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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

How much should an engagement ring cost??

181 replies

Sounbelievablydull · 04/06/2016 21:24

Humour me here please.
My original ring has disintegrated back has split and one ( v small diamond) has fallen out and is now lost.
Now I never thought I was a jewellery type person ...but... Now I find I'm noticing other people's rings and feeling envious.
So, if I were to put my original ring plus a few bits of trivial hideous 80s stuff together what would I need to come up with to have nice piece of bling???

OP posts:

janethegirl2 · 04/06/2016 21:26

£1500 or more possibly depending on what you like.

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 04/06/2016 21:27

There's no rules,
It's all rubbish made up by the wedding industry.

Acopyofacopy · 04/06/2016 21:28

2 months salary, if you believe DeBeers. In reality, whatever you believe is appropriate.

coco1810 · 04/06/2016 21:30

BeJesus! £1500?!? I've been short changed then. Mine was a £49 sale ring because that's all he could afford at the time (1999). I wouldn't have an upgrade for all the world. It represents all that we were and all we have achieved since.

MrsHulk · 04/06/2016 21:32

There are no rules. Mine cost £30 and I love it :)

MrsBobDylan · 04/06/2016 21:32

According to a woman in dh's office, an engagement ring has to cost at least £1500 or it ain't worth the wedding. He laughed as he remembered what we'd spent on mine which was, ahem, a lot less. It's still a beaut 10 years later.

I would look into second hand rings on eBay...so much cheaper and there are some lovely ones. I would also recommend you spend what you're comfortable with to get what you want.

IwillrunIwillfly · 04/06/2016 21:33

Mine was around 500 and I wouldn't change it for anything!

SueTrinder · 04/06/2016 21:35

What you can afford I'd say. DH spent one month's salary on mine, I remember some debate about gross vs net but a few years ago he wanted to get me diamond earrings and I couldn't face the cost of them (two diamonds so probably double the price of a solitaire ring). I think that priorities change as you get older and as we are now at the expensive small children stage I'd rather spend the money on a kitchen than jewellery. I'm assuming my priorities might change again as they get older.

noisytoys · 04/06/2016 21:35

There is no set amount but it has to be substantial and well made enough to last a lifetime of wear. My engagement and wedding rings were around £500 each. More than we have ever spent on anything but as they are worn daily the cost per wear is pennies.

BertrandRussell · 04/06/2016 21:35

"£1500 or more possibly depending on what you like"

What utter bollocks!

Original poster

Sounbelievablydull · 04/06/2016 21:36

I knew I woulnt get the answer I wanted😡😡😡 greedy cow!!
I'll just get mine fixed and be very thankful to the lovely man who gave it to me!!

OP posts:

NavyAndWhite · 04/06/2016 21:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MsMermaid · 04/06/2016 21:37

My engagement and wedding rings together cost £600 last year. They were made specifically for me in a very simple design with an emerald rather than a diamond. I love it.

OrangeSquashTallGlass · 04/06/2016 21:38

Mine cost £130 ish on sale. Each to their own but personally I would feel sick if it had cost as much as £1500. I think I would feel a bit selfish.

emsyj · 04/06/2016 21:38

Vintage or second hand is a good way to go - my ring was made in 1910 and DH bought it from a jeweller in Hatton Garden that sells only vintage jewellery. You can get much more for your money that way.
My ring was £5500 (DH haggled the guy down from £6k) but an equivalent size and quality diamond brand new would have cost a lot more.
Work out how much you want to spend and then work out how to get the best quality ring you can for the budget. There are lots of diamond merchants online where you can buy loose stones (if you want something new) and have them set by a local jeweller. My friend's ring was done like this and her DH got a good price for the stone this way. She then chose the setting which gave her some input, which was nice. I just got presented with mine and I feel a bit cheated out of the 'ring shopping' fun!!

janethegirl2 · 04/06/2016 21:38

The £1500 is based on today's prices, nor when I got mine (last century!!)

DangerousBeanz · 04/06/2016 21:41

It depens on what you like and your personal taste. My engagement ring has an emerald and a few small diamonds. I love it, it's very much my taste and I wouldn't swap it for a massive diamond or anything. It cost about £400 from a high St jewellers. I had a wedding ring made to fit round it and I regularly get complements on them.
Basically pick what you like. Cheap or expensive and stuff what anyone else.thinks

Bearbehind · 04/06/2016 21:42

It must be inflation that's pushed it up to 2 months wages, it was always 1 month.

This is so subjective it cannot be answered on behalf of anyone else.

The principle of 1 months wages is fairly sound though, ie the more you earn the more you spend and that's true if you earn less, you spend less.

CatherineDeB · 04/06/2016 21:43

Buy a ring you like, if you want one. Don't get sucked into any 'rules' OP.

I am as tight as a gnat's bum, we have a big income, I didn't feel I needed one at all, we don't wear wedding rings either. My mother still has a sucking a lemon face about it many years on.

Do what you want to, I like the last paragraph in your most recent post .

Mirandawest · 04/06/2016 21:43

Mine was about £700; got it two years ago and we designed it together. Would have been happy with something less costly but DP wanted me to have this one. I do love it - makes me smile every time I look at it

Jimjamjoos · 04/06/2016 21:45

I didn't need/want one. It doesn't really matter.

SquidgeyMidgey · 04/06/2016 21:47

If you like it and can afford it then it's a winner. All this '2 months salary', 'as much as he can afford' is just an ad man's dream. My engagement ring cost him about 10 days wages at the time. My eternity ring cost him about 2 months wages but we were in an entirely different financial position and I didn't ask for it, or hint for it.

If a man you love gives you a trinket as a token of his affections then be grateful for whatever it is. It's just a ring. He's the thing that matters, surely.

User543212345 · 04/06/2016 21:48

But it won't be an engagement ring if you get a new one.

It doesn't matter what it costs unless you're ghastly what matters is what it means. If you want a new ring by all means go out and spend whatever you want/can afford on it and enjoy it. It won't be an engagement ring though because it's a piece of jewellery you bought after you were married.

Mouikey · 04/06/2016 21:48

Mine cost my hubby a months wages, it is beautiful, but I can't wear it as I have lost lots of weight. I now wear a small silver ring with an Ellensburg Blue stone in it (which I bought myself when on a trip)... cost about £50, i totally love it but miss my engagement and wedding rings!

NicknameUsed · 04/06/2016 21:48

Same here Jimjam. My wedding ring cost £30 (it was nearly 35 years ago)

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