Bakerman

Wife picked out a ring she really liked irrespective of price, was something like £450 bought in the States, ceratinly no where near 2 months wages. If any women I was with expected 2 months wages to be spent I would no longer be with her.

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

A friend spent circa £5k on a ring and **** know how much on a wedding in Cuba, all for her to change her mind at the last minute - well about 2 weeks before. We were rather p***ed off as the trip to Cuba was non refundable. Still went with the lads and had a blinding holiday - during the 2006 world cup. Watched most of the footie in the pool at the bar.

She kept the ring BTW

So, just incase, buy as cheap as you can get away with

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

99% of women wouldnt be able to tell the difference between a £5K ring and a £500 one as long as they both looked nice sparkly.

I dont know where the 2 or 3 months wages comes from ? you arent buying the woman ( and if you were you could probably get a cheaper one from Thailand ) so the amount you spend should be based on what you can afford. I'd be wary of any women who 'expects' a certain amount to be spent on her, or complains that her ring isnt expensive enough !

My wifes engagement ring - a sort of half eternity ring with alternate square diamonds and emeralds - wasnt that expensive, but she doesnt really go for single big flash stones, and neither of us had much money at the time. The wedding ring was similar with just diamonds ( a bit more expensive ), so the two fit together next to each other nicely.

If I was spending £5K+ on a ring, I'd want a written guarantee that I get it back if we split up, which sort of ruins the romantic moment a bit.

scoob_babe

Totally agree Mike, especially when the view of most men on here is that women are money grabbing biatches!!!!!!!!!

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

when i decided to pop the question to natalie, i didnt set out a price plan or anything, i simply went around the jewellery shops in scun.thorpe and had a look around. i knew she liked diamonds and rubys, so when the right ring popped up, it wasnt so much the cost that swaped it. i knew she'd like it.

for the record it was £300 and has3 rubys and 14 diamonds on it. she has tiny hands and loved it. so just under (a then) weeks wage and she wears it everyday.

maybe im tight, but i dont see the point (unless your minted) in spending 1/6 of your entire annual wage on one ring.

scoob_babe

As long as she likes it, that's all that matters and it sounds very nice. She isn't going to wear the price tag (hopefully!)

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

Not that I'm a traditionalist etc, but the way I see it is that if she is to be whisked away somewhere romantic, a complete surprise etc - when you come to propose you don't produce a ring? Kind of takes the shine of what is supposed to be a life moment IMO.

Same goes for knowing the sex of your 1st born before the big day - why do it in stages?

IMO

Tiggs

Wait till your on a decent wage then?

Jamescsti

I did the deed at christmas, spent circa £500 and the other half loves it.
I had an idea of the kind of tyhing she likes but I bought it on my own and suprised her, luckily I got it right!

I think it's rubbish saying a months wages etc, besides we are just buying a house too, so she will have to settle for a house instead!

Dr.No

This "one month's salary" and "two months take-home" business is all just a vicious rumour largely perpetrated by the Jewellers - who have a vested interest in you spending more than you're really able to or should! Don't be taken in by it, and just buy what you/your fiancé like and can reasonably afford.

I'm fortunate to travel to South Africa on business quite often, and bought the diamonds for my wife's engagement ring from a wholesale diamond merchant (ProDiam Trading) in Jo'burg who buys rough and cuts/polishes them. I figured that I probably couldn't buy cheaper, and subsequent UK valuations have proved correct... My wife and I then designed the ring that we wanted (3 stones, one large one and two smaller - one either side) set in platinum, and a Jo'burg jeweller made the ring to our spec. Subsequently I also bought our platinum wedding bands from the same guy in Jo'burg, again saving a great deal (about 50%) over ANY UK prices...

I'm off out there again in a few weeks, and still have the contacts - so if anyone wants any diamonds smuggling back then let me know

DN

Devildog

Are you on, what, the poverty line????













oh, sorry,


















Thought I was PSLewis or Tiggs for a moment there

davegtt

I paid £500 on an engagement ring, No way am I paying 2 months wages on a ring that'll only be thrown at you at some point in a heated argument. Smaller the rock the less damage is caused

KiwiGTI

The tradition is actually 3 months pay, it always has been.

Dr.No

Good reading for you:

How to buy an engagement ring | Shopping | guardian.co.uk Shopping

Says that the "one to two months salary" thing was a product of the De Beers marketing machine...

davegtt

Tradition also says she stays in the kitchen unless shes making babies

http://www.onebigknife.com/onebigkni...rk/cartman.wav

http://www.onebigknife.com/onebigkni...makebabies.wav

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

OK, so perhaps I am a tad traditional then

billythekid

We had seen a ring in Boodles that she really liked, we went in and tried it on - she loved it but the price, well it was rather expensive and TBH I was not impressed with the stone for the price.

I had been putting some money away for a while and we decided to get a ring custom made to a very similar design as the Boodles one. I got the stone via Blue Nile in the US, major advantage is the £ to $ rate. I have purchased stones before so I knew what to look for in relation to cut, clarity bla bla bla but also which Cirts to go for etc. Anyway, the stone arrived a few days later, paid the tax, and for a very reasonable sum (£1200 ish IIRC) we had the ring hand made in Plat with some other small diamonds set into the band.

It took a bit of time and effort but its a unique design and we saved a hell of a lot of money. Not for everyone but worth looking into it.

LG John

I spent £2,000 at a time when I was earning £28k a year with a take home per month of around £1750. I felt like I spent a good whack but not stupid amounts and we both really like the ring. I'm sure I put a few threads up about it including pictures of the ring itself but buying it wiped me out so much I don't have the £5 membership for search

Interestingly it's probably worth more now as the price of platinum has rocketed since then.

oldsplice

I always thought it was 1 month's wages. Mine wasn't that much, btw!

Luckily for Mr OS, I have small hands and big/too many stones look ridiculous on me. I don't have a lot of 'bling', just a couple of sentimental bits, and as I don't ask for much (honestly! ) I did want a diamond ring, but I chose it for the fact that I liked it, and not what it cost

richardg

cookie - call henry harrington of e & h harrington in colchester. go and see him and talk about budgets and roughly what you think your other half would like.

that's what i did, then we went along and she chose what i'd picked out, with a choice of three diamonds (which is where the real cost was). he made the ring to order in about a week. he also made our wedding rings to order.

if you want to know about cost v high st jeweller cost, pm me.

Devildog

The wife or the ring

scoob_babe

Looks like this is turning into another 'how high I can pee up the wall' thread!

Brendan Hughes

I must have hit my shoes then

scoob_babe

Lol Brendan . Who cares how much you 'have' to spend!

andy97

iTrader: (1)

**** her @****, she will have big ring then

Brendan Hughes

shouldn't, but

LG John

That's just obscene if you ask me!

bonerp

Its not what it costs to get into it - its what it costs to get out of it that you need to be saving for lol

scooby2!

My bf proposed last week and surprised me with a ring - its beautiful and I have no idea of how much it cost (certainly not thousands), but thats not the point, I was completely shocked and overwhelmed that he had gone to the trouble of choosing a ring for me instead of taking me shopping for one. Each to their own, and only u will know whether ur girlfriend would rather pick her own ring. : )

andy97

iTrader: (1)

female insight