re: How much should I be looking to spend for an engagement ring?

Consider a pen pal. Do you speak Japanese?

a ring shouldn't matter if it's true love

We insure all of our jewelry with Jewelers Mutual. Something you might want to consider.

Idk how much becuase I don't know your situation but I'll give you some advice I wish I knew when I was shopping.

I did a frickton of research before buying my engagemetn ring. And what I kept coming back to was quality. like the highest of the high quality. Wiht cut/clarity/color/etc....all those categotires I went virutally perfect. My thought was that this diamond was gonna be damn near flawless in every possible way because that's waht I wanted. The thought of some cloudy looking thing with spots all in it was repulsive. However, you need to realize that the better up the scale you go on all those things, the smaller in size you get. So I did buy a diamond that any professional would melt over as being practically perfect, but it's on the smaller end.

If I could do it all over again, I'd drastically reduce my requirements on cut/clarity/etc and increase the size. Because ya know what? 99.999999% of the people your wife ever shows that ring to aren't gonna hae the slightest clue how flawless it is or what imperfections it may have. they're going to think 1) how big is it, and 2) how shiny is it?

You obviously need to know the woman and what will appeal to her. Have done sufficient recon prior to, etc. It's a massive investment not just because of the rock but what comes with it and you should have done your homework.

If I had gotten my wife a giant diamond she would likely never wear it. She's petite and it would look ridiculous on her and definitely not fit her usual dress.

I broke a cardinal rule around here, I went to a local jeweler. I probably overpaid for what I got but whatever. Wife loves it, she almost never takes it off. I get free resizing for life, free cleaning for life, and generally very good service for what I am sure was my vast overpayment. I just never compared it to anyone else's, never asked anyone else what they paid, never asked anyone else anything about how they obtained their wife's engagement ring or anything about it at all.

In this particular instance, ignorance is very much bliss. Do it right and you'll only ever buy one. I spent enough money that it made me almost vomit in the parking lot, but in the grand scheme of things didn't stretch me financially but for a few months. It made me put off my boat purchase 2 extra years, which is the kinda shite you need to start getting used to anyway if you're going to get married and start a family.

ETA: thinking about buying it while I was typing this almost made me throw up.

"how much?" is more a matter of what you can afford based on your income so won't address that one

The best advice I can offer though is to avoid the big (or small) box jewelry stores and find a diamond broker. I did that and saved a lot of money vs the jewelry store.

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The whole engagement ring thing is ridiculous. You can buy a 3 carat mossianite for a few hundred bucks. 99% of people can’t tell the difference.

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The single greatest marketing campaign ever, by far. And a majority of people still fall for it.

Skip it and use money for something else. My wife stopped wearing hers and now sits in the case. What a waste

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The more expensive the engagement ring, the higher the divorce rate. There was a study done that showed this.

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I think that highlights the instability of the wealthy more than anything else.

If you have a lot of money, a big purchase doesn’t require a lot of planning. I’d imagine the time between first date and marriage is much shorter on that end of the chart too.

$200, not even joking