Diamond Ring cost

So after telling my girlfriend that I bought my ex-wife a fake diamond ring for our engagement (ex said it was ok, that she’d rather use money saved for part of down payment on house), she kind of flipped out saying she would expect something in the 10k range. My question is: Doesn’t that kind of $$ seem a lot for a ring? She said it’s really important for her to wear something that she could be proud to look at everyday on her finger. I don’t get it?? Not saying I’d get her cubic or moisonite, but I would think 2k would be reasonable for a ring. Please tell me if I’m wrong.

$10,000 is totally unreasonable. Sounds like she is buying into the DeBeers Koolaid of “2x paycheck” or something like that. The best strategy is to just buy the ring and not tell her how much it costs. As long as the ring looks ok, she should be satisfied without psychologically anchoring to some arbitrarily high dollar value.

Tell her cool, buy one herself. Or say, “What I really want is a sweet motorcycle I enjoy riding every day. Buy me one as an engagement present.” Gender equality is such horse sh*t when girls demand expensive engagement rings for the sake of being a girl, because that’s what tradition tells them they deserve. The fact is, she wants an expensive ring because she’s been fantasizing about sparkly rings for 20 odd years and it’s also a status symbol among her friends. If a girl says she’s engaged the immediate next comment from her friends is, “Ooooh, let me see the ring!”

Anyhow, my complaining aside. She might be unrealistic. I wouldn’t really know, I’m not an expert on this. But this could also lead to bigger arguments and problems. So I’m not saying don’t fight it. I’m just saying tread carefully my friend. In all honesty, I’d probably spend at least that much on a ring if I ever chose to get married. But if a girl demanded an expensive ring, I’d probably get her something out of a vending machine.

Cubic and Moisonite are identical to diamonds correct? How would a girl know the differece if she had not majored in geology?

$10k is actually quite a reasonable for an “ok” size/clarity/cut. Now, personally, I think the whole diamond thing is totally bullsh*t, and girls these days have been fed way too much of the “story book wedding” that comes with a huge shiny rock on the finger while being carried away like a princess. Society says a man must spend 3X+ his monthly salary on a ring? f*ck society.

I had a girl once hint in a VERY un-subtle manner “I only want a Tiffany’s diamond… and at least a 1.5 CT cut.” that’s like $30k *poof*.

Some tips:

For the clarity, just get SI rated clarity, because you can’t see the imperfections with the naked eye at that level. Are her friends and relatives going to walk around with a 10X microscope, have her pull off the ring and examine it under high intensity zoom? No. didn’t think so.

For sizes, generally 1.5CT and up sizes, the prices starts to grow exponentially. so be wary of that.

A good cut can actually make an ok stone look a lot better than a better stone with a crappy cut.

Disagree. I don’t normally spend a lot on flashy things. But, I did spend a shit-ton of money for my wife’s engagement ring. North of $20k. Never regretted it in the least. Few reasons:

I wanted her to wear this one ring for the rest of her life. Lots of people “upgrade” when they can afford more, but I’m a traditionalist, so I wanted to go big with something I (we) would be happy showing off 25 years later.

It is showing off. The ring looks awesome. People (especially her girlfriends) notice and judge you. Flashforward several years later and her ring still looks better than our friends that are getting married now (with considerably more income at their disposal).

Money’s obviously the biggest factor. I was fortunate enough that I could afford it. It nearly wiped out my cash reserves, but I was 24. It’s only money. Only spend what your comfortable with. Actually strike that. Reach just a little. It is a special occasion.

My hubby let me chose the ring. He wanted to buy something in 2K range. I liked $700 one.

I’m not that much in diamonds anyway.

^I’d just laugh in the girl’s face if she suggested I buy her a $30k ring. It’d probably end there, but for the better.

So tired of the sense of entitlement for some obscenly expensive ring.

To the OP; $10k doesn’t seem that bad. Depends on what your status is though.

^ do you have any friends like you that are still single?

not the cute ones…lol

Tell ur girl about Africa’s “blood diamond” trade, they probably never buy a diamond again.

But here’s the big thing: You got a girl that cares about showing off. If the girl doesn’t care about friends/relatives judging you or her just because of a ring, then there’s no need to waste so much money on it.

A diamond has no real value except for whatever psychology value you attach to it. A nice car you can drive and be comfortable in. A nice jacket can keep you warm. But a diamond sits there. The “warm fuzzy feeling” a woman gets from wearing it, or the “joy from showing off” is ALL psychology value.

Now, some girls view a big diamond ring as “proof” that you “love and care about her” (psych value). Again, more bullsh*t. If that was true, then the millionaires may as well have dozens of wives to do whatever they want, while everyone else may as well live under a bridge. A richer guy can easily afford a bigger ring then you’ll ever afford, so he must “love her more” right? bullsh*t

i guess if you want a HCB you gotta pay up…on the one hand you want to show the world what you can do, on the other hand, you might as well buy a company that can grow over time (i looked into some diamond producers, not that great though i wouldn’t mind owning some DeBeers)…i would buy a HCB a good ring but i only if she doesn’t ask for it…

worst is if the girl isn’t even hot or a classy babe…i know this one average chick who is talking about 15-30k ring and she is an admin assistant…foh…

TIF is a great brand…one of these days i will buy it…you can always count on a women’s need for diamonds/luxury to ensure you get that padded margin on the products…

I did. I even showed her the freaking movie! She didn’t care. She assured me there’s no way a big company would be involved in anything like that…

I left her already, so it’s not an issue anymore. But boy, when I think back to the ridiculous-ness I went along with…

I thought finance people are supposed to be deliberately unostentatious. Showing off wealth leads to protests and riots.

^I agree with you. Despite my tirade, as I stated in my other post that I’d personally go the way you did. I agree with what you wrote. That being said. If I was told I was “expected” to dish out. I never would. But if the girl said she really didn’t care, I’d probably go north of $20k myself, assuming I could afford it. But then again, it all comes down to personal values. Ideally, you shouldn’t have to compromise your values in a relationship. But then again, romantically, sometimes you should sacrifice your values a bit for someone you care about. It’s weird, but as long as you’re willingly making sacrifices rather than having them demanded of you, making a sacrifice often makes you love someone more (whereas most people think making a sacrifice is designed to make them love you more).

^ Man, my estrogen levels are all over the place today.

Nope, not at all. My wife would have been happy with something out of a Cracker Jack box. That’s a big reason why it was so fun getting her something so nice. But people (particularly women) do notice whether she’s showing off or not.

I would never have married a woman that demanded something expensive…and recommend no one else does either. Nor would I consider the “value” of the purchase. Worry about getting a good woman, not a good deal. Do that and you’ll probably be happy to spend money on her. If she demands that you do, you’re probably going to have issues.

VVS is in the watch but I would never put it on the ring unless you wanna wife it.

Thanks for posting this. I just filed this under bromion’s growing database of reasons to never get married.

First of all depends if you have it made or it’s from a brand name jewelry maker…

I too think that the diamond thing is overrated. If my girl would tell me she wants a ring to show off and even set a $ expectation, I’d be severly dissapointed. I understand some guys buying an expensive ring because they want to, but asking is something else. On the other hand I’d never buy a fake diamond, there are plenty of other rings that are cheap and look good, I don’t like faking it.

On the topic of money, 10k will get you a decent sized ring, the amount is not outrageous for most people and for the average price of rings bought but definitely way more than I would spend on one.