Engagement Rings....What's reasonable???

[Procrastinator35]

 

[Shell]

 

[Procrastinator35]

 

[Run n Spread]

I have a very rich and dodgey "mate" he got his wife a zirconian she thinks its a diamond

I never knew what a Zerconian was until the Cat Burgalar episode of the Simpsons. Thou hearing from some women apparently it is a hidden terrorlike a lump of coal in the stocking.

An engagement is like the probation period at work prior to making the final decision, as to whether or not you want to keep her on your erm, staff, full-time.

Just ensure to cross all the Tee's & dot all the Eyes, prior to drafting the final contract......You'll thank yourself for it later on.

Legally (thou not sure it still applies) it counted as a contract in terms of intention and if you backed out you could be sued.
.

 

[Run n Spread]

Never knew that.If it went pear-shaped you'd definitetly want the engagement ring back then.

I'm going to actually say No here. I'd look at it as a gift. Bit tacky to call for a take back.

 

[Hawk Dork]

My wife doesnt even wear hers much now,we live a far more causal outdoor life and travel a fair bit.
Not really practical to be carrying a big bit of bling to make you a target.
Its a hindrance when bargaining for a better price too.
It would be pretty unromantic if I suggested selling it and go to Europe for a few months though

 

[Run n Spread]

Haha wow.

I'm getting married 5 weeks today.

Congrats but I thought you were married like a year a go.

 

[outabounds]

Haha wow.

I'm getting married 5 weeks today.

Congratulations and all the best!


On Pixel 2 XL using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Ok Boomer]

I cannot believe the amount of money that gets wasted on status symbol crap like this.

 

[The_Todd07]

Today just happens to be my first anniversary.
When I was planning to ask her I started letting her drag me toward any jewellers in the shopping centres to gauge what she liked.
Then found one that suited perfectly for $1300 down from $2000.
She loved it and we were able to find a wedding band that matched it really well.

To any woman worth your time, the value should mean nothing. It should be purely a symbol that you love her and want to spend your life with her. Bonus points if you know her well enough to pick the right style

 

[ioppolo]

I find the amount of money couples spend on weddings to be ridiculous in all honesty. I know venues charge extra just to host a wedding, but going the whole nine yards to legally bind you to someone seems a bit off to me. The sentiment is nice and I may yet propose to my long term girlfriend (or another girl - who knows) down the track, however the idea of eloping and keeping extra money for a nice honeymoon destination seems more appealing.

 

[Cruyff14]

Congrats but I thought you were married like a year a go.

Haha, not quite!

Congratulations and all the best!

On Pixel 2 XL using BigFooty.com mobile app

Thank you very much!

I find the amount of money couples spend on weddings to be ridiculous in all honesty. I know venues charge extra just to host a wedding, but going the whole nine yards to legally bind you to someone seems a bit off to me. The sentiment is nice and I may yet propose to my long term girlfriend (or another girl - who knows) down the track, however the idea of eloping and keeping extra money for a nice honeymoon destination seems more appealing.

It is yes. We've spent circa 40k and also managed to book a very solid honeymoon. A lot of money, yes, but we've been fortunate enough to be in a position to do so.

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

Someone told me your monthly wage times three should be the bare minimum for an engagement ring. Wedding rings substantially more. All that can GAGF though.

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

I have a very rich and dodgey "mate" he got his wife a zirconian she thinks its a diamond

It's the only ethical way. Conflict gems are on THAT many fingers its not funny. Unbeknownst of course, but still...

 

[WCErevival]

Someone told me your monthly wage times three should be the bare minimum for an engagement ring. Wedding rings substantially more. All that can GAGF though.

The average engagement ring would be 20k in that case. I would have been told to return that if I spent that much

 

[The_Todd07]

Did some digging and the whole 3 months salray thing was started by a jewellers as a marketing campaign during the Depression.

 

[ioppolo]

Did some digging and the whole 3 months salray thing was started by a jewellers as a marketing campaign during the Depression.

Wouldn't surprise me if this is true. Just capitalist things

 

[Hawk Dork]

Wouldn't surprise me if this is true. Just capitalist things

Diamonds are the epitome of a capitalist thing.

They bought the mines and closed 90% of them down to pretend their scarce and inflate the price

 

[dales.girl38]

Argh, since reading this thread I'm getting all sorts of engagement ring ads on Facebook. How depressing.

