How much money are you willing to spend on an engagement ring?

[Anastasia]

I am a jewelry journalist and I also have a jewelry brand. I'm currently making an article about the cost of engagement rings and want to confirm or refute my opinion. It seems to me that in the last five years, the popularity of lab-created diamonds and moissanite has significantly reduced the check. Am I right?

 

[fisicx]

£50 tops.

If they want something more expensive they can pay for it themselves.

 

[Anastasia]

£50 tops.

If they want something more expensive they can pay for it themselves.

That is, most likely it will be something made of silver, not gold and other precious materials.
I'm trying to understand how much the price of a ring matters.

 

[fisicx]

You are asking an unanswerable question.

For some couples £50 would be a major expense and something you have to save up for. Others will spend £100K and not bat an eye.

It's like asking how much you pay for a house.

 

[Anastasia]

You are asking an unanswerable question.

For some couples £50 would be a major expense and something you have to save up for. Others will spend £100K and not bat an eye.

It's like asking how much you pay for a house.

That's why I'm surveying because it really is as you describe.
A couple of decades ago there was a rule of three salaries - the groom had to spend exactly that amount on the ring. But now everything has changed very much. In Britain five years ago it was believed that, according to statistics, couples spend 2500-3500 pounds on an engagement ring. Now I have not seen such statistics. and that's why I'm conducting a survey.

 

[Ozzy]

I am a jewelry journalist

This sounds like the sort of question you could put out to jewelry shops to complete a survey on, but exactly as @fisicx said - it is very subjective. You would need to ask deeper questions which include their salary, disposable income, perhaps some relationship info, where they live, and then some magic maths to the value of the ring purchased.
This is not the sort of research you could do with an open question on a forum, but a more complex research project and I'd suggest starting at the jewellers. Otherwise the results you get will be meaningless.

 

[James]

I am a jewelry journalist and I also have a jewelry brand. I'm currently making an article about the cost of engagement rings and want to confirm or refute my opinion. It seems to me that in the last five years, the popularity of lab-created diamonds and moissanite has significantly reduced the check. Am I right?

Budget 2-4k spent 2k on custom moissanite was about the only thing that was under budget in the whole wedding

 

[Anastasia]

Budget 2-4k spent 2k on custom moissanite was about the only thing that was under budget in the whole wedding

Thanks for your reply)

 

[Anastasia]

This sounds like the sort of question you could put out to jewelry shops to complete a survey on, but exactly as @fisicx said - it is very subjective. You would need to ask deeper questions which include their salary, disposable income, perhaps some relationship info, where they live, and then some magic maths to the value of the ring purchased.
This is not the sort of research you could do with an open question on a forum, but a more complex research project and I'd suggest starting at the jewellers. Otherwise the results you get will be meaningless.

I have a jewelry brand and I know how much our clients spend. But we are absolutely not an example of statistics since the brand is small and we specialize in custom rings. I will also ask big brands, but I am afraid that they will show models that they need to sell, passing them off as popular. I don’t know if I wrote it clearly)

 

[NickGrogan]

That's why I'm surveying because it really is as you describe.
A couple of decades ago there was a rule of three salaries - the groom had to spend exactly that amount on the ring. But now everything has changed very much. In Britain five years ago it was believed that, according to statistics, couples spend 2500-3500 pounds on an engagement ring. Now I have not seen such statistics. and that's why I'm conducting a survey.

I never heard of the rule of three months' salary; one month's salary was a thing when I got married a few decades ago, though.

The first engagement ring was plain silver, but it represented a big expense at the time.

It was later upgraded to a Diamond ring that cost about £6k, which was less of an expense at the time.

 

[WaveJumper]

Well I just asked a good friend of mine who manages a very well known high-street store, she said 2.5k to 3k is the average and having said that she had someone walk in this afternoon and paid 4.5k cash for one

Three times monthly salary, the now wife would never have been able to lift her arm of the table thankfully we were in Corfu at the time when she suggested the engagement (possibility) I had been sitting in the sun to much and agreed, good she said I found a ring in a local shop cheap ....... what wasn't cheap later having a wedding ring custom made to match but that was 39 years ago best decision I ever made.

 

[Mark T Jones]

£450 - in 2020.

Bespoke and unique - it helps that we knew the jeweller

 

[Newchodge]

A couple of decades ago there was a rule of three salaries - the groom had to spend exactly that amount on the ring

WHAT?? Where did you get that from?

You do realise this is a forum for business owners, very few of whom will have the slightest intention of spending anything on an engagement ring. Perhaps a forum for brides or grooms might be more helpful.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I bought my wife the most expensive ring in the shop -........ Claires' Accessories

 

[Anastasia]

WHAT?? Where did you get that from?

You do realise this is a forum for business owners, very few of whom will have the slightest intention of spending anything on an engagement ring. Perhaps a forum for brides or grooms might be more helpful.

That is, business owners cannot be brides and grooms. I asked on wedding forums.

 

[fisicx]

That is, business owners cannot be brides and grooms. I asked on wedding forums.

And what was the response?

Where did you get the idea that the cost should be 3 months salary?

 

[WaveJumper]

And what was the response?

Where did you get the idea that the cost should be 3 months salary?

From the jewellers themselves no doubt

 

[Ozzy]

I will also ask big brands, but I am afraid that they will show models that they need to sell, passing them off as popular.

Surely not if you are approaching them as part of an anonymous survey when talking to them as a journalist, and not as a jeweller. You said you are a journalist, so wear that hat and not the hat where you have your own business.

