How Much Should I Spend On An Engagement Ring
If we had £1 for every time weve been asked how much someone should spend on an engagement ring, wed be able to buy quite a sizeable diamond for ourselves!
The answer we give people however is always the same – its personal to the individual buying the ring.
To help you with your purchase, below we demystify the myths regarding engagement ring buying and give our hints and tips on how to get the perfect ring for your budget.
2 – 3 Months Salary?
The suggestion that you should spend 2 or 3 months salary on the price of an engagement ring has been thrown around for decades and is nothing but good marketing.
It was originally part of a marketing campaign by diamond mining company, Debeers who declared 2 months salary showed the future Mrs Smith what the future will be like before another asked, how can you make two months salary last forever? with both plastered directly next to a photograph of a diamond engagement ring.
Whilst this campaign was hugely successful and enabled the world to see the beauty of this magnificent natural gemstone, it did not really take off. In todays money based on average salaries, it would suggest that in the UK, you should be spending approximately £6k on an engagement ring something that is far from the average suggested by insurance company, Protect Your Bubble who said in 2018, the figure was actually £1,485 for an engagement ring.
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Consider How Your Engagement Ring Will Look With Your Wedding Band
While it is easy to get caught up shopping for the perfect diamond, the engagement ring is only one half of the equation. Your wedding bandyou know, the actual symbol of your marriageis the oft-overlooked other half. Definitely think about what style of wedding band would go with your ring. Some engagement rings don’t allow a band to fit flush against them, so it’s important to consider the full package of prong versus pavé and channel-set stones before committing to an engagement ring style.
Average Cost Of Mens Wedding Band
According to weddingstats.org, the average cost of a womans engagement ring and wedding band set ranges between $5968-$6258. Whereas the average cost for a mans wedding band ranges between $389-$547. Even though these might be averages, that doesnt mean you cant find quality wedding rings for significantly less. You just need to know what to look for. Many online jewelers can offer significant savings on quality, affordable wedding bands, simply because they are an online operation without the overhead costs of a traditional, brick and mortar jewelry store. What that jeweler might spend on overhead instead gets rolled into savings and incentives for you, the customer. That means the savvy modern gent can find a modern mens wedding ring for a fraction of the cost that he might pay elsewhere.
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What Are The Best Wedding Bands For Men
1. Gold. Many of the best mens wedding bands are made out of yellow gold, rose gold, or white gold. In fact, gold is the reigning champion of mens wedding band metals. All gold is mixed with other metal alloys for additional strength since pure gold is extremely soft and unsuitable for daily wear.
Get More Bang For Your Buck
My husband and I bought my ring from a family run jewelry shop that has been in business for 30 years. Both the daughter and mother are CGA approved gemologists. My own mom and dad have been going to this particular jeweler for years.
Buying my ring at a family run jeweler meant the jeweler was able to offer us a ring without a big retailer markup. We cut out the middle man and my ring was appraised at double the value my husband actually bought it for.
Tip: Add a halo to a diamond solitaire to add weight to the ring. It also makes the ring appear larger
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Picking Engagement Rings Together
Do you plan to go engagement ring shopping together?
More and more couples are choosing to shop for the engagement ring together. Over 40% of women want to be involved in the ring selection process. Shopping together is a great way to be certain that she gets a ring that she’ll love.
If you really have no clue what kind of style she likes, then it’s even a good idea to let your girlfriend pick out her own engagement ring. This way, she has a say in what she likes instead of you taking a blind guess.
In fact, you can shop together and still keep the element of surprise. You can talk about stone and metal preferences and have your girlfriend pick out a few setting styles she likes. You can then choose the final design on your own and plan the surprise proposal.
Tip
What To Consider When Buying A Ring
Weve talked about the technical things to consider when buying a ringclarity, size, cut, color, metal type, brandbut what about the fundamental factors to consider when buying a ring?
Assessing expectations and priorities will guide your budgeting decisions and make it easier to be on the same page as your soon-to-be spouse.
Here are some valuable factors to consider when deciding how much money you should spend on a wedding ring:
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What If I Can’t Afford To Buy A Ring
The simple answer is to wait and save up until you can afford a ring. It’s best to buy a ring with cash you have.
But, we understand that you may not want to wait to propose. It could take over a year to save enough to buy the ring you want to give her. And you may not want to wait that long.
In this case, you have some options:
- Finance the purchase. This could be a good option to pay monthly instead of having a large lump-sum payment. But make sure you have a solid plan to pay it back by the end of the term.
Read more on how to finance an engagement ring the smart way.
For an even cheaper alternative, consider cubic zirconia. Based on our survey, 44% of women don’t care if it’s a fake ring.
Do You Spend 3 Months Salary On An Engagement Ring
Did you know the two months standard was begun by a De Beers advertisement? De Beers turns out to be the very organization that persuaded the whole world that men need to propose with a jewel. In the event that you comply with DeBeers standard, that implies that if you make $3,000 each month, you ought to spend generally $6,000 on the ring. In any case, that standard has some genuine flaws. All things considered, it was designed to get you to pay more cash to a jewel retailer.
Above all else, the vast majority get hitched in their late 20s, when they are still in the start of their careers. They have not yet reached their full earning potential. Additionally, you need to ascertain what you really bring home in net compensation instead of your gross compensation. Shockingly they are very different.
Besides, a great many people graduate with student debt. Joined with the expanding average cost for basic items, burning through great many dollars on a ring may not be doable. Particularly when you are attempting to escape debt as fast as could be expected.
