How much should an engagement ring cost??

[Sounbelievablydull]

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???

I work in a jewellers. I would say to anyone buying an engagement ring, buy whatever you can afford and like the look off. Fall in love with the diamond and buy the best you can afford to. There is no hard and fast rule. Some people want something big, others not. There is no one size fits all approach to something like this, it's very personal.

A ring of £50 isn't going to last 40 years of marriage is it?
More bollocks!
My £50 ring that my DH bought me is still in immaculate condition after 23 years of continuous wear.

Mine cost £99 and I love it. 🙂

It's lasted almost 20 years.

My ring is gorgeous. Cost £60. It's Whitby jet stone and vintage looking. I love it and it stands out, wouldn't change it for the world.

I have absolutely no idea! I never thought to ask!

Guessing by DH's income at the time I would probably say somewhere between 250-400? I really don't know,but it's beautiful and very simple. My late mum helped him to choose it so it is extra special to me

Mine was £1k and I'm still shocked he spent so much-I can't even wear it at the minute because it's a high cut and I'm scared I'll scratch 10 week old dd.

Well my engagement ring cost £130 over 30 years ago. I had it valued 2 years ago and it's now worth £1,600 so whilst a £50 ring now might not last 40 years, back then that amount spend on a ring would probably mean it would! I never take it off, nor my eternity ring and a ring for my little finger, it is far far safer on me than put down on the windowsill to wash up or whatever.

I haven't read all the responses and I'm sure it's been said before but there's no amount it 'should' cost. Mine was expensive (to us!) but I could have had the same design for much less made of different materials and would still have loved it. It's all relative to income and most of all just what you like.
Surely this applies to everything; I drink wine at prices that some would recoil from in horror but that other people regard as small change. I won't spend more than the bare minimum on clothes because for me that's not a priority.
You just need to find a price point you're comfortable with, check there's nothing else you'd rather spend that money on and then go from there...

Picked a ring out in the window of a jeweller near where I worked.

DH returned and went in to get it. He knew something was up when they started asking if he worked locally (jeweller was in the city) and what he did. Finally they got the ring out of the window, showed him.

Guess how much it was...

How long a ring lasts is related to the materials its made out of. My engagement ring cost forty pounds. I don't wear it any more but it lasted ten years of everyday wear just fine. It's made from gold and diamonds, but the diamonds are tiny and the gold band is delicate (which is what I wanted, as I don't really like wearing rings).

Don't know as my husband choose it and paid for it and I didn't ask but it's beautiful and hugely sentimental. I would get yours repaired and maybe consider an eternity ring. My husband bought me one for my 40th and it was chosen by my daughter - she has good taste!

what you can afford and your circumstances. We we young and broke. Mine was £500 and still took months for it to be paid off.

'scrap' gold and a jeweller friend melted it down to make their rings. They were completely illegal because they weren't assayed or stamped, can't tell what carat the gold is

Only illegal if they try to sell it claiming it is a certain carat

And as for a £50 ring only lasting a few years, rubbish, silver won't cost you much and will last for ages

Mine was £20 from argos. he was a twat and we divorced. The ring said a lot about the type of person that he later revealed himself to be.

It should cost however much he wants to spend on it and whatever you can both afford if already a family. No idea how much mine was - I wouldn't mind if it was 20 or 200000 - but assume if wasn't too expensive as we have two children and a household ... And I know his income. I love it and that's all that matters.

It should cost the price of the rings in the Venn diagram of "rings you love" and "rings you can afford"

A lot of posters have said cost doesn't matter. £20 or £50 is ok. I'd look at spending that sort of money on a Chinese takeaway or a night out not a ring to be worn daily for decades. It doesn't have to be super expensing but it's not a race to the bottom either or competitive cheapness.

No it's not. The point isn't spending as little as you can, it's spending what you're comfortable with and not getting into debt or missing the rent because you feel you should spend thousands.

Mine cost about a fifth of an NQT's wages sixteen years ago iirc. I chose it because I liked it. DH was so short of money at the time I'd have felt incredibly shallow and spoilt choosing anything more expensive.

I agree with Noisytoys and Navyandwhite.

Choose something you like and can afford. Try to get the best you can within your budget. your engagement and wedding rings will last you a lifetime. It's important to choose something you love, that's at a price you can afford and that is good value.

My dh had mine made (by the jeweller I now work for). I love all of the rings he has had made for me, the cost is not what makes me love them. The fact he choose them and wanted me to have them is why I love them

Mine is worth 20k

But my DH's grandfather was a gem dealer so it cost us nothing.

And yes I love it and wear it every day.