How Much Should You Spend On An Engagement Ring?

Off the top of your head, do you know how much you are supposed to spend on an engagement ring? Getting engaged is a huge milestone for most couples – from planning the proposal itself to choosing the most perfect ring. Finally,  there’s the planning of the way you’re actually going to propose.

Aside from asking your partner to marry you, one of the most important aspects is buying the perfect engagement ring. When it comes to making such a big monetary investment, you need to be sure that the ring you choose for your partner is affordable, and ultimately reflects the life long commitment and eternal love for them.

Spending one to three months on an engagement ring seems to be widely acknowledged and simply accepted by many in the Western world, but where did this ideology come from? And since when did the diamond become the ultimate emblem of love?

The ultimate one month salary campaign

The original belief that you had to gift your partner with an engagement ring that costs a few months wages began in 1930.

De Beers, an American Diamond mining and diamond jewellers, started a campaign that suggested one month’s salary should be spent on a diamond ring for your loved one. Years later in 1980, another advert suggested an engagement ring should cost month’s salary. Soon after, it became three. Not forgetting that the engagement ring is one of the most important aspects of marriage, and it’s all thanks to the De Beer’s marketing campaign that couples around the world are now expected to pay a hefty sum for their future husband or wife’s engagement ring.

‘A diamond is forever’

The meaning and origin of the expression: A diamond is forever was has also been used as a slogan by De Beers since 1948.  Since women in advertising were generally assigned to cases that only pertained to women, Frances Gerety was the prime copywriter for the job and in 1948, Gerety was assigned to create a slogan that encapsulates the security and eternal romance that comes with owning a diamond.

Gerety scribbled the slogan “A Diamond is Forever” on a piece of paper late one night. The next morning, she presented the slogan to her associates and eventually it became one of the most recognized advertising slogans of its time.

Combine this incredible tagline with the above salary rule, receiving or gifting a diamond ring to your future wife or husband became paramount in the process of getting engaged.

You don’t actually have to spend one to three months worth of salary on a diamond ring, as it completely differs from person to person, be sure to pick a suitable price for you and stick to it. Remember, engagement rings don’t have a diamond either – we absolutely love emeralds, rubies and other gem stones which look gorgeous on a white gold, or rose gold band.

This life is yours to take, so spend as little or as much as you like and enjoy your happily ever after.

If you’d like some advice on Shining Diamond engagement rings, get in touch with us today!