Rather than overspending at a local jeweler, consider checking costs on the web. Two dependable retailers are Blue Nile and James Allen . You may likewise think about Brilliant Earth for lab-made precious stones. Here are some other pay rules youve presumably heard:
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Wedding Planning Or Rings: Which Comes First
Getting married is, by definition, an event celebrating two people at the altar but unfortunately, that can get pushed to the wayside when wedding planning gets complicated. Brides and grooms may both feel pressure to make families happy, shuffling table seatings to minimize potential personality clashes, deciding on the wedding party, and even choosing the right flowers for the reception. After weeks or even months of making choice after choice , its easy for decision fatigue to set in. This is a wedding expense in itself.
Any wariness over planning your big day might even push you towards an easy, generic wedding band that isnt so much a personal reminder of affection as a way to avoid making yet another decision about the wedding. In addition to this potential issue, your budget may have already been heavily diminished by deposits with caterers, photographers, and other wedding vendors in order to hold your place.
Consider Your Financial Situation
Recollect that you are making arrangements not only for a lovely engagement, but also a wedding and a future together, as well. You will need to consider what you can sensibly manage, setting you up for the best financial situation for your marriage. You need to ensure you do not go into a great deal of debt to buy a ring. Consider the accompanying with regards to your monetary circumstance:
- Your income, minus the taxes and medical care
- Your month to month costs like rent, car payment or insurance
- The measure of savings and investment funds you have
- What you can afford
In light of these factors, gauge the amount you can sensibly spend on an engagement ring. You need to have the option to buy a ring without financing. In the event that you do have to get some cash or pay with a , be certain you can take care of the sum in a few months.
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How Much Should An Engagement Ring Cost
To summarize, an engagement ring should be within a budget thats comfortable for you and your partner. Throw out the 3 months salary rule and choose a number that helps you to stay in line with your life and wedding planning goals. Think through the elements that are most important to you whether thats a higher quality diamond or a custom ring design and work from there to determine a budget.
Financing Options For Engagement Rings
Financing options are available to help fund your ring purchase, though we dont always recommend them.
For instance,Blue Nile offers a credit card that allows you to pay over time with no annual fee.James Allen financing also offers payment options for 6 or 24 months.
If you dont qualify for the financing at Blue Nile or James Allen, you should reconsider the ring youre planning to purchase. Going with a worse value only because they offer financing is not a smart decision when it comes to selecting a diamond.
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How Much Is A Mans Wedding Ring
As a general rule, a mans wedding ring is often cheaper as it has fewer diamonds and less bling. However, the price of a mans wedding ring comes down mostly to the metal used to make the ring.
So, you can generally get a simple ring for a cheaper price, which could be cheaper than a simple womans wedding ring.
Final thoughts
Choosing the perfect wedding ring at the perfect price comes down to a few factors. These need to be determined and a budget needs to be set before going to purchase a ring.
The budget can be a small portion of the overall wedding budget and plays into account the designs the couple wants for their special day and of course, eternity.
At Kalfin Jewellery, we offer a variety of wedding rings for Him & Her. An assortment of fitted, matching, or even a band to compliment your existing engagement ring, can be custom-designed. Our obligation-free consultation with an expert jeweller will help you customise a wedding band design that suits your requirements.
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Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal’s grand wedding cake costed a bomb amount of 4.5L and it took around 48 hours to bake the delicious cake and bring it to the proper shape, as per reports. The 5-tier wedding cake was made by a well-renowned Delhi-based patissier named Myrra Jhunjhunwala who owns an outlet Caramel Patisserie.
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Dont Be Pressured Into Following The Two Months Rule
Youve probably heard the popular rule that you should spend two months salary on an engagement ring. Where did that come from?
Advertising, of course.
The rule was established through ads by the diamond company DeBeers throughout the 20th century. The companys ads also established diamonds as the norm for engagement rings for the first half of the century, engagement rings contained all sorts of gems.
It is an outdated rule
The concept is also tied to outdated notions of gender roles in relationships and society. One DeBeers ad from around the 1980s reads:
Two months salary showed the future Mrs. Smith what the future would be like suggesting the role of the husband as breadwinner .
Were not in the 1950s anymore.
It isnt feasible for most young couples
Todays young adults are graduating with student loan debt, and facing minuscule entry-level salaries, not to mention high costs of living.
Almost all women are working, and even with two incomes, most of us cant afford to go from college to married homeowners with kids in less than five years.
Did Yours Make The Cut
When it comes to the style of cut, the timelessness of a brilliant round cut diamond was the clear winner, making up 47% of modern stones.
Whats interesting, however, is that this is down from 65% about 10 years ago. It goes to show that people are embracing a larger variety of stone cuts. In fact, princess cut diamonds are twice as popular now than 10 years ago.
And the survey also showed a small number of people are choosing to forgo a large central stone for a cluster of smaller stones placed together to mimic a traditional cut diamond. This is a great way to make the most of your budget and maximise the sparkle factor.
We also found people are buying larger diamonds now than they did previously. Twice as many people had bought a one-carat diamond or larger over the past two years, compared to 10 years ago.
Overall, there was an even mix of stone sizes mentioned in the survey with 55% of engagement rings containing stones between 0.5 carats and 0.90 carats. At the other end, there were 16% of engagement rings with a stone larger than 1.2 carats.
For the ring itself, our survey recorded a staggering 20 different types of metal. The three most common were white gold , yellow gold and platinum . Along with a fourth type called two-toned, a combination of white and yellow gold which made up 5% of rings.
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