Monday, 01 August 2011
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Engagement Ring Shopping
I admit it! I have some standards when it comes to engagement rings. I've been called materialistic directly and indirectly so many times because of my opinion on the matter. I think that next to a wedding ring, it is the most important piece of jewelry you will ever receive in your life. Not because they are absolutely stunning, but because of what they represent. An engagement ring represents a promise between two people to be married, and in my opinion, that is something that no one should skimp on.My boyfriend and I went to a few different stores at the mall looking at these gorgeous rings: Zales, Barclay, and then Helzberg Diamonds. We hated the first two for their small selection and terrible/awkward customer service, but Helzberg was a hit for both of us. I remember at least five cases of nothing but engagement rings. I was overjoyed.
I've always dreamed of looking for the right ring with the right person. The rings were a bit pricey, but he didn't care. He told me over and over, "pick the one that you want, not the cheapest one." I had no intention of picking the cheapest one simply because it was cheap, but I also didn't want to choose the one I loved the most if it was too expensive. But, I eventually listened to him.
There were three rings that I couldn't choose between in the end. We went back a week or so later and I narrowed it down to the one that I couldn't get out of my head. The ring is part of their Masterpiece collection. Only one half of one percent of diamonds are chosen to be in it. They sparkle so much more than ordinary rings and are a higher quality of diamonds. The ring is about $3,000, but that's without the 1ct diamond he chose to put in the center.
The above picture is the ring I chose; simple, yet beautiful.When he told me he went back and picked out the diamond I was a bit surprised. He didn't tell me about it in detail, but he told me he got the most beautiful one they had. Basically, the cut, color, and clarity are somewhere between very good and ideal. I really didn't want him to spend anything over $2,000 total for my ring, and I knew I already screwed up in choosing one so expensive, so I decided to do a little research on how much that diamond would cost. (Of course he didn't know about this... and he never will ;] )
The diamond could be $6,000 to $16,000. So upon seeing this, I was in complete shock. That means he could be spending almost ten times what I originally wanted! And that was the MOST I wanted!
I was actually angry at him for a minute but then I realized, I meant that much to him. Our relationship is worth ten times more than I thought. I'm not trying to put a price on our relationship because believe me, it's a very special one. But what man at his age is actually willing to spend that much on a ring?!
He can't afford it right now, but he's already put a down payment on it and is continuing to put more money down until he can finally propose to me. All of my exes have been extremely cheap, but my boyfriend is the most generous man I've ever met. At this point, I don't care what my ring is worth. Just the fact that he's willing to go above and beyond for me is enough. I can't wait to write about our proposal; apparently he's put a lot of thought into it.
What was shopping for your engagement ring like?
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- From: ohaider@xanga
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Comments (32)
THAT is simple to you? Yikes. My fiance took my sister with him to buy the ring, they picked a perfect simple diamond and white gold with tension setting.
have yet to go engagement ring shopping. my boyfriends been saving up money for a ring/the wedding for a while now, even though i told him i don't want anything expensive. the MOST i'd want him to spend is $1000, and that's pushing it. i'd rather spend the money on something i'd enjoy more, like a vacation. or hell, even a down payment on a house. i told him that i'm picky and want to help pick it out. i think he's going to propose first and THEN we'll pick out the ring. it seems so silly to me. we've discussed getting married and all that, we're practically engaged already, but he still has to "ask" me? its weird, whatever. he's old fashioned like that.
I gave my boyfriend guidelines. The rest is up to him. I will not shop for my own engagement ring, and he will not let me even if I wanted to. Though we do look online just for fun. I almost always choose the most expensive one (he tells me I have a knack for spotting the pricey ones). He knows what he can and cannot get. He knows my two favorite cuts. He will decide how much to spend, and how much he wants to save. It's really up to him, because the wedding is up to me (his words).
@vain_apathy@xanga - Guys have dreams too and often they include getting down on one knee and proposing :)
@Gorrific@xanga - haha that's what I was thinking. o_O
i personally think that looks really over the top, and little trashy. i would never spend more than £1,000 on a ring - i'd rather spend the money on a downpayment for a house or something important - not a symbolic ring.
@vicdaily@xanga - haha i know. it seems so silly to me, but its kinda cute too :)
well i haven't gotten to the engagement stage yet so i don't know how that's going to go. i hope it will be good.
My cousin recently spent $7000 on his engagement ring for his girlfriend. I almost fell out of my chair when my mom told me. I was talking to my boyfriend about it and he said he doesn't know if he could ever spend that much on a ring. I don't blame him haha. I think the most I'd want to spend is like 1000-2000. I just want something cute and romantic. I'd rather spend the other 5k on like an apartment or the start of a downpayment for a house for after we get married haha.
I love it! This is mine. My specification about the price was that it had to be something he could afford to buy without payments. Turns out, he was able to afford quite a bit.
My ring-shopping was a little different- he was overseas and we found the ring online. His parents had to order it for him, and he wired the money for it. As for the diamond, he spoke on the phone with the jeweler to pick it out.
Everyone has their own standards. My ex-fiance surprised me with a ring. It was a black pearl with a few diamonds surrounding it. To this day, I don't know how much he spent on it because he had it custom made so I couldn't look it up. Simple, unique, yet still beautiful. He said he knew I wouldn't want a typical diamond ring like everyone else gets. He was right. I LOVED that ring. I even wore it (on my other hand of course) after we broke up. Everyone that saw it would comment on it. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to lose it a while back.
