I picked out a 3/4 carat stone and the mount style and ring. I haggled with them on price for about 10 minutes and then purchased. I found that to be a really satisfying experience. The people who helped me were knowledgable and offered no pressure to buy a bigger rock. I came to find out a couple of months later that I got the ring for about $50 over wholesale price, as my in-laws own their own jewelry business 🙂

Take your time and look around. Fine someone who is genuinely wanting to help and educated you. Then you will get the best price and quality.

 

[huanaku]

Look around at different stores and compare prices. I went to one store, ring cost _____, went to another, it was half the price. 🙂

 

[Pastore]

I think that Suicidals price is right in the safe range...

Anything more than $2,000 IMO is pushing it...

You only get engaged once (hopefully), so you don't really want to be cheap and spend $200 bucks on a ring either...

 

[Fausto]

FWIW, I spent a relatively large amount of cash on a relatively small (1 carat) stone in a simple setting with two baguettes on either side. I made this decision after sitting down with a jeweler and looking at loose stones of varying color/clarity/cut side by side. The conclusion I came to was that the color and cut make a much bigger difference to the naked eye than clarity. The stone I went with is colorless (E grade) and a "deep" pear shape (ie- relatively tall rather than large top surface). I found this particular combination really caught light and looks great. Point being, I could have gotten a much bigger "rock" for the amount I spent, but my wife isn't into that kind of thing so I went for the quality over quantity approach. Theoretically, you're only going to do this once, so do it right.

Fausto

 

[Spamela]

my brother-in-law bought a cheap one "in case it didn't work out." my opinion is that you have to consider the things you'll need later that you may not be able to afford if you drop too much on the ring.

 

[Edski]

I looked at it this way, if I am going to spend that kind of money on my wife for a nice ring set, she can do the same for me. My wifes engagement ring cost me $5700 and her wedding band was $1100. My wedding band cost her $6400. Between the rings we have around 6 total carats

 

[flippinfleck]

Cost? Money? Ha! I've been with my gal for four years this August (the 11th) and engaged for two years this December (also the 11th). How much did it cost me? $1100. What did I give up to show her I loved her and wanted to be with her forever? My car. It was a choice, get my engine replaced and my car back, or profess my love with something that lasts sooo much longer than a car. Was only bout a months wages, but she couldn't be happier.

 

[Idex]

All the info you need to know.

http://www.bridaltips.com/diamond.htm

 

[MuffD]

You're supposed to spend like 3x your monthly salary or something like that. In 1998, I bought my wife a ring and spent 8,000 for it. 1 carat princess cut stone with 3/4 carats worth of baggetts around the band in a Platinum setting.