How much (exactly) should a wedding ring cost?

Question

I mean in dollars. (or Euros or whatever, just mention what currency you're using) I was chatting with a younger female friend of mine. She happened to mention how much her wedding ring is going to cost. This is still very much hypothetical, she is not looking at becoming engaged anytime soon. Nevertheless the dollar-amount disgusted me beyond words. It seems (it is) obscene. Then I thought. Well, I really have no idea how much exactly women are "expecting" nor do I know how much people generally actually spend. So Ladies: In actual numbers... what should a guy be looking to spend on your wedding ring? (don't just give me "it doesn't matter as long as we're in love... unless you actually mean it. You still want a ring. Are you  really  happy if it cost $30? if not... how much EXACTL are we talking about.) Guys, how about you? Have you thought about this? Do you have some figure in your mind for "ideal" or "too much?" How much are you comfortable spending on a wedding ring. I'm sure this has been asked before. But I wasn't there for it. So I'm asking again.

OlderAndWiser · Accepted Answer

1. You asked about wedding rings but the picture shows engagement rings, and those are much more expensive than wedding bands. So I will assume that is the question.

2. One jewelry company suggests that you should spend three months' salary on an engagement ring. That is a ridiculous suggestion motivated solely by greed.

3. If all you can afford is a very small ring with a price tag of $500, then your girlfrend should understand your circumstances and accept that ring without hesitation. If she balks at the ring which is affordable for you, your net reply should be, "On second thought, I retract my proposal. You have just shown me that this would be a horrible mistake and apprecate your honesty in telling me what I need to know."

4. If you can truly afford to spend more but don't want to because she isn't worth THAT much, then you should question why you are proposng marriage at all.

5. This question is very timely for me, as I purchased an engagement ring yesterday. I am fortunate to be able to afford a nice ring and I spent about $4,000 USD for a 1 carat diamond solitaire.

6. If you do want to get engaged andwant the best ring you can get for your money, avoid the mall jewelry stores! Find your local independently owned jewelry stores and shop around. Also recognize that these stores will negotiate on their prices. Also, check pawn shops, as they usually have great deals on jewelry, and especially on engagement rings. You can always purchase a ring for the diamond and have the stone put in a different mounting.

Sjoerd85 · Accepted Answer

In the past (when is was the norm that woman were housewifes taking care of the children, and did not have an income of their own) the ring was kind of like a life insurance; if you die before your wife and suddenly all income for the household stopped, she could sell the ring and use the money to sustain herself for a while, until she could find a more permanent solution. Therefore, the value of the ring would need to be pretty large (like enough for a few months at the very least).

These days, all that is not relevant anymore, as woman are now also expected to work and be able to sustain themselves (in part also because the days are long past where one income, that of the man, was enough to sustain a whole family). So now, the ring is just symbolic and doesn't need to be valuable in the sense that it can be sold again. So if you buy a very expensive ring now, that only gives it an extra symbolic meaning; how much your love may be worth to you.

But that is not the symbolic meaning I would want to give the ring myself. For me, the engagement ring just means I am declaring I want her to become my wife, and her wearing it means she accepted my proposal. So I just selected an engagement ring of which I really liked the design, made of both white and yellow gold, and a few small diamonds, at it cost about 360 euro. The gold wedding rings (as a set) were around 900 euro.

Brainsbeforebeauty · Accepted Answer

It doesn’t matter to me and yes I do mean that. With my first marriage I was 18 and he was 19. we got my engagement ring at a pawn shop and it was my idea for that. Our bands came from fox jewelers and was a set that was inexpensive. My second, there was no engagement ring but then there was also no debt. We owned everything free and clear. And that was more important to me than an expensive ring🤷‍♀️ We spent twenty years together and that shows love way more than any ring could

I made a post about this after seeing a post about a female complaining about her engagement ring.

The ring is only meant to be a symbol, the price shouldn’t be seen as an indication of how much someone loves you., put more appreciation on the man you’re about to spend your life with than a piece of jewelry.

jennifer_bloom · Accepted Answer

A marriage could last over 70 years if you choose the right wife or if a bride marries a good husband so I think a month’s wages is a reasonable price for the ring. You also have to consider that your money will increase as you get promotions and new professional skills and you will want a ring that still looks flashy after 50 years of marriage when your monthly pay might be 8-12 times what it is now. Now there is an acceptable reason not to buy a nice Diamond ring: she might gain weight during her first few pregnancies and the ring no longer fits her finger, so I would say, at least half a day’s wages for a gold or silver ring and up to a months wages for a Diamond or gemstone are reasonable prices for a wedding ring.

musicbrain5 · Answer

Yes the engagement ring is typically more expensive than the wedding band. As for cost, I would not want the ring to cost more than $1,500. That’s pushing it! I don’t typically wear other jewellery aside from multiple earrings (that are not expensive) and I wouldn’t be comfortable wearing something super flashy or super expensive. It’s absolutely not necessary and I think at that point, it’s just showing off.

I think my ring cost about $1,000. My husband ordered it through an online store and not through a typical mall jewellery store. Those mall stores mark up prices a lot, and I think a lot of them are either owned or influenced by the DeBeers diamond cartel - who also said that a man needs to spend 3 months salary on a ring, lol. They just want to bilk money from gullible men under the guise of “tradition”. It’s such bullshit marketing that generations of men have fallen victim to.

Guy13 · Answer

No less than 6000 for 1.5 karat on platinum. If you can get out the Rings for 10,000 then you good. Don’t forget the 3/4 karat earrings studs not far down the road.
2 Gigantic Factors: length of arms, shape/weight, and size of hands.

I’m with a 97 lb Gnome with ballerina feet. I can get by with one karat and it look larger. Her ring to ear distance is not far, therefore, I can get by with 1/2 karat studs.

