Engagment ring size and price?

[Knut]

^ Yeah it is not exactly a great idea to spend $1000 on her engagement ring, and then turn around and buy a $2500 3D television.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Hesla

Just "borrow" a ring that she often wears for the day and get it sized.

I would have done that already, if she wore any rings...like I mentioned earlier.

[Knut]

^ OKay... just "borrow" her finger for the day.

[anyonebutedmonton]

Originally Posted by comrade

Wait, so you paid for an engagement ring for her, then you had to use up the "I spent thousands of dollars on a diamond ring for you" argument to convince her to let you buy yourself a TV, and you consider this a victory?

You will never get that rule instituted.

At this point my money is her money... My guess is you are not married.

Buying big ticket items like a 60" tv without her approval is just asking for problems. I was already buying the ring, it just sweetens the deal for me that now I get a no questions asked boxing day this year.

[alltherage]

Originally Posted by Hesla

^ Spence was boycotted by me for multiple reasons..

1) I went in and asked for a price quote on some diamonds within a certain color, clarity and size and the salesman told me flat out i couldnt afford it (how the hell do you know that?)

2) The commercials are brutal

3) The rings are all imitations in the display cases and I feel that you do not get an accurate view of what the ring is going to look like.

Wow I could not have had a different experience. When i went I felt like the guy was awesome. He worked with my budget and didnt come off smug at all like you suggest happened to you.

The commercials are brutal. I agree.

The rings are "imitations" so that you can shop without a sales person hovering around you... which I liked. I got to pick out the style I liked, and then when I went into the office he brought out real diamonds and let me view them through the microscope and pointed out any imperfections.

I felt like they made me part of the process and that I got a great deal. Many places I looked at before had diamonds about the same size in their rings, but I had no idea what kind of diamond... and the prices were higher in almost every case.

Really... I reccommend Spence to everyone and anyone looking for an engagement ring. And I shopped around for weeks. As soon as I went into Spence, I bought that ring on the spot.

[TylerSVT]

Originally Posted by alltherage

Wow I could not have had a different experience. When i went I felt like the guy was awesome. He worked with my budget and didnt come off smug at all like you suggest happened to you.

The commercials are brutal. I agree.

The rings are "imitations" so that you can shop without a sales person hovering around you... which I liked. I got to pick out the style I liked, and then when I went into the office he brought out real diamonds and let me view them through the microscope and pointed out any imperfections.

I felt like they made me part of the process and that I got a great deal. Many places I looked at before had diamonds about the same size in their rings, but I had no idea what kind of diamond... and the prices were higher in almost every case.

Really... I reccommend Spence to everyone and anyone looking for an engagement ring. And I shopped around for weeks. As soon as I went into Spence, I bought that ring on the spot.

While i agree that spence is very good, their prices are very high and i was told their was no grading scheme for Princess cut diamonds (they dont give GIA certificates which is bogus IMO). Good place to go look, but not to buy.

[alltherage]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

While i agree that spence is very good, their prices are very high and i was told their was no grading scheme for Princess cut diamonds (they dont give GIA certificates which is bogus IMO). Good place to go look, but not to buy.

They gave me a GIA certificate which outlines every detail of my diamond and an insurance claim card if I would like to have it insured.

Sounds like your guy was a tool and didnt know what he was talking about. Either he was new, or it was his last day... I dont know!

[Knut]

It sounds like it is pretty hit and miss there.

Plus, I found their prices were not that much better than other places. You just have to be armed with knowledge going in. IF you walk into any jeweller with a price for a VVS1/D/ 1.5 carat Diamond from another place you know that they will "go to the phone to hammer the supplier for a better price".

Also, you can always get that band from the Jeweller and a diamond elsewhere, as long as you are willing to pay to have a Jeweller put the diamond in the setting.

[TylerSVT]

Originally Posted by alltherage

They gave me a GIA certificate which outlines every detail of my diamond and an insurance claim card if I would like to have it insured.

Sounds like your guy was a tool and didnt know what he was talking about. Either he was new, or it was his last day... I dont know!

