How much did your engagement ring cost?

[ChatterMonkey]

Curious to know how much people generally pay for engagement rings...

I was briefly engaged when i was young and stupid, and the ring cost a couple of hundred £s as we were skint students. Im in a long term relationship now and expecting a proposal at some ppint soonish (he took me to a jewellers to measure my ring finger 😂) so been having a look at styles etc, and shocked at the cost of some of them!

I think our budget is around 1-3k, not sure if this is above or below average?

DP and I have been together 14 years. We knew we were each others' person from the start but getting married was just never a priority. I always said though if/when we got engaged I wanted a really simple engagement band, maybe with a green stone. Absolutely nothing lavish, didn't want to waste the money, etc. Then when we had been together ~12 years or so I inexplicably woke up one day like "I want a massive diamond". We're now engaged, and I have the most stunning diamond ring that cost £8K 🤷. He had it designed as a one-off by a bespoke jeweller taking into consideration all the design aspects he knew I'd like.

Completely agree it's not about the value, though, but the thought that's gone into it/what you like. I didn't set the budget but DP took the "massive diamond" direction and ran with it (although I think kicks himself regularly he didn't get the proposal in in years 1-11 😂).

We earn very good money, though, with lots of savings and financial stability, and so for something I wear every day and am obsessed with, I don't think it's excessive in the context of our specific financial situation. I got him a very nice watch of similar value in return as it felt only fair. It feels nice as we made a lot of sacrifice in our 20s to have the life we live now and so the ring and watch are a sort of symbolic acknowledgement of that, too, and the journey we've been on together to get where we are today.

Mine was just under £2,500, and I love it. We decided to go for a slightly smaller but high-quality diamond rather than something bigger with visible inclusions. If you're still looking, engagement rings Sydney has some stunning options with a variety of styles and price points. I found that trying on different shapes helped me figure out what suited my hand best, which I hadn't considered before shopping.

3.5k in 2003. Very small but high quality diamond with a very thin band. I have a freakishly short length between the base and knuckles of my fingers so most rings wouldn't allow for a wedding band also. A physical flaw I was totally unaware of until my engagement!

Well, it was bought in 1989, so probably 20 groats and a chicken!

Actually, it is a lovely ring, but a semi precious stone, surrounded by diamonds, so that kept the cost down. I would have loved an emerald, but to get one of good enough quality would have been too expensive. I have never seen another ring exactly the same as mine and, to this day, I still get compliments on it.

Be imaginative, OP - look for unusual styles and semi precious stones. Better still, look in antique and second-hand shops and you will find some gorgeous designs. You don't have to have just the standard, huge, solitaire diamond.

£650 in 2005. Still in perfect condition

Mine didn't cost anything as it was my Grans engagement ring which I inherited.
It's priceless to me and I don't want any other

2.6/7k in 2017. Value has gone up now but not sure how much by.

Mine was £650 in 1989. It's a deep red oval ruby surrounded by tiny diamonds, it's so pretty and I still love it. Converted to today's money it'd be around £1,700. I knew I didn't want a solitaire or just diamonds, and it was a toss up between a ruby or an emerald. I went for the ruby in the end as it's a harder stone.

Mine was around £180 I think.

15k about 17yrs ago

£900 in 2008. Still love it. At the time it was about a week's salary for DH, so affordable. We'd not long bought a house, and I didn't want him to spend too much.

I’ve noticed this on other subjects. On Sunday there were three threads on something very random (I can’t remember now but I do recall thinking it was odd) I think it’s AI gaining info.

Anyway mine was about £6.5k!

Mine was around £2.5k, about 4 years ago, from a specialist antiques jewellers. Vintage, around 1930s. Cushion cut diamond with halo and diamonds on shoulders, platinum. It's very dainty and I absolutely love it.
I wanted either vintage/2nd hand or lab diamond; not keen on the ethics around diamond mining and I didn't want to contribute to the demand.

60 quid from a pawn shop in Rochdale.

£1.9k in 2010. Platinum band, a bigger diamond in the middle and 2 smaller ones either side. It's what we could comfortably afford at the time.

£1200 in 2001.