Engagement Ring

[Overload]

Thanks for all the responses, i will reply more later, I'm walking out the door to a meeting.

-Money isn't a big deal, i am debt free except about 40k left on my mortgage and i make a decent living as a Professional Engineer. 15k just seems like a good limit compared to what i make.

-My good friend has a few hookups around town for good deals on rings, i know him really well and he will point me in the right direction, i won't be buying from any large chain. He got my other friend a 12k ring for about 9k cash.

-She said any ring is fine and does not care about price, but it is me that wants to buy her something nice. 15k is a lot considering all the other wedding stuff I'm about to pay for, but like i said before i make good money and have zero debt, so i will be paying cash for this entire process.

-I will find out what cut she likes and maybe we can go shop around this weekend to see what she likes.

-I will mention the moissonite, but when i talked to her about it a few months ago she wanted a real diamond.

She isn't demanding any of this, i think she is worth it. She is a wonderful person who has been through a pretty tough life, i just want to treat her the way i feel she deserves. She is actually VERY low maintenance and doesn't care about money. She is a CPA and between the 2 of us we make a good chunk of money(not by getbig standards) and we are both very good with it.

Thanks for the ideas, i will post more replies later when i get home.

[benchmstr]

as rong as shes creen

bench

[Migs]

-Money isn't a big deal, i am debt free except about 40k left on my mortgage 15k just seems like a good limit compared to what i make.

-She said any ring is fine and does not care about price, but it is me that wants to buy her something nice. and have zero debt, .

-I will mention the moissonite, but when i talked to her about it a few months ago she wanted a real diamond.

She isn't demanding any of this, i think she is worth it. She is a wonderful person who has been through a pretty tough life, i just want to treat her the way i feel she deserves. She is actually VERY low maintenance and doesn't care about money. She is a CPA and between the 2 of us we make a good chunk of money(not by getbig standards) and we are both very good with it.

Thanks for the ideas, i will post more replies later when i get home.

Are you seeing some contrdictions.  Look, you have 40k in debt.  your best investment is pay down the mortgage.  bay was right, wait until it's been a few years.  I understand wanitng to treat her well and get her omething nice.  But dont blow that much money.  

[BayGBM]

Are you seeing some contrdictions.  Look, you have 40k in debt.  your best investment is pay down the mortgage.  bay was right, wait until it's been a few years.  I understand wanitng to treat her well and get her omething nice.  But dont blow that much money.  

Yep.  I was wondering if anyone else would notice that.

I think one question the OP should ask himself, "is buying this bling a reflection of her values or mine?" 

[BayGBM]

I agree with Bay

 bay was right...

May I quote you both?   

[Butterbean]

we make a good chunk of money(not by getbig standards)

 

Are you seeing some contrdictions.  Look, you have 40k in debt.  your best investment is pay down the mortgage.  bay was right, wait until it's been a few years.  I understand wanitng to treat her well and get her omething nice.  But dont blow that much money. 

Don't a lot of people have mortgages esp. if they are young?  And he only owes $40,000 which means he must have a lot of equity in his home and he is paying cash for the ring.  I think that is fine imo.

Hadn't heard of moissonate...looks pretty

[Migs]

wedding rings are antiquated forms of dowries and serve no real purpose in todays society.  It's a nice tradition, but their future is better served by going a less expensive route and using the money saved to pay down other expenses and the mortgage.  pumping that amount of money into a symbol is not smart.  besides, you saw some of the contradictions in my last post about the ring.  just becuase he onlys owes 40k in the house doesn't always mean that he's built up a ton of equity.  perhaps he has, but depends on where he is at considering some places have seen a decline in housing values of 60%+

I'm not trying to spoil it, just saying that if they are really in love and blah blah, then she doesn't need the ring.  She wants a diamond so that she can show it off.  Seems that women get confused and when the get a ring slapped on they use it as a show piece.  A woman can get engaged and call her friends to lunch and tell them.  But the first thing they do is stick there hand out and show off the ring.  It's a status symbol.  The women get more excited over the ring than the man.

[Butterbean]

 The women get more excited over the ring than the man.

This may happen but it is not true for all.

[Migs]

99.98% of the time it does.

the other .02% won't even care about the ring, so it shouldn't matter if they get one then.

[Overload]

Are you seeing some contradictions.  Look, you have 40k in debt.  your best investment is pay down the mortgage.  bay was right, wait until it's been a few years.  I understand wanitng to treat her well and get her omething nice.  But dont blow that much money.  

You are analyzing this all wrong, but i get your drift. Yes she wants a real diamond(because i asked if she did) and doesn't care about money, yes that's a contradiction but I'm laying out the way it is. Honestly a 250 dollar gold ring would suffice, but i came here for ideas on rings, not financial advice. I have worked my life away for 12 years to have a life of luxury and i know most financial experts believe spending 15k on a ring is a bad investment, but i could honestly care less, no offense.

I have paid my mortgage down from 280k to 40k in the last 5 years and my house will be paid off by next Spring. I have zero debt other than that, no student loans, no nothing, i pay cash for everything.

