Engagement ring

[EagerGreenShaker]

If your partner was to propose to you today, roughly how much would you expect them to spend on an engagement ring?

i get that the value of a ring is not important and most people would be happy with any ring at all but just curious as to what people would say for they would expect a partner to pay on a ring you would love

What they could reasonably afford.

This is a hard one. I wouldn't put a financial cost on it, I'd rather it had meaning behind it. How they proposed would mean more than how much the ring cost. Or even what was the story behind the particular ring they chose? Something with a story behind it.

On the other hand, it would need to be a precious metal and not cubic zirconium.

I don’t think I ever really thought about it. I probably wouldn’t have wanted him to spend a lot to be honest, it would have felt a bit of an extravagance when I could have chosen something beautiful and antique for a few hundred. But as it happened he proposed with his grandmother’s engagement ring, and I’m immensely happy with that.

I think getting married should be the result of discussion between the couple, not after some arcane "proposal" by a man and accompanied by a piece of jewellery.

If the couple agree to get married and think a ring should be bought, they should buy it together and pay what they can jointly afford.

You're going to get a bunch of posters come on here soon @EagerGreenShaker and tell you that they didn't even HAVE an engagement ring, and they were happy just to have their partner's LURRVVVE! 😆

I don't need to have a lot of money spent, but it would have to be gold, with a solitaire diamond.

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I would say a month to 2 months salary. Not so much the cost but the thought of them having to save up for it as opposed to just having money lying around and just popping into pick one up.

I'm sure I heard a months salary!
I'm sure this is unhelpful but from someone who was very caught up in the engagement/wedding etc and am 10 years down the line in a miserable marriage, please consider how compatible you are with this man. Is he the kind of man you think would be a good influence on your daughter or if he were your son would you be proud of him??

I wouldn’t expect him to spend a specific amount, I would expect him to choose something he knows I would love and that had thought behind it. At the time, we’d had discussions about the kind of thing I wanted and he surpassed my expectations with it. We have considerably more money now and he’s offered to buy me a new one but I love the original one and would never consider swapping. He did follow the 3 months of salary rule though.

Absolutely not bothered about the cost (and I wouldn't know from looking at ring if it was £100 or £1000 to be honest 😂) its the meaning behind the ring, the commitment, the values that are important.
Id rather effort and thought be put into the actual proposal than stacks of money go into a ring

@VickyEadieofThigh I would want more romance than that myself

I think whatever he can afford, no point getting into debt for it, but to make a conscious decision and think about what would suit me.

Yep. That’s what DeBeers determined some time ago. The company that invented the Eternity ring because they had a glut of diamond chips to get rid of.

Whoa @caringcarerdo you work for De Beers? They had this as their campaign. It’s ridiculous. Who, even with saving hard, can afford that? To think my son on minimum wage would spend £3k on an engagement ring? No way. My DH earned well into the six figures and I chose my engagement ring, which cost about £1k. Maybe £1.5-2k with inflation. That’s plenty.

Mine cost 8.5k, a friends, 20k
others a few hundred. Each other own.

im divorced now anyway

I honestly didn't care . We bought the ring together, we both chose it . We have been married 44 years this year.
Known each other 47 years .
It really does not matter .

No I think that's reasonable. In NA it's 2-3 months salary as normal....

De Beers campaign.https://marketingmadeclear.com/de-beers/

I'm not bothered about the cost, I prefer vintage jewellery anyway. Possibly a few hundred pounds, so that it was nice, but nothing stupid. 2 months salary is ridiculous frankly - for an average person that's probably £4 - 6k. I'd rather put 6k into a house deposit or something worthwhile and practical than spend it on a flashy ring.

And you are supposed to have 3 - 6 months worth of salary in savings. Quite honestly, how many of us do have this? Particularly in our 20s/30s? Be better to save than to spend on a ruddy engagement ring.

I'm not someone who would ever spend a fortune on an Instagram wedding, either.

"Expect"? Lol.

I got engaged in 1991. My engagement ring cost £125.00. It's white gold with a Ceylon sapphire and is very pretty. My fiance was earning around £10k pa at the time so the ring was approximately a quarter of his salary. I don't remember anyone back then factoring mathematical equations into their choice of engagement ring. Most of the young women I knew just chose a ring they liked, that fitted their finger and that was a practical price.

It was the diamond industry that put the month's salary thing into people's heads. Good business for them.

2 months salary is insane. I'd have been so cross if my husband had wasted 2 full months of salary on my engagement ring when we were saving for a house, and we're anticipating a wedding to pay for!

I think I’d be more bothered that thought had gone into it. The kind of style he knew I would like. Also that some thought had gone into the proposal too. Doesn’t need to be anything flash but something he knew I’d like. My DH did very well on both counts 🥰

I’m already married, but I would expect £3-4k. It’s based on income and known outgoings however, so it’s very specific to the individual. How do we know your partner’s circumstances?

How mercenary, to judge the price of an engagement ring, rather than the thought behind it. Just buy a ring you like the look of.