How much did your engagement/wedding ring cost?

[MichelleinMaine]

$127 from the AAFES (military) catalog, 20 years ago this month. It's a whopping .04 karat.

We were both in college, on our own, no money and that was what he could get. Did the job and means the world to me.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Mine was a .75tcw heart shaped diamond set in platimum (purchased from USAA catalogue).

It was set in platinum. Sadly that ring disappeared and the replacement was but a fraction of the cost.

At the time it was roughly 1 month salary--it was around $3000 or so. I had no say in choosing it and he got what he wanted and felt he could afford.

I would say no more than 1 months salary (I feel the bling should match your lifestyle and not the lifestyles of the rich and famous)--is a fair amount for a ring.

His wedding ring was nowhere near as much--about $200 I think (comfort fit gold band).

My wedding ring was cheap. White gold band that was maybe $75. I wasn't allowed to go hog wild.

I now have a replacement ring--3 diamonds (no idea tcw) set in platinum. It's the past/present/future ring. I believe it cost less than my original ring or really close to it. The diamonds are a lesser quality and I think the tcw may be close to the same. I just don't remember what it was.

 

[Mrs.Reese]

We purchased ours at Service Merchandise during their final days. I have a 1.5 carats in platinum. We got it for around $1500. DH told me to pick out the one I wanted. The silly man....

 

[DMickey28]

I wouldn't worry about dollar amount.

Do your research online about diamonds. Learn about the 4C's on your own. Figure out what it is that is important to you in a stone. Some people want colorless, some want a big stone, some want it to be flawless. You will pay big bucks for each one of those things but there can be a happy middle. I did a ton of research when we were diamond shopping. For me personally, I wanted the best "bang" for DH's buck!! I wanted the largest solitaire in our budget that was near colorless (H or higher), with no inclusions that I could see with my eye and that would not affect the light refelction greatly. I learned all I could and narrowed it down that way.

Over the last few years I have watched a lot of our (ex-) social circle get engaged/married ... my DH worked (and we socialized) with a group of people that were very materialistic. DH's "partner" carried a very large salary and we guessimate he brought in about $13-16K a month ... We saw a few couples get engaged during that time. One had a honking diamond, beautiful, flawless to the eye ... probably flawless in general. Easily a $20K - $30K stone. We saw another couple and the guy was further down in the company but we were all socially friends, get engaged. A honking ring to match the size of the other woman's but this thing looked like it was an ice chip or pebble from the beach ... it was cloudy, you could see black spots in it and it did nothing to reflect light ... but it was HUGE. On the flip side, my ring is under a carat but with the way it was cut, the clarity and color it "appears" similar in size to that of a 1.25-1.5 stone.

Figure out what is important to you in stone and take the time to learn about them. Good Luck and Congrats!!!

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

You may want to do this question as a poll, I bet you'd get more answers. I know exactly how much my rings cost, but even in a forum like this I don't feel comfortable sharing that amount.

i agree. i think it'd be better with a poll, as well.

 

[a1tinkfans]

i agree. i think it'd be better with a poll, as well.

are we all the NE'ers that feel this way.... I agree!
Some people could buy a car or put a down payment on a house with their diamond ring costs....

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

are we all the NE'ers that feel this way.... I agree!
Some people could buy a car or put a down payment on a house with their diamond ring costs....

lol some people just react differently i guess.

idk i've had this conversation before on other message boards and sometimes people can get snippy. like if the rings don't cost a lot, or if they cost too much. i think a poll would make it easier.

 

[Angelhalo]

are we all the NE'ers that feel this way.... I agree!
Some people could buy a car or put a down payment on a house with their diamond ring costs....

But some people are able to afford all of these things, so why not be able to get the ring they want as long as it isn't hurting them financially or keeping them from being able to purchase something else that they need? My husband picked my ring out with the help of a friend and I love it. But, I didn't tell him I what I wanted or demand something expensive or even expect something expensive. But thanks to money he wasn't expecting to receive, he was able to get me what he wanted to get me and not worry about if it was going to set us back in any way.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

But some people are able to afford all of these things, so why not be able to get the ring they want as long as it isn't hurting them financially or keeping them from being able to purchase something else that they need? My husband picked my ring out with the help of a friend and I love it. But, I didn't tell him I what I wanted or demand something expensive or even expect something expensive. But thanks to money he wasn't expecting to receive, he was able to get me what he wanted to get me and not worry about if it was going to set us back in any way.

that's how it was with my DH. he picked out my ring all on his own, i didn't tell him anything. and i loved it when i got it! i didn't tell him how much to spend or even what kind of diamond to get or anything.

