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Ring question for those that have popped "The Question" to your woman.....

W

Waveslidin

Senior member
I am going to be doing it soon. Haven't looked at rings, and never really have bought much in the way of jewelry. My question:
What kind of cost range for something that looks nice. I don't need a 5 carat diamond, but I want her to really smile. Could I get away with that for less than $1,000.00 realistically? I know this is very tough to answer without seeing anything, I am just looking for a rough guesstimate.
 
A thousand bucks will get you a ring that she'll like without being embarassed about it. I see lots of younger people with much cheaper rings. And I see lots of younger people with more expensive ones; these particular people have yet to realize that the price of ring does not equal the man's love for the woman, but rather is indicative of his inability to prioritize his finances. In fact the prospective fiance should realize that this over-extension of the man's funds to buy a piece of metal with some glass on the top lends insight to his likelihood to have a blunderous approach to their moneys in the future.

So sayeth I.
 
Originally posted by: Skoorb
A thousand bucks will get you a ring that she'll like without being embarassed about it. I see lots of younger people with much cheaper rings. And I see lots of younger people with more expensive ones; these particular people have yet to realize that the price of ring does not equal the man's love for the woman, but rather is indicative of his inability to prioritize his finances. In fact the prospective fiance should realize that this over-extension of the man's funds to buy a piece of metal with some glass on the top lends insight to his likelihood to have a blunderous approach to their moneys in the future.

So sayeth I.
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Thanks man, good advice and much appreciated!
 


I've often heard that a good standard is two months salary. That's great if you have a decent paying job. Otherwise, you might just as well get her one from the gumball machine at the front of the grocery store.

There are extremes. Why don't you go walking through the mall with her and stop at a jewelry store? She might give some indication of what she likes... unless you want to keep it a secret. We won't tell her... promise.
 
Originally posted by: Skoorb
A thousand bucks will get you a ring that she'll like without being embarassed about it. I see lots of younger people with much cheaper rings. And I see lots of younger people with more expensive ones; these particular people have yet to realize that the price of ring does not equal the man's love for the woman, but rather is indicative of his inability to prioritize his finances. In fact the prospective fiance should realize that this over-extension of the man's funds to buy a piece of metal with some glass on the top lends insight to his likelihood to have a blunderous approach to their moneys in the future.

So sayeth I.
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Nicely said Skoorbie.

BUT having said that, I do have an awfully beautiful ring and wedding band! 😀

More so because you gave it to me as well.....😉
 
Originally posted by: Tominator
I would never marry a women that judged my love on the value of a ring....never!
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Nor I! That's why MrsSkoorb got a Walmart jobby.

No, but seriously if you're not super-loaded and taking out a loan for a ring you need to rethink it. If you're taking out a loan for a $1k ring because you just don't have the funds that's one thing, but borrowing money for something more extreme like a $5k ring is really in poor taste IMO. That money can be much better spent for a new couple that probably has a healthy debt load, as most young people have. Use the cash towards furniture or a house downpayment, or whatever.

 
I've often heard that a good standard is two months salary.
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Man the day I spent two months salary on a piece of jewellry is the day I want somebody to commit me to a mental institution.
 
Originally posted by: MrsSkoorb
Originally posted by: Skoorb
I've often heard that a good standard is two months salary.
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Man the day I spent two months salary on a piece of jewellry is the day I want somebody to commit me to a mental institution.
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Yes, by me.
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😀 Much better to spend one month on the ring and one month on a big screen HDTV.

 
My and my fiance went looking at rings yesterday, in fact. They're freaking expensive! We went out with the same idea as you: see if we could get something decent for $1000. By the time we were done shopping for the day, we had doubled our price. I don't think you're likely to find a quality stone for $1000. We're looking at $1500 or so for just the stone, and that's only 1/2 carat. the band to hold it is another $500-$1500.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
My and my fiance went looking at rings yesterday, in fact. They're freaking expensive! We went out with the same idea as you: see if we could get something decent for $1000. By the time we were done shopping for the day, we had doubled our price. I don't think you're likely to find a quality stone for $1000. We're looking at $1500 or so for just the stone, and that's only 1/2 carat. the band to hold it is another $500-$1500.
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I was thinking $1000 US as in $1500 CAN. I know that $1500 ballpark can will get you a decent ring if you shop around a bit, but perhaps the exchange isn't so favorable for people in the US.
 
I spent two months worth but I when you don't live cheque to cheque you can slide that in there.
Diamonds are an investment though so 'hopefully never' you could sell it as well if your really in tough shape

$500 for a band? There is like $20 of gold in a band and you can buy cosmetic rings for nothing sounds like a screw job. .
 
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Originally posted by: notfred
My and my fiance went looking at rings yesterday, in fact. They're freaking expensive! We went out with the same idea as you: see if we could get something decent for $1000. By the time we were done shopping for the day, we had doubled our price. I don't think you're likely to find a quality stone for $1000. We're looking at $1500 or so for just the stone, and that's only 1/2 carat. the band to hold it is another $500-$1500.
Click to expand...
I was thinking $1000 US as in $1500 CAN. I know that $1500 ballpark can will get you a decent ring if you shop around a bit, but perhaps the exchange isn't so favorable for people in the US.
Click to expand...

My figures were all in USD and California prices. I have no idea how much diamonds cost in Canada.
 
Originally posted by: Geekbabe
You asking her should be the thing that makes her smile 😀
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Exactly. My fiancee's ring cost a lot less than the two months salary supposed "standard" ... I mean, wtf.
It's exactly the point that she should be so overjoyed and delighted with you asking her that she could really care less about the ring. The only people who will nitpick on the size of the stone will be jealous sisters, friends, roommates, etc who wish they had a man who was as caring and loving as hers.

