Wedding Rings - Paying a lot Vs Not so much

stoofa

stoofa

stoofa

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Before I post I just want to say this is not a "showing off" thread or anything like that.
I am mentioning prices as I need to do so to get the question accross - I promise it's not "willy waving".

In seven weeks time I get married and at the weekend we went to look at wedding rings.
It is one of the last things we needed to get sorted out.
We chose an independent jewellers based in the next town down from us as we'd seen them at a wedding fair and we were impressed with some of their rings.

We went in and spent a fair amount of time looking.
Initially we were just looking at plain yellow gold bands.
However once we got in there and saw some of the other rings on display we spent ages looking at them all up close, trying some of them on etc.
I was always after quite a plain yellow gold band, however I've got quite big fingers so opted to look at rings around 6mm width - slightly chunkier so it could be seen etc.
I also am not too keen on anything too bright, so I opted to look at rings with a brushed yellow gold finish.

So we took a look and my other half opted for basically a yellow gold band, in 18crt gold with 4 small diamonds set inside.
This really does look nice along side her engagement ring which is also in 18crt yellow gold and has a single diamond.
The price of her ring was around the £500 mark.
I stuck to my guns as it were and found the 6mm, 18crt yellow gold ring in the brushed yellow gold finish - this had a tage price of around £800.

I am not really a negotiator I'll be honest.
I'll happily ask a place to price match, but as we hadn't done a great deal of shopping around we hadn't seen anything to price match against.
In the end we got a 10% discount, taking my other halves to around £450 and mine to around £700.

So back at work today and I'm generally chatting to people about wedding rings and the price paid.
I've not conducted any kind of survey, but I started many of the conversations with "I hadn't realised just how much rings would cost...." and I then got answers ranging from:

£350 each
£300 for the pair
£300 each

The most spent by a person at work was £400 each - sure I've not asked everyone but the average price seems to be a lot lower than we've just spent on ours.
Now I'm not one to be cheap and at the end of the day we plan on these rings lasting a lifetime and it will be something passed on to our kids etc.
I also don't at all think we've been ripped off by the jewellers in question.
They are one of these "Trading since xxxx" family type companies, quite a large shop and I always did get the impression they would be more expensive than your average High Street store.

It's just whereas I was expecting to come into work this morning and hear of similar amounts being spent, I'm hearing that most people seem to have spent a lot less.
Now with engagement rings the difference in price is usually down to the gem stones used, their quality, their weight, their cut etc.
Are 18crt gold bands all equal? Or is there an extra quality at work?
My ring in particular is what I was looking for in style, it is a heavy ring and feels that it will last me a lifetime (lifetimes if that were possible).
However I've got this nagging feeling at the back of my head - could I have spent less and got something of equal quality?

As I said at the beginning, this is not a "Look how much I've spent" thread - if I'd wanted to start one of those I'd have been blunt, to the point and asked :)
I am however interested in what other people have spent on their actual wedding rings and also even more interested in the question of quality and price that has been spent....

Ta
 
That actually seems quite low compared to what a few of my friends have spent. The guy I am best man for spent £1600 (earns approx £34k). I think most people tend to go for 50% of a months wages as a guideline. Not for me though my gf would go mental if I spent anything like that. As long as it looks nice and is going to last, that is all that is important.
 
A wedding ring is a wedding ring. It's for marriage, not "zomg i have a 1.6k wedding ring". Something like this shouldn't cause any pressure. It's not a special gift for a birthday, it's just something to signify your love - whether it's an expensive or cheap one .
 
I think mine and my wife's rings came to about 1k for the two - that was for plain platinum bands - I think mines (squints at hand...) 6 or 8mm, while hers is thinner...maybe 4....

As said though - if the rings you like are only 50 quid each then that doesnt mean you shouldnt get them....
 
I would have thought buying something that looks nice and is the style that you/your other half likes is more important than having a hulking great rock on your finger.
 
got married 4 weeks ago, our rings came to £250 for both ours from goldsmith(mines quite a chunky 9ct hers is a 18ct), why bother spending so much on what is essentially a symbol of marrige, not a fasion statement.
After 4 weeks it already scratched a fair bit, im glad it wasnt expensive

You cant really get different quality gold unlike diamond. But its your wedding spend what you can afford. :)
 
I went for a plain gold band (10mm) and I think it was around £400, narrower bands did not really seem to suit me.
My wife went for a platinum band with some fine beading around each edge and I think her ring was around the same money.
Her engagement ring was a lot, but under the £3k allotted.

On the other hand our wedding itself was relatively cheap and simple as I dislike flouncy invitations and so on that cost fortunes. I also dislike loud after wedding discos, set menus, arranged (and highly political) seating plans and so on.
We opted for a post wedding garden party with a marquee, no seating plan and a buffet style food arrangement with all my favourite foods including cheescake, profiteroles, honey roast ham on the bone and so on.
Neither of us like fruitcake either so we had a chocolate wedding cake instead.