Only on brilliant cuts, not on Princess which is bogus...

Maybe he was a moron, but thats what he told me.

Plus when he was pricing out diamonds on the computer i was literally laughing my ass off at the prices, like 5K for .7ct, I color and bad cut... so dumb.

[afc wimbledon]

Tell her you think jewelry is a stupid and shallow way to show your love and you should put the money into a pair of Flames season tickets.

If she goes for it go out and buy her the biggest ring you can afford.

[algernon]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

A) I'm no expert but i know what im talking about, you have no idea how much research i have done on diamonds and rings over the past 6 months, i know exactly what i want and what is important in a diamond.

B) You have no idea what my situation is, what my girlfriend is like, what i am like, or anything. Please keep your gross generalizations out of here.

LOL. Are you too mad to capitalize?

Trying to get a basis for what is a reasonable amount to spend on a ring. Thinking around 4 grand.

I think your situation is spending retail. Enjoy your diamond.

[JiriHrdina]

I bought my fiance's hers at Spence and enjoyed the process. Honestly I don't know if I got a great deal or not - but she loves the ring and that's all that I really cared about.

[psicodude]

If price is a big deal, why not look at a synthetic diamond with a promise to replace it on your 5 year anniversary? By then you will be out of school and a couple of thousand of dollars won't be that big of a deal to you (assuming it is now). I realize that most women (and men) look at them as junk, but the truth is that you can't tell the difference with the naked eye.

Keep it as your little secret and spend the money on a house.

To simply answer your original question, I spent about $800 on my wife's engagement ring which was almost 1 paycheck at the time.

[DFO]

My only advice is to avoid getting roped into buying a Tiffany ring - you pay through the nose for that little blue box!

[NuclearFart]

I spent alot more than what people are discussing here, and pretty much all of it going to the diamond. I wasn't necessarily set on specific traits when I started, but I did have the shop I was dealing with order in about 10 different diamonds (mix of grades) and simultaneously line them all up in row side by side. Without being told anything before hand, I bought the one that looked the best to me, particularly with respect to the sparkle and pureness, and it turned out not to be the most expensive of the lot either.

What the fiancée liked more than anything though, was the fact that I had taken the time to custom design the band and cradle. Seriously, its not that hard to design it, if you arent creative, just google a ton of ring pictures and go look at rings in places like Tiffany's/Birks/Cartier to get ideas, then make a tasteful hybrid of all the features you think she'll like. Maybe even incorporate design features to interlock with the future wedding band. Despite it only costing <5% of the final price, I got way way more positive reaction from her for the band, rather than the very expensive diamond.

[flylock shox]

Judging by these prices, I'm going to have to start courting ladies who don't have any fingers.

Of course, then I might have to spring for a bracelet or a watch or something...

Nope, there's nothing else for it: armless girls for me from now on.

[Meelapo]

Originally Posted by Hesla

^ Yeah it is not exactly a great idea to spend $1000 on her engagement ring, and then turn around and buy a $2500 3D television.

Exactly. The ring, though expensive upfront, is hopefully the only engagement ring you have to buy her. In your whole life with her you're going to end up spending a ton of money on electronics or other guy type stuff. It's not fair to not spend the money on the ring (be it $5000 or $10000) and then turn around and buy all these expensive gadgets.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Meelapo

Exactly. The ring, though expensive upfront, is hopefully the only engagement ring you have to buy her. In your whole life with her you're going to end up spending a ton of money on electronics or other guy type stuff. It's not fair to not spend the money on the ring (be it $5000 or $10000) and then turn around and buy all these expensive gadgets.

She doesn't watch TV?

[Meelapo]

Originally Posted by Rathji

She doesn't watch TV?

Well, to her any TV will do but to me I want a certain TV with certain features. Same thing with a ring...to me any ring would do but to her she wants certain things.

[TylerSVT]

Originally Posted by Rathji

She doesn't watch TV?

A TV is a TV and has no intrinsic value behind it, it dosent convey emotion or anything. Comparing the two is pretty dumb IMO.