- M4H
 
Skoorb was correct. She shouldn't care about the price. And no one ever pays a full 2 months salary. At least no one I've ever heard of. That said, hopefully your wife will be wearing that for the rest of her life. If you expect her to live 50 years, a $1000 ring costs just 5.5 cents per day. Plus it isn't like the money is lost. Most likely that ring will be worth the same if you ever need to sell it (price tends to goes up pretty much even with inflation) - so you aren't throwing any money away by getting a ring.

I just looked at my finances and looked at what I thought my wife would really like. 1/2 carat looked perfect on her hand - not too puny to look cheap, not to large to be gaudy. Then I looked at quality. I must have visited easilly 30 stores (most of them mall stores). Boy that quality was crap. The only halfway decent 1/2 carat diamond I found was $2500 (plus $200 for ring). They were all yellow and dingy and had obvious flaws. I really didn't want my wife to wear that for the rest of her life. So I searched some more - and found a great diamond dealer, not a jewelry store. The selection there was 100 times larger than any jewelry store. I told them exactly what I wanted - a diamond with no visible flaws (not visible to the naked eye, who cares if there is a flaw a microscope can see), and just enough yellow coloring that it isn't noticible when worn (sure putting it up to a bright white piece of paper you will see a little yellow). I found the perfect diamond. Then I talked the price down to exactly $2000.00 (diamond + ring + tax). Sure it is much better quality than I could have gotten. 1/2 carat diamonds are available for $1000. But I really wanted people to oogle over it. My wife loves to compare her ring to other rings and everytime she is amazed at how milky, cloudy, and yellow theirs look (of course she doesn't say it to their face). The expression on her face everytime that happens is worth the money to me.

For $1000 you probably can't get a quality 1/2 carat diamond. But 1/3rd carat may be in that price range. Or maybe you don't mind a little region that looks slightly foggy, and can go with lower quality and bump up the size.

My point is that there is a tremendous range in prices for the same size diamond. Get one that meets your needs. Do you want quality or quantity? Is slightly yellow ok (especially with a gold ring, I think it is)? But please, don't buy from a mall store. They will rip you off. Look around ask for the same thing in several stores - you will find some are there to rip you off by lieing about the diamond quality (I've had several tell me that the dark black carbon spot I saw was a figment of my imagination), some are just over priced. Think of diamond salespeople as the same category as a 'used car salesman'. You better really trust them before you plop don't your money.

Don't worry though, you'll find the right diamond with just a little time.
 
I'll just say my experience since I don't know what kinds of debt or expenses you have coming to you. I did it back in May so it wasn't that long ago.

I researched for about 2 weeks, asked coworkers, etc. You'll have to do your homework... any legitimate ring store should sit you down and explain that... along with the details of clarity, color, cut, etc. I think a standard healthy size is about 1 carat. That's all the carat-talk means... the diamond's size. Keep in mind, a 0.99 carat diamond will be SIGNIFICANTLY less cost to you than a 1.0 carat. It can be important for your girl to have 1.0+ carats, not for bragging reasons, but for the thought that it is actually over that "hump". I decided that I wanted at least that much - my fiance isn't materialistic at all.. and doesn't even usually wear jewelry, but I wanted it for her because it's not often you give someone something that means their life will change forever.

At any rate, I ended up with a 1.06 carat diamond. I bought it from a smaller, reputable store that actually manufactures their own rings, etc. locally here. Big stores (Kay's, Salomon's, etc.) WILL give you low prices, but the quality of the diamonds are comparitively less also. I'm not talking Tiffany's, I'm talking regular chain stores.

After choosing the diamond, you'll have to pick out the ring/setting. That was the easy part... no details except deciding gold or platinum. My price included a platinum setting & the round princess cut diamond - $5 Gs (of course they set the diamond in the ring for you). I comparison shopped and something similar with the same cut/clarity/color rating + setting goes for a couple grand more if you don't talk money with them.

What you can also do (instead of paying for a 1carat diamond straight up) is add sidestones (if you like that look) to make it go above 1 carat total. What a coworker of mine did was get a diamond that was about 0.75 carats and added sidestones ... that came to be around $4k for a total of 1.15 carats. It all depends on what's acceptable to you... money-wise and looks-wise. Hopefully she's dropped hints about that... my fiance didn't - it was a total shock to her, but she was happy with it. The other thing is the ring size... grab a ring of hers to bring with you when you are ready to buy.

Good luck to you!

EDIT>>> I wrote this when there were only 4 replies... now I feel like I was nuts to go for 1.0 carat... what gives? Aren't there any of you who went for 1.0 carat? The store I bought from showed me other people's purchases (they were real) and some of them were 1.36 carat, 1.15 carat, etc. I think anywhere between .5 and 1.5 carats would be an avg.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but that "two months salary" thing is a marketing ploy by Debeers and the jewelry stores. What kind of idiot would spend that much on a piece of jewelry, when you could save up for a house/car/baby?

Maybe if you already had a house and car and had plenty of money to burn, but, why not get her a nice big fat 12-month Certificate of Deposit, instead? You could use it to pay off the wedding.



 
Hahaha... This reminded me of a story that happened to my sister and brother and law. They had already discussed getting married, and both knew that it was going to happen but hadn't made it "official" yet with him asking with the ring and what not. Anyways, they're driving through town and my sister sees a jewelry shop and says "OH! Let's go look at rings!" My brother in law has the ring in his bag in the back seat because he hadn't been home yet to put it somewhere, gets all flustered and starts trying to make an excuse on why not to stop. During the course of trying to shoot from the hip and make up some plausible lie he gets distracted and rear ends a car in front of them. There was no real damage but it was still hilarious...


I think when I get married I'll do one of two things:

1) take the girl to look if possible
2) if not, take another female out to consult, preferably as one of her good friends
 
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