Engagaement Rings....advice needed

[Dawgbite]

Diamond rings mean something to women on a level that men will never understand. If she happens to be from North Ms, a ring from Van Atkins means a lot. The first ring I bought the Mrs wasn’t much but it was all I could afford at the time. For our 25th I went to Van Atkins and bought a panty melter, strangers stop her to look at it. Don’t skimp, a woman will know.

 

[CEO2044]

I dont think that 6k is a lot. A nice ring is extremely important to her. While I don't understand it, I've come to accept it after the discussions.

And yes, her family/friends will judge her on it. I would rather pay 3k, but if I wanted something nicer than average, she would do the same for me.

nothing wrong with that. You’re the only one that knows her and knows if she’s just in it for material reasons or not. It’s not so much as the price to some as the fact that you’re willing to plan, save up for several months and put a relatively large investment down on her. Be smart, know what you’re comfortable with and what you can handle, and don’t put yourself in a poor financial spot. It is an investment that she’ll probably wear every day for the rest of her life.

FYI, if you insure it when you get it, she can immediately start wearing it if it fits (which is another advantage to trying them on).

Another FYI, the average wedding is costing north of $30k on average these days easily that her family mostly covers, so you’re not the only one spending insane amounts of money. You will be on the hook for the honeymoon though, which can be another $5-6k

 

[mount lefroy]

Ok guys. Looks like it will be happening this summer and I really need to find the best place to make the purchase. Haven't decided how much to spend yet. Was thinking 6k all in hopefully. I'm about and hour and a half from Atlanta and an hour and a half from Birmingham. Any advice?

I bought my wife’s at a local jeweler in her hometown (very small). Never regretted it. Gives it an added meaning today that we helped a local merchant and they’ve always stood behind the work.

Later, we’ve added nice ring guards and whatnot, but I’ll always be happy that friends of her family got to get the business.

 

[Hugh's Burner Phone]

Go to the corner of State and Fondren St in Jackson. See a guy name skeeter. He’ll direct you my boy named Duke at a different location. Now you tell Duke I said you were ok. If Duke believes you he’ll hook you up with Python. Now whatever you do don’t say anything about Python’s lazy eye. Tell him what you want and he’ll hook you up. Just don’t ask too many questions. But be warned...he only accepts cash and meth as payment.

 

[RocketDawg]

I've known two people who have essentially had to take engagement rings back. One because the future MIL objected and the other one depending on who tells it, either the future MIL or the guy's mom basically said it wasn't good enough. At least one of them was a ring around $5k, which honestly seemed high considering the guys income at the time.

That is absolutely terrible. I thought you were going to say the girl said "no", but it was much worse than that. People are amazing.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

Yeah, anyone that thinks like that needs to have Mrs. Plan B and a divorce lawyer nailed down prior to the wedding.

 

[5049]

Diamond rings mean something to women on a level that men will never understand.

So how the eff do you understand?

For our 25th I went to Van Atkins and bought a panty melter, strangers stop her to look at it. Don’t skimp, a woman will know.

If you think diamonds are what melt panties, then you are definitely doing it wrong

Reading this thread, I now understand how females have the upper hand in this country now, fck me

 

[Carbaryl]

Mine made me promise not to spend over 600 or she would kick my butt.The one she picked out ended up being 450 and I was able to plan a nice little trip to the Bahamas because of how cheap it ended up being.

 

[dickiedawg]

Some really diverse opinions in this thread. It’s great.
One thing I’ll add is that you don’t have to think of the first ring as permanent. Sure, you want to get as nice a ring as you can but you can always upgrade later.
I got engaged right after I graduated college and didn’t have a ton of money (though fortunate enough not to have student debt). I bought what I could, picked a setting I knew she’d like and the largest stone I could without sacrificing color, cut or clarity.
A few years later I had a chance to buy a stone twice as large and have it mounted in her ring. I’m pretty sure I cared more than she did about the size of the ring.

I’ll also say that to the poster who suggested Moissonite, it’s not a bad suggestion. Literally “only your barber will know,” other than people saying “how the heck did he afford THAT?!” And probably assuming it’s fake.

 

[johnson86-1]

1. 2-3 months salary stings. But it's easy to get over. Don't waste money on video games, guns, monster truck rims, or whatever other vices you have.

2. Income is irrelevant. Whether you spend $750-$7500, it is just a matter of putting in the effort to save for something nice for the person you love.

3. By it's very nature the engagement ring is a vanity purchase. If you buy anything more than a $50.00 cz you care what other people think. Might as well own it.

4. You are damn right. My wife and kids are the greatest thing I have ever had in my life. What's cool is 10 years later, she brings home the equivalent of that engagement ring every month. I don't put the ***** on a pedestal, it's an Ivory tower.

5. The fact that I was not broke and had actually saved money prior to getting engaged is why it was no big deal to spend 2-3 months salary on an engagement ring. Again it's about effort, not income.

$10k on an engagement ring at 25 could pretty easily be $160k at 65. I know a lot of broke *** baby boomers that would like to have $160k right now. I know some for whom it doesn't matter, but a lot more for whom it does matter. And I bet most of them thought their life would turn out great and money wouldn't matter, but that's not how it works for most people. Hell, for a lot of them, their life did turn out great. They just never saved any money because they did stupid **** like spent 3 months of salary on an engagement ring because they thought that's what was expected. Just like financing a car as soon as they got out of college was expected. And buying as much house as they could afford was expected. And buying their teenagers new cars because that's what was expected.

Plus, as an aside, the majority of guys I know that put their wife up on a pedestal like you apparently do get treated like **** and their wives and often ex-wives don't respect them. I'm sure that's not relevant to you, but just throwing it out there for any younger guys considering marriage and how to approach it.