I don't consider my mortgage actual debt. My mortgage is an investment with a large future return(if you knew where i lived you would understand), so i view it as an investment along with a few other properties i own.

So, again i don't see 15k as a big deal. I have watches that cost nearly that much.

I own(inherited) over 40 acres of undeveloped property that is worth nearly 10k an acre and i have investments across the board.

This has nothing to do with love or showing off a big diamond, but i know females typically view it this way.

The bottom line is "I'm buying a nice ring because i want to", it has nothing to do with any sort of social obligation to show off, how shallow. I'm one of the most financially conservative men i have ever met.

She can have her nice ring and i can have my 2011 Mustang GT and motorcycle i just purchased, if i want to blow money away, i will.

I went to school for 8 years and worked 60 hour weeks the last 3 years so i could have a life i enjoy.

Migs - you sound a bit bitter, no offense, but your broad generalizations in this thread are so wrong from who i am and who my girl is it is almost comical. My girl is in that .02% and "I" decided to spend the money on the ring. A real diamond ring doesn't cost 15k, but the one i want to purchase does.

Bay - The ring is a reflection of what "I" think she deserves, she asked for a simple diamond ring that i could buy at a fraction of 15k.

As far as tradition, screw the ring and screw the wedding, they are truly worthless by your logic(and mine). Maybe I'll fly to Vegas and have an Elvis impersonator marry us because it's just an old tradition that means nothing. I could care nothing about tradition, we are having a Buddhist wedding for "her" family and we are having a Christian wedding for "my" family and guess what...I'm agnostic, now THERE you have a big waste of money. I'll be dropping all this money for traditions i don't even BELIEVE in.

Thanks for the ideas guys/gals, i'll keep you posted on all the money i dump on useless things.

[Butterbean]

i know most financial experts believe spending 15k on a ring is a bad investment,

Actually, I don't think diamonds/gemstones are considered bad investments right now at all.


Migs isn't really as bitter as he comes off..he is joking (for the most part)

[benchmstr]

Actually, I don't think diamonds/gemstones are considered bad investments right now at all.


Migs isn't really as bitter as he comes off..he is joking (for the most part)

he is still bitter about lossing his "mancard"

bench

[Migs]

blow me

[powerpack]

Times have changed
I believe woman should start getting on their knee and asking men to marry them
A key ring for an Audi R8 or equivalent should be OK
This should really be encouraged, debated and pursued

[Playboy]

So i'm about to finally propose to my girlfriend of almost 4 years and i just wanted some advice from the ladies(or guys) as to what women really look for in an engagement ring.

I am limiting my spending to 15k, unless there is something out there that i deem worthy of spending more.

She likes white gold and wants a "real" diamond.

I was going to just take her to a nice place and let her pick out what she wants but i want it to be a surprise. She knows it's coming, but i want to really shock her with the delivery.

Throw me some ideas people and pics would be nice.

I really know nothing about these things, i'm more of a nerdy Science guy, not a fashion guy.

Besides getting a legit diamond, what else should i really look out for?

Our Buddhist ceremony will be at the end of November and i will need the ring before that.

So ladies, what do you like? what would you change about your own ring?

Hey congrats man!

All I have to say is be ready to spend some serious coin. Min 5 grand for a decent ring. Do your homework. I see this when I visit my uncle who happens to be a jewler and I help him out on the odd saturday. 

[loco]

The Greek and Roman bridegroom often gave a ring to the bride's father-a practice that was probably a survival of primitive bride purchase.

http://www.weddingringorigins.com/


Originally, it seems that use of wedding rings was more about the promise of wealth than love. In addition, women's rings were made of silver and men's of gold signifying the superiority of the man: It seems that times have changed.

In older times, the wedding rings did not only signify a sign of love, but were also linked to the bestowal of 'earnest money'.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Wedding-Band-History-And-Customs

[Deicide]

Don't spend that much!

When it falls apart you're gonna be pissed!

Yup, completely agree. 15k lost and gone forever and never mind the divorce costs as well. Not worth it.

PS. I am lucky my gf hates jewlery and doesn't want to get married.

[w8m8]

wedding rings are antiquated forms of dowries and serve no real purpose in todays society.  It's a nice tradition, but their future is better served by going a less expensive route and using the money saved to pay down other expenses and the mortgage.  pumping that amount of money into a symbol is not smart.  besides, you saw some of the contradictions in my last post about the ring.  just becuase he onlys owes 40k in the house doesn't always mean that he's built up a ton of equity.  perhaps he has, but depends on where he is at considering some places have seen a decline in housing values of 60%+

I'm not trying to spoil it, just saying that if they are really in love and blah blah, then she doesn't need the ring.  She wants a diamond so that she can show it off.  Seems that women get confused and when the get a ring slapped on they use it as a show piece.  A woman can get engaged and call her friends to lunch and tell them.  But the first thing they do is stick there hand out and show off the ring.  It's a status symbol.  The women get more excited over the ring than the man.

good post Migs I concur !

[Deicide]

good post Migs I concur !

x2