How Much Does An Engagement Ring Cost?

A quick Google search will reveal most blogs saying that engagement rings cost around two to three months’ worth of your salary. This matches what we’ve always known (or assumed) with regard to how much engagement rings cost. However, pinning down exactly where that number came from is a little more difficult than a simple search online.

Which leads us to the question: how much do engagement rings cost, exactly? Here are some fun facts on how their prices came to be.

The first two months rule came from an old De Beers commercial.

De Beers ran a very widespread ad campaign in the 1950’s, saying that most engagement or wedding rings should be worth two month’s salary in order to give a ballpark estimate of how much couples should expect when buying a ring. This is the first (and only time) that the basis for ring costs was based on monthly salary.

Whatever the price is, the woman will always know what it is

An astonishing amount of women know or find out the value of their engagement rings, seeing the worth of their ring as reflective of their partner’s spending power – but as for the price itself, the median fluctuates wildly between budget, availability of gems, and the time of year that the couple gets their ring.

More and more couples are starting to split the bill for their rings

While it may certainly ruin a surprise engagement, there’s also a fast-emerging trend of men and women who wish to split the price for their rings. Considering that overall, more options for engagement rings have hit the market, it seems like a good idea for couples who want personalised or special engagement rings to work together on picking and choosing one, therefore splitting the bill in the process.

The gems play a large part in the overall price.

No surprises here: the larger the carat of the diamond, the more the ring will cost. Including other gems to offset the main gem can also increase the price of the ring. A few tricks to get around this is working closely with the ring manufacturer: if you’re getting a custom engagement ring, try asking for an undersized diamond (diamonds whose carat range is below traditional cut off points.)

Do your research

While it may normally be very tempting to leave this to the ring manufacturer to craft your ideal ring, doing a little bit of research before buying (or having the ring made) never goes awry. There are some options that aren’t immediately apparent if you walk inside a shop and start browsing. For example, the settings of the gemstone themselves as well as the kind of band can all play a role in determining your final price. Doing your research also saves you the time of getting a ring that you’ll want to make adjustments to (as having a ring adjusted can turn out to be more expensive than just having one crafted from scratch.)

The bottom line is that a ring should only cost as much as you can afford and no more, and not follow some arbitrary or outdated ruling on how much the ring should cost. As much as you’d like to give her the best of what she can have, making sure that it doesn’t break the bank is equally important to her as well.

 Looking for a ring that can make her feel special, yet not dig too deeply into your savings? Monty Adams has a proud history helping our clients get the rings they want to the standards that they want. Contact us today to get started.