How much for an engagement ring?

[Katiebug]

Late to the party, as usual, but when we got engaged I'd just finished college and Mr. Bug was still a poor student. He used almost all of his savings to buy my engagement ring. It was really a sacrifice for him to get me a "decent" ring. It's smaller than most of our friends' and relatives', but not significantly so. I think the first time around he spent about $1400, and then we split the $800 cost to have it re-set in platinum (from white gold) 6 months before the wedding due to the sensitivity I'd developed to the nickel in the white gold setting. It appraises a bit higher than we paid for it, so I think we're doing all right.

I didn't want a big diamond and in the end I'm glad my engagement ring is a half carat solitaire, because I prefer solitaires and it goes well with my wedding ring. My setting is very low and is a semi-bezel set, so the diamond doesn't get dinged up, is extremely unlikely to get loose in the setting, and there are no prongs to scratch our toddler nephew when I'm chasing around after him.

My wedding band is really beautiful...I cared about having a band that could be worn on its own, so I got a channel-set diamond band, a bit over 1 carat total weight. Set in platinum, again. I adore it. Mr. Bug wears a simple platinum band. I paid through the nose for it since it's "designer", but he likes it, and after he shelled out about $4500 on my two rings I figured it was the least I could do to hook him up with the ring he really wanted.

I know I'm not supposed to wear my rings in the field, but I do; our mechanics absolutely don't. Most engineers keep them on, though, and none of us have lost a finger yet. I always wear them at our test facility. It's not like I'm handling rotating machinery while it's rotating (or has the potential to do so). I keep it on when cutting samples in the lab or whatever...we have guarding and interlocks anyways and my fingers aren't in any additional danger from the rings.

My dad hasn't worn his ring for a few decades (he still has it), and my mom lost her engagement ring years ago and just wears her band since she's a nurse and washes her hands all the time at work. They've been married for 33 years on Valentine's Day and it's never bothered me that Dad doesn't wear his ring.

 

[frazil]

My husband and I have simple white gold bands which we bought for $280 about a year after we were married (eloped). I never wanted a diamond, though the older I get the more attracted I am to shiny objects, so who knows maybe someday I'll want one.

 

[rudy]

Congratulations mudpuppy on your upcoming engagement !!!

I don't know how much my ring cost. It is a 2-carat, with double wedding bands. My hubby's is a gold band. We're not into jewelry. I'm afraid of losing mine when I pull off my gloves at work. So, we don't wear them -- only to church, when we go out on special occasions, or if we go out separately with our friends. We've been married 15 years. Our kids have never asked us about why we don't wear them. I guess because we really never wore them before they were born.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I never wanted a diamond, though the older I get the more attracted I am to shiny objects, so who knows maybe someday I'll want one.

Tin foil is shiny and for $3.99 you can get a whole roll of it. More bang for your buck.

 

[MA_PE]

Tin foil is shiny and for $3.99 you can get a whole roll of it. More bang for your buck.

I'd wager the buck that brings home a roll of tin foil for his wife gets no bang whatsoever.

 

[mudpuppy]

Congratulations mudpuppy on your upcoming engagement !!!

I'm not getting engaged! :lmao: I was just curious.

But do you know any eligible bachelorettes?

 

[rudy]

I'm not getting engaged! :lmao: I was just curious.
But do you know any eligible bachelorettes?

oopppsssiiieee. sorry. don't know of any bachelorettes. besides, even if i did, you'd be too good for them.

 

[klk]

I'd wager the buck that brings home a roll of tin foil for his wife gets no bang whatsoever.

I suspect you are very correct!

 

[P.E. Luchion]

So when they say 1-3 months salary is is Gross or net?

 

[Guest]

Am I the only guy here who basically never wears his ring?

I didn't wear my wedding band. It turned out that the one that the Soon-2-Be ex-Mrs. JR bought me was EXTREMELY uncomfortable and completely not what I would wear for myself. I ended up leaving it off after it created all sorts of chafing/irritation issues.

Later, I bought a very nice platinum wedding band as a replacement, but again didn't wear it, for lots of different reasons. Mainly, because I was concerned about wearing/losing a $3k ring! hmy:

I honestly have no clue how much my ring cost... but I like it and that's all that really matters

That is what counts. I think if I had to do it again .. I kinda like the tungsten carbide rings ... not real expensive and look pretty unique.

