How Much Should You Spend on An Engagement Ring?

The myth that you need to spend three months’ salary on your engagement ring has persisted for about a hundred years now. It started with the Debeers campaign that “two months’ salary equals a diamond forever”; however, now that has increased to a three-month salary.

The marketing campaign that got this spending a month’s or two months’ salary so famous was established by Debeers during the great depression only to increase their sales and then take them to a height in the diamond market.

However, if we look at today’s diamond market and today’s trend of spending three months’ salary, it is not entirely true. According to a study done in 2021, the national average spending on engagement rings in the US stands at $5,900, and on the other hand, the average salary drawn by men between 25-45 in the US is $46,436.

So if they adhere to the 3-month salary rule, they should be spending somewhere around $11,000, which isn’t the case, they are spending half of it. That is because we have changed how we view investments and absolutely nothing to do with how much we value an engagement ring.

Shopping Together for an Engagement Ring

The importance isn’t just how much money to spend on an engagement ring but the activities you do around buying them like buying it together, respecting each other’s choices, and making decisions that help each other out. Altogether the process of choosing your engagement ring with your partner is a very fulfilling experience.

Shortlisting the wedding ring together is a great bonding exercise, more intimate because you understand so much more about your partner. As you step into this beautiful journey, this helps you come to better conclusions together; it is so much you learn about your partner’s decision-making skills.

How to Cut Engagement Ring Costs?

Now, further, in this process of deciding how much to spend on an engagement ring for women, there are a few tips that you can follow, and we are listing a few important ones for you. If you make sure to adhere to them, there is a great chance you’ll have a great buy.

1. Shopping for your diamond ring online: Yes, this process of buying your diamond engagement ring online can be daunting. There is the fear that you can end up with a low-quality stone, or there can be some displacement, or the ring can be crooked, or numerous other factors. These are genuine problems, and hence we suggest first looking for a trusted store online. And then make your purchase.

We suggest an online buy because the overhead price of diamonds in-store can be pretty high, which tilts your entire budget plan. Hence, an online buy is great for your pocket. We at Loose Grown Diamond offer the best quality lab grown diamonds certified by GIA , GCAL, and IGI. We offer multiple ways to customize and deliver your stone on time. 

2. Taking an expert’s advice on choosing your diamond: Taking an expert’s advice for your lab grown engagement ring purchase can take you a long way because they know the market well and hence help answer the question “How much to spend on engagement rings?”.Now, this expert can be an expert blogger who possesses immense knowledge regarding diamonds on the internet. Or you can even go for another option wherein you will be required to contact a gemologist available on online platforms to guide you through your diamond-buying journey.

We at Loose Grown Diamonds offer this option to our customers. Anyone interested in buying diamonds or gaining knowledge regarding the same can contact our GIA-certified gemologist and clear their doubts. All we suggest is that you have someone who helps you narrow it down. From cut to color to size, there are multiple things that you can need help for, and that can be acquired from these individuals/places.

3. Fraction of the carat size: Try and choose diamonds that are slightly lower in carat size than the ideal dimensions, like a 1-carat or 2-carat diamond. As they tend to cost way more than 0.92 carats or 1.98 carats, respectively. However, when you look at both sizes, they occur very similarly to the naked eye.

Hence using this hack will get you the best diamond for your money you can check out Loose Grown Diamond’s specialized “Diamond Size Chart” guide for measuring diamond sizes.

4. Lab or Natural diamond: If you don’t know this, we would like to tell you that you can’t spot any difference between a lab-grown and naturally occurring diamond with the naked eye. They both look elegant, however, the price range differs a lot.

The lab-grown diamond is cheaper than the naturally occurring one (30-40% cheaper). Hence, if you choose a lab-grown diamond, it wouldn’t make that much of a difference to the look and feel of your engagement ring.

Conclusion

We at Loose Grown Diamond hope we have helped you resolve your query about how much to spend on an engagement ring. If not, you can choose this article as a head start in your research. As we mentioned, throw away the “spend three months’ salary” ideology because it is redundant in today’s day and age.

Next, and most importantly, make sure to follow the tips and tricks we suggested to set the budget for your wedding ring. They for sure will help you make a budget-friendly decision. 

Make the process of buying the ring smooth, and try to do it with your partner. You’d be surprised how much you’d get to know about the person, from choices to financial decision-making bandwidth. All of this will only help you further in life.

FAQs

We have tried to help you with several tips, and we hope they help you measure how much to spend on engagement rings.

However, as a buyer, you also might have quite a few questions, so we shall answer them too. So here we answer some Frequently Asked Questions for you:

How much should an engagement ring cost?
Deciding how much to spend on an engagement ring depends entirely on your wedding budget. Please throw away the hundred-year followed tradition into a jiffy and make decisions that fit your pocket, style, and choice. Give preference to quality and cut and let that decide the engagement ring budget.

Who usually pays for the engagement ring?
If we look at what has been followed traditionally, the partner proposes. But, in today’s day and age, where almost everything is split between partners, the receiving partner not only lets you know of their choices but also contributes to the budget. This again may vary from couple-couple and person-person.

How much of your salary should be spent on the engagement ring?
Honestly, that is something ultimately you should decide. The deciding factor here is your monthly or daily expense and how much you can save from that and finally make that purchase. Other deciding factors here are also made by making smart moves, like the ones we suggested in terms of lab diamonds and carats.

How much does it cost to insure an engagement ring?
It is usually one or two percent of the value of the expensive ring. However, there are factors to consider while you think about insuring your wedding ring. Firstly, insurance needs to be included in the entire wedding ring budget. This is necessary because of how insurance policies tend to work.

As it would involve one or maybe even two percent of the ring’s value, this means that much money needs to be paid to the insurance company. So if you’re planning to spend a hefty sum on your engagement ring, be sure to incorporate the insurance plan value in your budget.