Summeroflove · Answer

I think love is what matters. It depends on your budget.

If she feels entitled to a expensive one and measures love only in material value. Question if she loves you.

Also…. You people who know you are. Don’t come at me.

DubiousIntentions · Answer

Doesn't matter what it cost. You just have to be able to afford it is all. Too many girls have visions of grandeur and have to have the biggest ring and the biggest wedding with the biggest reception and guest list. Then they wonder why they are having financial issues. I would say finances is the biggest reason for breaking a new couple's marriage up. The only good thing I can see then with having an expensive wedding ring is that you can get a good amount for it when you hock it to pay off your debts.

midnightmoon05 · Answer

Depends on the couple.
I was fine with anythng. His mom said a one carat.
we looked all over. He found the one carat too small. So he got me a two carat. He wanted to made sure it’s the perfect stone. I found the setting I like.
I just learned that it’s “suppose” to be 3 months of his income. The engagement ring came out less than 3 months of his income. The wedding ring was different price.
the ring is so magnificent … why care about the 3 months.
the wedding was a different price.

metalheadphysicist · Answer

It is all down to circumstance. If the guy is rich then I'd expect something that shows he cares. Money is no object to him, so I think £5,000 is a decent price to ask for. Now, being realistic, if he is not wealthy, then I do not care as long as (again) it shows he cares. £200 gets a good quality ring, and it is quite a big chunk of money. Its like that parable where the poor man pays only a small coin, but gets praised more than the rich man who makes a sizeable donation. Need context behind everything.

Horse-girl · Answer

Just depends on what you're hoping to get, you can get one in the hundreds or even in the thousands. I'd say you should expect to pay at the very least £500 for a gold ring with a small diamond. (my mother is a jeweller so that's how I know the average price range. ) Hope this helps. 😊

DaisyM23 · Answer

as long as it looks nice i don't mind, i mean a little effort is nice but i don't want anything insanely expensive and would be happy with a simple band - i just had to search it up and damn are rings expensive, and you'd need both an engagement and wedding ring although i wouldn't mind with just one, nothing over like £400ish i guess

OfMiceandMen · Answer

Can I just pay for matching tattoo-rings and take her on an amazing honeymoon? Something that is unique and special to us and doesn't get in the way or lost while we are out seeing the world.

SnowedIn · Answer

It should cost whatever that couple wants it to cost. Based on some questions I've seen on GaG, there are some wildly crazy expectations. I made a decision (and had the money for it) to buy my wife a $2,000 engagement ring in 1996. But we shouldn't set a number on it. It's gotta work for each couple.

bolverk · Answer

There is no set price or scale, it comes down to what you are willing to pay, the crazy numbers that women float around is due to the marketing campaign - It was a beautiful moment—a gesture of love and commitment spanning generations. And it was also exactly what De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. wanted, three-quarters of American brides wear a diamond engagement ring, which now costs an average of $4,000. roughly 1/4 of the average guys yearly wage (2016 ($42,220), but that started climbing hard as women on social media had to 'one up' their friends, the rough average as of 2022 was $7000, but there were some silly buggers spending $50,000 up.
And then there is the cost of the wedding ring In 2020, the average price of a wedding for women is $1,100 while it costs $510 for men. It’s also observed women preferred white gold while men opted for the tungsten metal,
So its a case of 'You pay your money and takes your choice'.

RobT312 · Answer

Just went through this, and made sure I didn’t make it about the money, but found a custom jeweler and we designed it ourselves for a fraction of the cost of buying at a store with a ton of markup. Still spent a lot, the engagement ring cost around $10k alone but putting that aside, I’d say don’t make it about the money, make it about the symbol. We like what we did because we had a hand in it and now it’s very special for us

LazerBean · Answer

I would say it totally depends on how much the guy makes. It would be pretty weird to me if a guy who makes a 1m a year bought a 1k engagement ring, but on the other hand a 1k ring is going to be a lot for someone who is only making 30k per year.

Anonymous · Answer

This is really a loaded question. It would be like asking how much it would cost to love someone unconditionally. The cost of loving someone for the rest of your life and the cost of spending the rest of your life cannot simply be reduced to a number. If you really love someone then you don’t need to ask how much something will cost when the ring is the only token of love you can ever have or will ever need. It is the ONLY way you can show your love and appreciation and, if you get a discount ring and/or don’t spend more than your annual salary, then you don’t deserve love.

-Brought to you by Kay Jewelers

Nikki1989 · Answer

The cost is not important at all. You don't even need a wedding ring, really.

Anonymous · Answer

Seriously I think there's no need for engagement rings. It is such a waste of money.

As for wedding rings, I think 300 to 400 Singapore dollars for a pair of gold, rose gold or white gold one is good enough.

Rings are just symbolic of the bond and union of the couple. If got too much money to spare, I would rather use it to purchase some good quality furniture sets from Courts that the family can use for decades. More practical this way. Yeah, apologies, I am a practical person, but that doesn't mean I am not romantic, haha.

exitseven · Answer

I don;t know. I never bought one. Wedding rings should be made of gold, not titanium or Tungsten.

crossdressingrihno · Answer

In my personal opinion a woman worth marrying would find happiness in something you make yourself with your utmost effort.
If you don’t know how to make a ring then possibly try learning. Naturally you want the ring to be perfect and to that end you should put in all the effort you can.

Anpu23 · Answer

Traditionally its 3 months salary for an engagement ring. Wedding bands run about $2,000.00

Sasha0426 · Answer

Honestly, I have no idea. I mean, I’ve seen wedding rings that were really gorgeous but cost way less online.

How much (exactly) should a wedding ring cost?

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