Engagement Ring

As a serious answer I paid 1/4 of my gross monthly salary and I only went that higher becuase neither of us a strapped for cash. I've spent far more on camera gear.

I plowed about 80% of that into getting the best diamond I could afford but with out going up the scale too far. The thought being that the ring can get replaced and the diamond reused, the ring is basic Tiffany which TBH, shows off the domains the best getting the most sparkle
After a certain point you need a microscope to see the imperfections, pointless. Similar with the color, once you can vary see the yellow when placed on white paper the R is no need to go hogjer. Symmetry and cut helps to get the sparkle which is useful.

Another thing is the that even an s2 can be completely perfect to the human eye. A lot of it is the location and type of inclusion. I think my wife's is s1 and the top and sides are absolutely perfect, the imperfection is need the base and hidden behind an arm of the mount.


I used James Allen and hand picked the diamond. Called up and got them to double check the top and quakity. Guy said he was surprised it wasn't a VS1 amd said that some times they will downgrade diamonds to make a better balance of stock. Any w ay even using a magnifying Glas I can barely see any imperfection and it sparkles far more than other diamonds I've seen at 5-10x the price in the high street.
 
If the ring is a symbol of unity and commitment, then the cost is irrelevant. A £50 ring works just as well as that symbol as a £20,000 ring does.

If it's important that the ring costs a lot of money, then the ring has nothing to do with symbolising unity and commitment. It symbolises disposible income. It says "I have enough spare money to bin this amount on a useless small shiny thing". The traditional point was to demonstrate that you had enough wealth to support your wife. The modern point is that you're gullible enough to completely fall for the advertising. If you base the cost on a multiple of your income, it's proof that you're gullible enough to completely fall for the advertising as that was exactly the message of the original mid 20th century advertising campaign.

So what does it symbolise to you and to her?
 
Angilion said:
If the ring is a symbol of unity and commitment, then the cost is irrelevant. A £50 ring works just as well as that symbol as a £20,000 ring does.

If it's important that the ring costs a lot of money, then the ring has nothing to do with symbolising unity and commitment. It symbolises disposible income. It says "I have enough spare money to bin this amount on a useless small shiny thing". The traditional point was to demonstrate that you had enough wealth to support your wife. The modern point is that you're gullible enough to completely fall for the advertising. If you base the cost on a multiple of your income, it's proof that you're gullible enough to completely fall for the advertising as that was exactly the message of the original mid 20th century advertising campaign.

So what does it symbolise to you and to her?
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Well said. Mrs. Feek chose her own engagement ring and I think it was something like £50. Admittedly that was before many of the people on these forums were born but it still wasn't a massive amount of money then. The cost really isn't that important.
This is an interesting read about the 'tradition' of spending 2 x your monthly salary on an engagement ring.
 
I spent less than a months salary on a ring/diamond combo from Blue Nile. I wouldn't listen to anyone who says you need to spend £X on a ring. Spend what you're comfortable spending.

I knew what type she was after as we went into a few shops and she tried a few different styles on so i knew what ring and stone style she wanted which I then went and hunted out online!

I'd definitely recommend shopping around online too. Not only have I got something that is certificated (which some shops to my surprise don't do) but is leagues ahead what the high street stores have in terms of cut, clarity and colour for a fraction of what they're charging.

It's been sat in the safe at home since last July. Planning on popping the Q in April ;)
 
Wife chose her own. £20 in Camden market. It's a symbol of the commitment. It could be one for £20k or it could be one out of a cracker, in the end it is still only a ring. Its what it stands for that counts.
 
A few people have already said this, but go for 77 Diamonds.

The ring I bought would have been 3 or 4 times as expensive from the usual high street stores.
 
I bought the stone separately online (after a shed load of research) and then we had the ring designed at a small independent jewellers we had previously found as my wife really liked her specific style.

That way we got the exact stone (shape size etc) and combined that with a completely unique ring design..perfect!
 
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