Average price of an engagement ring?
 

I looked at the other thread about people's "dream rings" but I'm curious - what is the average range for the engagement rings that people actually buy (not just dream about)?

I've heard the "2 months salary" thing but that seems awfully high and unrealistic (it screams "marketing ploy")

Thoughts?

I have heard that as well . .I don't know about two months - because if you make like 5000 a month (60,000) a year - that would mean you would purchase a 10k ring. I would say - look at your finances, and purchase a ring (I strongly recommend wholesale places that is where my husband got mine from and I will NOT complain - he did GOOD!), that is in line with how you feel about the person you are proposing to. If she loves you, size won't matter and you can always upgrade . . .

When my sister got engaged her ring was very simple and cost $1500. Her fiance worked at the UPS store and they were 19, so that seems high to me for kids so young and broke. When my best friend got engaged, she split the cost with her fiance to make sure she got the ring she wanted since he didn't have a lot of money, and in the end the ring was about $6000.

I personally would rather not have a ring worth two months of my boyfriend's salary. I know you can get jewelry insured, but I lose everything, and I don't want to be a stress monster every day from wearing precious stones! I just want to enjoy something pretty on my finger. :p

$0.

If you're buying one, go to a jeweler you know, and you won't get ripped off. Go to a random jewelry store, chances are you'll get ripped off.

As far as prices, I'm not going to say how much I spent on my wife's ring, because I think it's no one's business, a personal thing. My wife liked it, I liked it, and that's really all that matters.

The average for my recently engaged friends seems to be in the 8-12k range. There are a couple outliers like 6 or 17, but for the most part it seems to hover around 10.

I'm a girl, so I don't plan on buying one. Just curious :)

Just for reference: the two months salary thing is Debeers propaganda. Don't listen to it.

Had a date with a guy tonight who was previously engaged (it's amazing how many people I know that have been previously engaged). Somehow it came up in a roundabout way. He spent $15K on the ring. :eek: and that's when he was an asst. golf pro instead of a head golf pro like he is now...

I think I would be rather intimidated to wear something worth that much. But that's just me.

I feel the same way. I'd really be afraid that I'd lose it, or someone would hold me up at gun point for my ring or something. Thats why when I see some of the NPC badges that are decked out in diamonds, rubies, opals, etc, I could never see myself wearing one.

I like nice things, but not to wear every day. Not only do I walk by myself at night in a downtown area, but I'd probably beat the heck out of it. I can't even keep a manicure nice. I don't want anything huge anyway because I have small fingers, so something huge would both look ostentatious and probably be unwieldy.

My friend Lisa has a REALLY nice engagement ring. But she has one that looks similar but is a CZ that she wears when she's traveling, etc. So that if something happened to it she'd only be out a couple hundred instead of thousands.

I think it's up to the couple to decide what kind of money to drop on an engagement ring. I will say, you shouldn't be overly worried about losing it, it getting stolen, etc. That's what insurance is for. My ring (as well as a few other jewelry pieces I own) are insured and covered if ANYTHING happens...stone falls out, goes down a drain, gets lost, gets stolen, gets burned in a house fire, falls off the in the ocean, ANYTHING! I obviously would not want to lose it, but I know we'll get a check for the appraised value if something does happen.

Though, being held a gun point would be bad.

I've never really thought about a replica engagement ring, thats not a terrible idea I guess. I know people with replica watches for traveling, so I guess it'd be similar.

The 2 month salary thing is bunk. It's whatever you feel comfortable with.

At the end of the day, we're talking about a rock (or several) that a woman wears on her finger. It's not what it's made of that's significant, it's that it's there.

Exactly - plus, from a practical standpoint, if you're spending 10K on a crap diamond, then the price really doesn't matter so much. If you don't think you can afford it, you probably can't.