[bringsmewomen]

How much do you think you should spend on an engagement ring? I heard the old 3 months salary is out of date now and no one practical should be spending that much. What are your guys thoughts?

[kscarrol]

Two words... cubic zirconia! Just kidding. Been married for twenty years, can't recall what I spent but do recall that three months salary BS, totally made up by the marketing arm of the diamond industry...

First question in my mind would be what does she expect? Some women like my wife want something unique but smaller. I was able get get a beautiful antique ring with an lower quality stone and then I swapped it out for a better quality diamond. Ultimately the diamond is fairly small (0.75 carats as I recall) and there for less expensive.

Some women just want that big stone! As I'm sure you know (or will find out), each stone is unique and price will depend on the quality of the stone. You can get a larger but slightly lower quality stone where neither she nor anyone else will notice the imperfections. You'd need a jeweler's glass to see the imperfections.

Check with friends (likely the married ones) to see if someone can put you in touch with a good jeweler who will educate you and show you all your options.

[Rotorocious]

Been thinking the same things.
Mainly curious what size most went with.

Still a bit confused about certification differences

[kscarrol]

Not really familiar with the various certifications out there. Sounds like more marketing to me to be honest. Find a reputable jeweler and they will guide you rather than pushing a certain brand/certification.

For the basics...

http://www.hwgem.com/diascale.htm

[bringsmewomen]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Not really familiar with the various certifications out there. Sounds like more marketing to me to be honest. Find a reputable jeweler and they will guide you rather than pushing a certain brand/certification.

For the basics...

http://www.hwgem.com/diascale.htm

What's a decent amount to spend these days?
Is 1.5 carat considered big?

[kevinbahnz]

A thousand bucks? then every few years later shes gonna want an upgrade. yaddi yaddi yadda....

[bringsmewomen]

Originally Posted by kevinbahnz

A thousand bucks? then every few years later shes gonna want an upgrade. yaddi yaddi yadda....

She only wants a band for a ring for now. I think that's just weird but whatever... I think I should get her an engagement ring and a band too.

[Templar]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Not really familiar with the various certifications out there. Sounds like more marketing to me to be honest. Find a reputable jeweler and they will guide you rather than pushing a certain brand/certification.

For the basics...

http://www.hwgem.com/diascale.htm

Meh, not so much.

Do your own research and have an idea of what you want before you go looking.

Depends on how detail oriented your soon-to-be will be as well. She may not be able to see slight imperfections and color changes, which can mean you can skimp a little on the stone, maybe...

I personally didn't bother with anything perfect, it's not worth the price tag to me.

Size of the stone isn't all that matters, look up the four C's.

[kevinbahnz]

Originally Posted by bringsmewomen

What's a decent amount to spend these days?
Is 1.5 carat considered big?

to me, 1.5 is kinda big. but I am cheap. i bought my wife 3/4 carat in 2006 and I added another 1/2 carat wrap a year later. Now 7 years later she wants a full carat. (insert Jackie chan Meme).

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by bringsmewomen

What's a decent amount to spend these days?
Is 1.5 carat considered big?

Just googled diamonds and got a few jewelers I'd never heard of. Ballpark a mid quality 1.5 carat diamond is likely a $10k++ purchase.

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by Templar

Meh, not so much.

Do your own research and have an idea of what you want before you go looking.

Depends on how detail oriented your soon-to-be will be as well. She may not be able to see slight imperfections and color changes, which can mean you can skimp a little on the stone, maybe...

I personally didn't bother with anything perfect, it's not worth the price tag to me.

Size of the stone isn't all that matters, look up the four C's.

Right, see my initial post... What is she expecting? You can trade off a larger size for a lower quality stone, etc... And my link was to a basic description of the four C's.

[jlstyle]

I got my wife a 1.4 and it is pretty big on her. And certification isn't a marketing gimmick. It is a way to secure your money. You might be getting a ring in same size for much cheaper because of less recognized certification, but you are now paying for possible crap shit that doesnt worth much.

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by kevinbahnz

Now 7 years later she wants a full carat. (insert Jackie chan Meme).

Spent 5 grand on a "near carat" (.9) diamond 8 tears ago. Had it appraised a while back for more than that. Agree with not going to a "reputable jeweler", they'll just rape you.

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

Spent 5 grand on a "near carat" (.9) diamond 8 tears ago.

I won't comment on that typo...

[bringsmewomen]

I'd like to propose to my girlfriend soon. I asked her what type of ring she'd like and so far, she says she wants a band, not an engagement ring with a rock because she's afraid it's not as versatile as a band. But I think it's weird to propose with a wedding ring and not a engagement ring. Thoughts??

[F32]

WTF is wrong with her? She's obviously not normal.

Run away.

[Rotorocious]

Uh , sounds pretty easy to me

[bringsmewomen]

Originally Posted by F32

WTF is wrong with her? She's obviously not normal.

Run away.

haha, thats not what I meant. I am not weirded out in that way. I'm just wondering if I should get her a diamond ring anyway even though she wants a wedding band ring only.

[bringsmewomen]

Originally Posted by Rotorocious

Uh , sounds pretty easy to me

it is. But I wonder if I should still get her an engagement ring in addition to a wedding band despite what she said.

[F32]

Get whatever you want on her hand, now what she wants. Remember, you already have her word, so an engagement ring is purely for others to see. It's entirely a reflection of you so buy a ring according to how you want others to perceive you.

[Seminole]

Originally Posted by F32

Get whatever you want on her hand, now what she wants. Remember, you already have her word, so an engagement ring is purely for others to see. It's entirely a reflection of you so buy a ring according to how you want others to perceive you.

That's a good way to piss her off.

Who gives a shit what others think, get her what SHE wants. You should be focused on making her happy, not random people. My fiancée wanted a cushion cut solitaire with a ring diamonds on the band while I preferred a band with no diamonds and a center stone flanked by two side stones. In the end I got her what she wanted and she's really happy with it. It also turned out the type of ring she wanted was cheaper then the design I preferred. Same with a band only like your girlfriend wants. Since there are no large diamonds it will be significantly cheaper then a normal ring, luck you

[Nate4641]

Luckily my girlfriend is small and has small hands so a smaller stone isn't a bad thing. And she isn't into big flashy stones anyways (or so she says). You can't go wrong with a simple Tiffany ring, but that does come with a price. I think "traditionally" the ring should be like 2 months salary or some shit...

Ultimately see if you can get her to show you the ring she wants. You may get her a square cut stone, but she really wanted a princess cut stone.