 

[jordansmomma]

Mine rings cost $1700 total.
The Engagement ring is 1.5 c. the band is .5 tcw.
But we also upgraded and old ring. So the cost of that ring was taken off the total cost of my ring.

 

[Meriweather]

My engagement ring was $110....and that was a fortune for 2 college kids over 37 years ago! It was a simple solitare.
I have since taken the stone, along with the ones from my mother and grandmother's rings and had a new ring designed. Love it!!

 

[Ember]

Just FYI, OP: I asked your question in poll form.

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

We were BROKE and POOR when my husband bought my ring. It was $350 dollars from Kay's Jewelers. Our wedding bands came from a pawn shop both of them together was 65 dollars.

I treasure my rings...even though we have money now, I wouldn't ever trade them in for a bigger ring.

 

[pigletgirl]

Just FYI, OP: I asked your question in poll form.

Thanks!!!

 

[jsmith]

my husband picked mine out and gave them too me for chirstmas-i dont know exactly what they cost-what ever the re-enlistment bonus for an e-5 13E was in 1982.

 

[Longsx3]

My first ring was 1/2 Ct Princess Solitaire it was $1200 almost 18yrs ago, several years later the stone fell out and was lost About 5yrs ago he replaced the diamond with a pear shape from USAA, it is .90 CT and was a fantastic buy at 2800. 3yrs ago we put it into a very nice mounting and for our 15th anniversary in 08 he had a matching eternity band made....I would say all in we are close to 5k...after 17yrs of marriage.

My brother just bought his fiance a ring, I think it was close to 6k. They are older, he is 35 and have a house but that is still a lot of money...especially all at once.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

We were BROKE and POOR when my husband bought my ring. It was $350 dollars from Kay's Jewelers. Our wedding bands came from a pawn shop both of them together was 65 dollars.

I treasure my rings...even though we have money now, I wouldn't ever trade them in for a bigger ring.

my DH did pretty darn well with my engagement ring when i first got it(it's 1 1/4 karats) and when we finally got married he said to me "on our 10 year anniversary i'll get you an even bigger one" and i told him "don't you dare!" i love my rings the way they are!

 

[ProgressCity]

I replied on the other thread with the poll, but just wanted to chime in here.

The lighting in jewelry stores is meant to enhance the rings and is very unrealistic. If you try any on look at them away from the counter to see what they'll really look like. I wouldn't get caught up in the whole color/clarity game. It's just a designation and the 4c's should mainly be used to make sure you're not overpaying. All the way down to SI2 means that it's pretty much flawless to the naked eye and any inclusions need a 10x magnifier to see them. When are you ever going to look at your ring under a 10x magnifier? IMHO the cost difference in clarity is better spent on something that you'll actually notice, like size or style.

Remember, you're getting married so now your money is pretty much comingling. If he goes into debt for your ring it means you're going into debt to. I wouldn't recommend starting your married lives together under anymore financial stress than necessary, so I always advise people to spend cash. There's still a wedding to pay for, a honeymoon, and then there's just the cost of everyday living! Some men want to spend a lot on a ring because they want others to know how much they value you when they look at it. If you're fine spending less I would definitely encourage you to spend less, just be aware that you may get resistance because it can very much be a pride thing with men. Their hearts are in the right place and just like some women want to have long talks with our partner to show love, some men want to buy their wife (or soon-to-be) big things to show his love.

Have fun at your appointment, but don't buy the first thing you see! Shop around and think about it. I'm soooo glad we shopped around, I ended up getting a dream of a ring for less than we imagined we'd end up paying .

Congrats on this happy time!

 

[Tantor]

17 years ago - $2000.00 for both rings

 

[livie1205]

mine was about 1900.00 7 yrs ago now the same one runs about 4000.00! It is a 1 carat sol. with plain white gold band and a white gold wedding band that was 70.00.It is very classic (tiffany setting) and pretty.I will be passing it to my dd when she gets married if she wants it.I still have the ring my ex gave me put away for my son if he wants it.My ring looks like the ring in the ad at the bottom of this thread.