How Much Should You Shell Out For A Diamond Ring?

I’m not sure how it started but a guy friend and I sparked an epic debate on engagement rings the other day. Should you spend 3 months salary on an engagement ring, should you let the girl pick the ring…should you stash the cash and buy an artificially manufactured diamond at a fraction of the price? Here’s how it went down.

When it comes to salary, we both agreed that 3 months was a lot of cash to shell out, especially if we’re earning decent wages. Besides, who really wants to wear a $15-$20k ring? For someone who habitually misplaces things, this idea does not bode well for me. Sure there is insurance and all but I’d rather save the stress. Replacing a $5k ring without letting your spouse know? Doable. Trying to explain that missing $20k in your joint bank account?…not so much.

Should you let her pick the ring? When it comes to down to who buys the ring, we came to a mutual agreement that it should be the guy. Having the girl pick out her own ring is like giving someone a gift certificate for their birthday – impersonal and a bit lazy. If you’ve been with your partner for awhile, she would have definitely dropped hints about ring size, diamond shape…etc. Armed with all this information, you can’t really go wrong. Don’t be the guy who buys her a gift certificate to Tiffanys.

Then it got interesting. Artificially manufactured diamonds are crafted quite well these days. Assuming that it sparkled just as bright at 1/10th of the cost, if no one knew the diamond ring you had was artificially manufactured, would you care? When I was (much) younger, I went through a phase where I bought designer knockoffs. Not that I liked the style of the bags, I bought it because I thought it was the trendy thing to do…until the stitching started fraying or when I realised I was carrying a Prado. Then manufacturing processes improved and people paid more attention to spelling. You could hardly tell the difference between the two but I knew the difference and felt like a fake. Personally- I’d rather buy something within the budget and authentic. So my stance is that if my partner can’t afford to buy me a diamond then I’d much rather have a cute vintage ring or a gemstone – something crafted and not manufactured. The other side of this debate is coming soon…meanwhile what are your thoughts?

Written by Iona Y