FWIW the thought of having a $5k+ ring on my finger scares me, not that I'm an overly clumsy/forgetful person, I think i'd find having such a valuable item on me really stressful. You can get nice rings for $1-2k and then the wedding band I'd imagine should be quite cheap.

 

[Bollox]

Do yourselves a favour and dont buy rings from suburban jewellers. The stones are absolute shit.
After a couple of times around its far better and more appreciated to buy the stone seperate. Go to a proper jeweller (usually in a cbd with a major steel door and camera's at the entry) and discuss setting it, with a simple wedding ring that fits/folds into the engagement ring so that it sits flat. Dont buy rings that stick out...might look impressive but a pain to wear. A triple excellent round brilliant cut in 1/2 or 1 ct from a reputable exchange here or maybe Hong Kong/Thailand is easy for them to work and looks stunning.
I got bonus pts from number 2 coz i had two simple stud earings made up with smaller stones with the same cut. Dont go big on the studs, and keep them simple and plain. Jeweller will make them all up in a batch. Engagement ring then give her a wedding ring on the day, then the studs for your wedding gift to her which she wont be expecting. Off to a good start. 1/2 ct engagement ring stone is the perfect size in a flat setting. 2 small chips in the matching wedding ring, and no bigger than 1/2 ct studs.
Get the stones first. Get good ones. If overseas just 100 bucks or so will get them tested for quality and authencity and all good exchanges wont bat an eyelid and are prepared for that request. Might take 2 days so shop early on the trip. Hong Kong/Thai/India v good but dont look for "bargains" or you;ll get conned. Brng the stones home and have it set in Aust.
Never a cheap exercise. These days many women are happy to spunk up half the cost to get a setting they love that isnt a pain to wear.

 

[IKnowtheDog]

I get my diamonds from Peter Franks

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I find the amount of money couples spend on weddings to be ridiculous in all honesty. I know venues charge extra just to host a wedding, but going the whole nine yards to legally bind you to someone seems a bit off to me. The sentiment is nice and I may yet propose to my long term girlfriend (or another girl - who knows) down the track, however the idea of eloping and keeping extra money for a nice honeymoon destination seems more appealing.

It’s just masterful marketing that has been going on for decades. You can take two identical items... put the word “wedding” on one and the price doubles. The industry has sold it to girls for decades upon decades, their one big day, and no cost is unacceptable.

The reality is that wedding is like any other event - how much you enjoy it most probably depends on who you are surrounded by!

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

The average engagement ring would be 20k in that case. I would have been told to return that if I spent that much

It is a bit silly.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

She'd want to be great in the kitchen.

Oh boy this poster was a handsome man

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Someone told me your monthly wage times three should be the bare minimum for an engagement ring. Wedding rings substantially more. All that can GAGF though.

Nah, wedding rings are just the (generally) modest band that is worn day to day, probably not costing that much more than the husband's wedding ring. The spend on an engagement ring - at a rough guess - would be about five times more.

I always thought a month's salary was the traditional rule, three months is just absurd. I can't even remember if we followed the one month guide: I gave her a dummy ring for the proposal and just let her pick what she wanted.

I think the 'weddings are a complete waste of money' arguments warrant further analysis. It's a debate on intrinsic value. In hindsight, if you ultimately pick the wrong person, yes, the whole thing is a waste.

But what if you look back on it 50 years later as the best day of your life, in most cases rivaled only by the birth of children (to me, the birth of my daughter was probably the best moment, but the rest of that day was pretty overwhelming/gruelling to be honest)? When you're pretty much in control of all aspects besides the weather, what price do you put on that? There's never going to be a time in my life when I assemble all of my close friends and family for an occasion, when they will do absolutely whatever they can including travelling from interstate/overseas, next time I may come close will be my funeral, assuming I go before most of them.

Even if you look at it from a practical perspective, $100 is pretty much bare minimum for a wedding gift and cash in a card is the standard these days. You're recouping a fair chunk of that money right off the bat.

On the other hand, it was absolutely pelting down on my wedding day, it wasn't an outdoor wedding, but got to the stage where they were thinking they might have to move the ceremony, no outdoor photos etc. It was literally 'come up with a plan B in 15 minutes'. Ultimately the weather cleared up, but it was pretty instructive as to how quickly you can plan a wedding if you really need to.