I feel like, if they are willing to be engaged, and they want to get married, I don't give a damn about how expensive a ring is or what type it is. I am more flattered that they are willing to spend the rest of their life with me. It's a symbol of their commitment - not the size of their pocketbook. I could care less if my friends and family would think it too fancy or even if they thought it wasn't fancy enough. It's not about them or their opinion because they aren't the ones spending the rest of their life with me. He is.
Thats not too shocking. Most people I know spend between $10,000 and $15,000. By convention, the ring should cost about 2 months of the man's income.
"An engagement ring represents a promise between two people to be
married, and in my opinion, that is something that no one should skimp
on."
-no. No one should? If you feel that way, fine, but actually, that is one of the first things in my life I would choose to "skimp" on. In my opinion, marriage shouldn't be commodified and the people who often spend the most in life trying to look happy to everyone else are often the ones most dissatisfied. But even I'm not going to say "No one should spend a lot of money on rings," because if that genuinely makes you happy, then whatever.
Idk. I don't need overpriced bling-bling or a dollar sign in order to comprehend the seriousness of the promise. I'm not a two year old.
-I also think it's just a waste of money. "He can't afford it right now" but he's putting down a bunch of payments? to me is not a sign of a worthy man. I would run from this so fast. I'd rather marry someone interested in investing money in a house or something useful. But again, it's also personal thing... I don't like guys who spend a lot of money/give a lot of gifts. You see it as generous, I see it as gross.
And also it just seems really sad, people not just being happy to live within their means is the reason people are always defaulting on their credit and getting evicted left and right. Not that you are, but in general.
-Also another reason I won't be giving/receiving an expensive ring: I hate diamonds and their association with death (blood diamonds). How romantic... not!
If I ever get a ring it will be a super cheap, simple one with no jewels that are harvested in deadly ways.
I got my engagement ring from Zales. We picked it out together. I'm not adding a ring to it when we get married in 2 weeks, I like it by itself. Mine is from the past, present, and future collection, white gold, 3 stone princess cut with 3 small round diamonds on each side. it was my favorite one & it happened to be like 50% off..so the ring was like..$700 something + warranty stuff made it $800 something. the quality & clarity & weight of the diamonds isn't a big deal to me..of course i don't want something really crappy. but my ring is considered cheap but it makes me happy. plus we have more important things to spend money on so i would be unhappy if i had a really expensive ring that had to be paid off over time unless we were loaded with money
my boyfriend is old fashioned and i know he will want a ring etc, but honestly i would rather he planted me a garden of lillies to treasure for a lifetime, or make a big donation to a bird sanctuary in my name and present me with a feather from one of the birds there. that would mean so much more to my heart than a rock on a ring.
while i'm dreaming, though, i'd really like a pony...
i think i'd be more concerned about the whole 'finding someone i want to spend my life with' thing than how much money this is going to drain out of the vodka budget.
I didn't pick my ring but I love it and he spent $1000. It doesn't fit anymore since i've gained like 80 lbs so I'm glad that he didn't spend any more than that.
I don't see myself getting married, but if I were to get a ring of any sort to indicate a relationship it would be a silver band. This actually kind of disturbs me a bit but I'm glad you're excited if the jewelry is something that is important to you. It's nice to have things feel perfect.
I already know what kind of ring I want when my guy proposes to me. I feel a little bad, like th ring should come from his heart and not off my guidelines but I'm the picky type when it comes to things like this. Especially if he's gonna pay so much mony for it.
I've gone on a couple dates with this one guy and he seems so perfect but then he's let me know that he doesn't ever want to get married. He's 25 and (I hope this makes sense) he says at this point he doesn't EVER want to get married but he feels his stance on marriage will probably change as he gets older. So sad since marriage is something I'd definitely want.
For me just pick out a decent/sturdy ring that ] I'd like and one that does not leave us broke because I rather put forth that money for something else like wedding, honeymoon or our future.
I sale engagement rings everyday. I love my job.
BUT
There is nothing - NOTHING - worse then the guy that makes it plain he isn't going to spend very much on the ring. The girl should be wearing it for the rest of her life. She should be the most important person in the world to you. Her happiness should be your main concern when picking a ring.
And to some extent it is worth splurging. Cheap rings are cheap rings. They are problematic.
The 2nd most annoying thing is when the guy comes in without the girl and expects me to pick the ring out for him... Jerk.
I understand the whole ring-as-symbol-of-your-love thing, I really do. But personally, I would hate if my fiancé spent $16,000 (or even $6,000) on a piece of metal and rock that sits on my finger. We're not hurting for money, but that's money that we could use towards something useful and lasting like a house, a car, furniture, a nicer honeymoon. My fiancé picked out my ring by himself, and I love it. It's real, it's well made, but didn't empty his bank account and our future thanks him for that.
That is simple?? I feel sorry for whoever marries you . . . .
I just want a simple silver/gold band with a diamond. That is all.
@disorderlychina@xanga - happiness doesn't come as the result of an over-priced piece of jewellery. if you're in a stable, happy relationship, then any ring will do. i'd be really annoyed if someone spent over £1,000 on a ring for me. i want the money to go on something like a house, a car or something else that's practical, not a piece of metal. i'd rather live in a nice house than wear an expensive ring on my finger.
I've told my boyfriend that I want a princess cut diamond on a white gold band maybe with diamonds going around the band. And I've told him my ring size. I'm leaving everything else up to him.