I'm not married or engaged yet, but it really irritates me for some reason when I know men are married and don't wear their wedding rings.

How do you feel about women who don't wear wedding rings/bands? I know of many MORE women who are deceptive about their marital status than men ... of course, based on my own empirical observations over the last few years. :brickwall:

As for me, you may note from above, there were reasons why I didn't wear my ring ... but in the end it was because I didn't feel like I was married or had much reason to celebrate or 'announce' my marriage. Personal choice of course, but there are reasons to not wear a wedding band/ring, if for nothing else that you don't feel the need to display a symbol of your union, IMHO.

FWIW, they also don't see me hitting on or flirting with women when we go out.

Well, this was the case for me as well - I NEVER did anything nefarious while it was clear that I was still with the Soon-2-be ex-Mrs. JR. Of course, once it was clear we were not going to be together .. well, personal choices again.

oopppsssiiieee. sorry. don't know of any bachelorettes. besides, even if i did, you'd be too good for them.

Snap!! :Locolaugh:

I am working on a plan for mudpuppy .. just don't tell him! Ssshhh ...

So when they say 1-3 months salary is is Gross or net?

Ut oh ... if you are resorting to guidelines ... you are already in trouble with what the consumer market is trying to foist upon you!!

JR

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I didn't wear my wedding band. It turned out that the one that the Soon-2-Be ex-Mrs. JR bought me was EXTREMELY uncomfortable and completely not what I would wear for myself. I ended up leaving it off after it created all sorts of chafing/irritation issues.

Was this ring meant to go on your finger, or, uh...somewhere else. That could be the problem.

 

[Sschell]

So when they say 1-3 months salary is is Gross or net?

ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM = 2 months take home... (don't listen to what the women tell you!)

 

[dastuff]

ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM = 2 months take home... (don't listen to what the women tell you!)

And try your best to make this argument while in between jobs.

 

[Sschell]

^ :appl: !

 

[GulfCoastCivil]

I think at least $2,000. But of course that depends on your income. I believe it should at least be a months salary.

 

[MGX]

Looks like it'll cost me about 2K from what I've seen. So, is the guy supposed to buy his own ring?

 

[vollEngineer]

Bachelorette, here, (whose boyfriend is out looking for rings as we speak), and I found one I like for $14.

FWIW, I would just keep in mind that borrowing is a bad idea. Buy what you can pay cash for. Who wants to begin their marriage in debt?

Back to minding my own business, now... doo-be-doo-be-dooooo

 

[Sschell]

Looks like it'll cost me about 2K from what I've seen. So, is the guy supposed to buy his own ring?

My FMIL bought my ring... while she was visiting Iran.

 

[speedycoche1]

I don't really remember what I spend on my wife's ring, but I know it wasn't near the suggested guideline of 2-3 months salary, that's for sure. My approach when looking at engagement rings was to find a ring I liked and buy it. To me, the look and getting the right ring was much more important than how much it cost... and really, I couldn't imagine putting a ring that would cost what my salary was, even back then, on my wife's hand - she is fairly petite and generally small (4' 11"), so I just don't think a bigger diamond/ring would have looked right on her fingers. And I know she doesn't typically wear big stuff either, so I went with a ring I thought would like "right" for her, and made sure to get a high quality, color, clarity diamond for it...

And she absolutley loves it and says she couldn't have pictured a more perfect ring (they all say that though, don't they?) I don't remember the prices of our wedding rings either, but I know mine was more than hers and mine is just two-toned white and yellow gold and hers has small diamonds in white gold...

 

[MA_PE]

My approach when looking at engagement rings was to find a ring I liked and buy it. To me, the look and getting the right ring was much more important than how much it cost... and really, I couldn't imagine putting a ring that would cost what my salary was, even back then, on my wife's hand - she is fairly petite and generally small (4' 11"), so I just don't think a bigger diamond/ring would have looked right on her fingers. And I know she doesn't typically wear big stuff either, so I went with a ring I thought would like "right" for her, and made sure to get a high quality, color, clarity diamond for it...

Spoken like a true engineer.

Not for anything I recall that when I was "shopping" for a ring about two decades ago, a "perfect" 1-carat (not overly huge) stone was going for ~$11,000. So (to me anyway) pricey doesn't necessarily mean big. Conversely, you could buy a 5-carat diamond for ~$3000 that was essentially yellow with black inclusions visible to the naked eye.