At the end of the day how much you spend and how you celebrate your wedding day is entirely down to you and there is no right or wrong way to do things, there is a traditional way but that wasn't for us really. Do the things that you'd really like to do and don't worry about what everyone else does.
 
xander_uk2 said:
**Awaits mick takes**

18k gold version of the "One Ring" for me from:

www.jenshansen.com
Click to expand...

If your Mrs is happy with that then why not?
It always strikes me as odd that people try to pressure others to conform to their "norms" by making fun and others seem desperate to conform to others "norms".
Do what's right for you everytime.
 
I thought it was engagement rings you splashed out on (I know I did) and wedding rings were much less expensive/flashy.
Personally £700 sounds like a lot for a plain 18ct gold band. Maybe you're paying a premium because of the designer you bought it from, but if it really is just a plain band how much does that matter?
End of the day though as long as you're happy with it.... :)
 
Not a wedding ring I know but I've just spent £500 on an engagement ring. She's already seen the wedding ring she wants and it costs £150, I'd rather she had something she liked, rather than just spend lots for the hell of it. The wedding is going to be so expensive anyway.
 
So far we've managed to get exactly what we want with regards the wedding without the usual "input" from the parents, in-laws, etc.
As you've said, at the end of the day it's our wedding and it needs to be how we want it.

We looked at rings without once looking at the price.
It wasn't until we'd both narrowed our choices down to around 3 that we did actually look at the price tags.
However I think we were both always going to go for rings we liked the look of rather than neccessarily shopping by price tag - that is not to say that price didn't feature.

To all the guys (and gals) out there who are married, there is always a few things nagging at the back of your mind (usually the wife to be, eh lads,eh??) and this is the first thing that has managed to keep me awake for a night - had we done the right thing.
The rings are nice, but could we have got the same thing (in looks) by shopping around.
Spending £700 on what is in essence a plain brushed gold band sensible when I could get the same thing (in looks) for less....
Anyway, it was only Saturday night I let it really play on my mind and keep me awake, I slept like a baby last night so I must be warming to the idea :)
 
starscream said:
I think most people tend to go for 50% of a months wages as a guideline.
Click to expand...

Where on earth have you heard that from! I think someone is winding you up!

Just buy what you like, at the end of the day its just a ring.

Oh and I lost mine !
 
xander_uk2 said:
**Awaits mick takes**

18k gold version of the "One Ring" for me from:

www.jenshansen.com
Click to expand...

I actually already own a 9crt gold version of the "One Ring" which I wear on my other hand.
I remember mentioning that in a post on these very forums about a year ago and for some reason I did get a few "mick takes".
I've got no idea why - I liked the design (it has the Elvish inscription on both the inside and out, so it isn't a true replica in that respect).
However I didn't see it as any different to having a poster on a wall or owning the DVD.
I just found it a very interesting piece - others didn't agree.

If I'd known there was an 18crt gold version I may well have been very tempted...
 
I never understood the amount of money some people spend for all of it(ring and what follows..)
Me and my GF have discussed this a lot, we both agree.

There's no need to spend so much when it could be used for something more important, things towards our future, apartment/flat... etc.

We do want rings that will last ofcourse, aswell as fit comfortably and most of all, look good in our eyes. Also, in the end of the day it's not the money I spent that shows my love, she knows she has it.

But, if you have the money sure, spend it, I think what you are paying for rings is about spot on, tho i'd probably go a little less at most, what you're paying.

It's just, I KNOW people who've got married, spending 16k+ on everything and then start whining they are behind on bills, can't afford a holiday, or a car or...wah.
 
My girlfriends engagement ring was £1550 and i imagine that matching wedding rings will cost somewhere similar.

Bloody platinum, the same ring in white gold or gold was £800.

We knew we should be saving for other things and it was expensive but i wanted her to be happy with it, and that, is truly all that matters!
 
I think it's quite important to spend quite a bit on rings because you are planning to spend the rest of your life with your partner so why not give them something special to commemorate it.

Having said that women do get it a lot easier on buying the rings :o

Edit: And by quite a bit of money, I mean like what's said earlier, something in realtion to your wage. Obviously £3000 is quite a bit of money for a ring to most of us but if your earning £60k then maybe not etc.
 
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MNuTz said:
.............i wanted her to be happy with it, and that, is truly all that matters!
Click to expand...

Yeah right, remember that when she see's that "Kitchen of her dreams" RRP £20,000 ex VAT

Has marriage made me a cynic?
 
stoofa said:
I am however interested in what other people have spent on their actual wedding rings and also even more interested in the question of quality and price that has been spent....

Ta
Click to expand...


Mine was £900 but was bought tax free in Hong Kong , would have been lot's more over here , my wife's was under £300
 
Frodo_Inspects_The_Ring.jpg


Kinda ironic though. :D
 
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