Hello Singles!
We've had a lot of talk in the forum before about what women would like their engagement ring to look like, so now let's discuss the practical side of the subject--how much money would you want to budget out to be spent on buying that ring?
Please don't let the poll be a substitute for your thoughts--I'd really love to see what people have to say about this, so I'm hoping everyone will answer the poll AND post a reply. I'm sorry the poll is in U.S. dollars... All our friends from other countries are free to write a post with a suitable price range in their own country's currency and those of us who are curious can look up the conversions online.
The inspiration for this thread was an ad for engagement/wedding rings I recently saw in a magazine. I love LOOKING at jewelry but almost never buy it, because I see it as art. As much as I love some works of art, I wouldn't want to own them because it just wouldn't be practical. For me, expensive jewelery is beautiful but just too much work--you have to get it insured, you always have to look after it when you travel, and there it requires special maintenance and care.
Back in the day when I got engaged, my ring was a cubic zirconia I had actually gotten for free (some kind of gift-with-purchase thing) and the biggest expense was having it set into an 18K yellow gold band, which cost $100.
If I got married again, depending on how my other half felt, I would do the same thing. When I was younger I wanted the big diamond and glitz, but such a thing just would not be practical for my everyday life (in which my hands take a beating on a regular basis) and I'd rather save the money for other things.
However, I know there are a range of opinions about what kind of ring all our lovely gals out there would like and of course, that's perfectly fine! "Back in the day", I loved looking at the 1 carat diamond rings myself. In my late teens, I changed my mind and actually thought about getting a ruby instead. (But then I grew up, got a job, and real life took over...)
Back when I was in high school, the diamond industry had a well-known campaign slogan that proclaimed: "The Diamond Engagement Ring... How Else Can You Make 3 Month's Salary Last Forever?"
For my own self, and this is just me (other opinions are welcome here!!!), I could never justify asking a guy to spend 3 month's pay on a ring. However, I know it's a personal matter and no answer is particularly right or wrong. But what do the rest of you think?
How about it, everyone? Ladies, how much would you expect your guy to pay for your engagement ring, and guys, how much would you plan on paying? (I know... Someone is going to say, "Hey! Wait a minute!! I'm paying with the rest of my life, what more does she want??!! )
(Give me a few minutes to write the poll, which will be anonymous and multiple choice, just in case people want to pick more than one answer... and then I'm looking forward to hearing all of your thoughts.)
We've had a lot of talk in the forum before about what women would like their engagement ring to look like, so now let's discuss the practical side of the subject--how much money would you want to budget out to be spent on buying that ring?
Please don't let the poll be a substitute for your thoughts--I'd really love to see what people have to say about this, so I'm hoping everyone will answer the poll AND post a reply. I'm sorry the poll is in U.S. dollars... All our friends from other countries are free to write a post with a suitable price range in their own country's currency and those of us who are curious can look up the conversions online.
The inspiration for this thread was an ad for engagement/wedding rings I recently saw in a magazine. I love LOOKING at jewelry but almost never buy it, because I see it as art. As much as I love some works of art, I wouldn't want to own them because it just wouldn't be practical. For me, expensive jewelery is beautiful but just too much work--you have to get it insured, you always have to look after it when you travel, and there it requires special maintenance and care.
Back in the day when I got engaged, my ring was a cubic zirconia I had actually gotten for free (some kind of gift-with-purchase thing) and the biggest expense was having it set into an 18K yellow gold band, which cost $100.
If I got married again, depending on how my other half felt, I would do the same thing. When I was younger I wanted the big diamond and glitz, but such a thing just would not be practical for my everyday life (in which my hands take a beating on a regular basis) and I'd rather save the money for other things.
However, I know there are a range of opinions about what kind of ring all our lovely gals out there would like and of course, that's perfectly fine! "Back in the day", I loved looking at the 1 carat diamond rings myself. In my late teens, I changed my mind and actually thought about getting a ruby instead. (But then I grew up, got a job, and real life took over...)
Back when I was in high school, the diamond industry had a well-known campaign slogan that proclaimed: "The Diamond Engagement Ring... How Else Can You Make 3 Month's Salary Last Forever?"
For my own self, and this is just me (other opinions are welcome here!!!), I could never justify asking a guy to spend 3 month's pay on a ring. However, I know it's a personal matter and no answer is particularly right or wrong. But what do the rest of you think?
How about it, everyone? Ladies, how much would you expect your guy to pay for your engagement ring, and guys, how much would you plan on paying? (I know... Someone is going to say, "Hey! Wait a minute!! I'm paying with the rest of my life, what more does she want??!! )
(Give me a few minutes to write the poll, which will be anonymous and multiple choice, just in case people want to pick more than one answer... and then I'm looking forward to hearing all of your thoughts.)