 

[Nick@Daydot]

I see little point in asking this question in this forum. If we all said consistently we'd spend £500 or £5000, then what? It doesn't mean anything. Ask the same question in a forum for unemployed people you'd likely get a different answer. Even if I said £500 now and then met someone who said they didn't want to spend much, or someone else who I really wanted to impress and liked bling, then whatever I say now is pointless.

If you're writing an article about prices in the UK in general then you need to look for reliable statistical sources as far as they exist, and starting with big players in the market if they'll tell is a good start.

I asked MS Copilot where I could get detailed information on the average price of engagement rings in the UK. It pointed me at an article in Bridebook dot com that said that the average price in the UK in 2024 is £2,089. An article in diamondrocks dot co dot uk says it's £2,500 - £3,000. The Telegraph says it's £7,000, Trulyexperiences dot com says it's £1,865. Serendipitydiamonds dot com in an April update says it's £2,100. This type of thing is where I'd start looking, trying to find what their sources of information are as you can't take the numbers at face value. Isn't this the sort of research a journalist would start with? There are other sources also.

I also asked Copilot if Lab-grown diamonds and Moissanite have lowered the price of engagement rings. It said yes (which I'd take cautiously) and with references again.

Some of the articles on the average price say it's gone up over the years, but maybe it would have gone up even more without lab-grown and Moissanite. How would anyone know? It would take a fairly sophisticated analysis - maybe someone has done that.

Re the 3x monthly salary 'rule', an article in money dot co dot uk says
In fact, the three-month rule of thumb was a marketing strategy dreamed up by advertising agency N.W. Ayer in the early 1900s to encourage people to buy diamond rings from De Beers. Even before World War II, diamonds were not commonplace in an engagement ring.

 

[IanSuth]

We had specific needs, needed to contain at least one emerald and have stones flush enough to fit under a motorcycle glove without ripping the glove liner/damaging ring.

We found one in an antique jewelry shop which fitted the bill perfectly (and was old gold which is a nicer colour) and was 20% of what we were quoted to have one made very similar - we got it for only slightly over the value of it's gold content after haggling

 

[antropy]

I am a jewelry journalist and I also have a jewelry brand. I'm currently making an article about the cost of engagement rings and want to confirm or refute my opinion. It seems to me that in the last five years, the popularity of lab-created diamonds and moissanite has significantly reduced the check. Am I right?

The ring itself? A friend of mine recently paid £14.99 from Argos.
The marriage? ½ your net worth and years of misery

Paul.

 

[japancool]

A Coke can pull tab works, right?

 

[DontAsk]

The marriage? ½ your net worth and years of misery

Works both ways. My partner was worth more than me when we married.

 

[DontAsk]

Where did you get the idea that the cost should be 3 months salary?

From their experience as a "Jewelry (sic) Journalist"? LOL.

 

[antropy]

Works both ways. My partner was worth more than me when we married.

It's only a bad deal for the person with a significantly higher net worth.

Paul.

 

[Nick@Daydot]

From their experience as a "Jewelry (sic) Journalist"? LOL.

The three month thing does seem be mentioned quite a bit in relevant articles

 

[fisicx]

The three month thing does seem be mentioned quite a bit in relevant articles

Probably because these old stories get recycled many times without anyone checking the facts. With AI now doing most of the content creation expect more of the same junk.

 

[AlanJ1]

Probably because these old stories get recycled many times without anyone checking the facts. With AI now doing most of the content creation expect more of the same junk.

Three months salary as a base has been around for tens if not hundreds of years but its massivley gone out of fashion in the last 10+ years.

 

[Newchodge]

Three months salary as a base has been around for tens if not hundreds of years but its massivley gone out of fashion in the last 10+ years.

I got engaged 20 years ago. I had never heard of it, nor would I have agreed with it.

 

[AlanJ1]

I got engaged 20 years ago. I had never heard of it, nor would I have agreed with it.

Not saying you have to agree with it (I don't), but it certainley has been about for a very long time. My family history for over 100 years is Jewellery.

In the end it's just an advertising "ploy" from the jewellery companies trying to get people to spend more.

 

[Newchodge]

Three months salary as a base has been around for tens if not hundreds of years but its massivley gone out of fashion in the last 10+ years.

Incidentally, the OP stated three salaries, so perhaps £90,000!

 

[Newchodge]

Not saying you have to agree with it (I don't), but it certainley has been about for a very long time. My family history for over 100 years is Jewellery.

In the end it's just an advertising "ploy" from the jewellery companies trying to get people to spend more.

Perhaps within the industry, but not within the general public. How, for esxample, would you deal with a couple where the groom was not working?

 

[NickGrogan]

The Sneaky History of the 'Three Month Salary' Engagement Ring Rule | 101.3 KDWB

When your guy asks their family and friends, "How much should I spend on an engagement ring?" they'll always hear that the rule is to save three months rent which sounds suspect because it is! The rule is almost a 100 years old and the history of how it evolved is wild.

kdwb.iheart.com

Its a De Beers advertising slogan from the 1930's

 

[AlanJ1]

Perhaps within the industry, but not within the general public. How, for esxample, would you deal with a couple where the groom was not working?

You sell them something cheaper.

It's just something that retailers would use to show an industry standard to get people to spend more money.

It's known in the public, maybe nowhere near as much as it used to be.

 

[NickGrogan]

Perhaps within the industry, but not within the general public. How, for esxample, would you deal with a couple where the groom was not working?

Then, it would depend on the value of the estate and any stipend he may receive from the family.

 

[DontAsk]

How, for esxample, would you deal with a couple where the groom was not working?

Simples, three times his benefits. LOL!

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

£6.96 from Gerald Ratner