13 Women Reveal How Much Their Engagement Ring Cost, And What It Means To Them

1. “Mine cost nothing because it’s his grandmother’s engagement ring. She died a year before we met but his family kept the ring, apparently for just such an occasion. It’s meaningful to me not just because he gave it to me and asked him to marry him but because of the family history tied up in it. His grandmother was first generation American and had survived some pretty terrible things in eastern Europe while still managing to never lose the ring. Every knick and scratch on the band is a reminder of what it’s been through and the stone, while small, shines brighter than any other to me.”

—Olivia, 25

2. “I never answer this question and I’ve been asked it a lot. My ring cost around $20,000 and the center ruby is both beautiful and huge. I wish I could say that it’s too big or cost too much or something equally ‘I’m so humble’ but I don’t feel that way. It’s a fat, awesome engagement ring and I love it. To me it means that my husband listened to me when I told him what stones I like and that he was willing to spend quite a bit of money to get the right thing.”

—Janice, 27

3. “He and I married straight out of college and so we didn’t have much money and didn’t want to go into debt. He proposed to me without a ring and we ended up going to pick it out together and spent $1500 on it. It’s a lovely piece and it really reminds me of how he and I make all our decisions together. While others might not think that’s romantic, to me it’s one of the most romantic thing about marriage.”

—Rebecca, 24

4. “My husband spent 800 bucks on a peridot ring in a white gold setting. It’s beautiful but the way he presented it to me was just so amazing. We were standing in wheat field near my parents’ house in winter and everything around us for miles was brown and gray. Then he pulled out this ring and it shined this incredible green and asked me if I would be his wife. He has a real sense of style and the way he popped the question will forever come to my mind when I look at the ring.”

—Michelle, 28

5. “I told my fiancee that I wanted a three karat ring to signify the three years we’d been together. He came through for me and it’s an unbelievable piece of jewelry. Honestly, if he hadn’t gotten it for me I don’t know if I would have felt right saying yes, it meant that much to me. I wanted proof that he cared enough about me to save up for the ring of my dreams.”

—Alice, 26

6. “Mine was 500 dollars. It’s a small diamond in a titanium setting. As a mechanical engineer I just happen to know what these things cost in terms of materials. It means a lot to me because my husband proposed to me the day after I graduated and had this incredible grin on his face like ‘I got you this ring made out of cool metal and you’re an engineer now’. It was the coolest idea and love that he thought of using titanium, a metal stronger than any ‘precious metal’ and a marvel of modern metallurgy.”

—Gina, 27

7. “How do women know what their engagement rings cost? If they didn’t pick it out then do they just ask their husbands like ‘did you spend a ton on this or not?’ I have no idea what he spent on it. It’s beautiful and he’s beautiful and we’re going to be together forever so why would I go digging in asking for deets and receipts?”

—Clara, 29

8. “My husband spent nearly $30,000 on my engagement ring and I know that only because we picked it out together. My friends comment on it a lot but I didn’t want it just because it’s a huge and timeless engagement ring. I work in a prestigious law firm and people absolutely would have judged me if I’d gotten anything cheaper. I actually think it might have hurt my career and if we were going to marry then he needed to understand that my career was around before he was.”

—Melanie, 33

9. “I’ve only been married about a year but when my man and I were talking about marriage we decided that instead of worrying about the cost of the ring we’d go ahead and decide on something less expensive now and that he’d get me a new fancier ring on our ten year anniversary. I like my ring and I love my husband and I see the anniversary ring that will replace this one in nine years as a symbol of how our relationship will have grown.”

—April, 27

10. “I don’t really believe in engagement rings and I don’t care for diamonds. When we got married, my husband and I exchanged bands and that was it. I don’t need a dowry ring to put a huge hole in the man I love’s pocket just because the jewelry industry thinks it’s tradition. And I don’t believe the myth that big rocks mean big love. My dad got my mother the biggest rock anyone had seen when they got married and he spent the next 40 years fucking his secretaries so yeah, a rock is just a rock.”

—Melody, 28

11. “We picked out my engagement ring together and ended up spending two thousand on it. We could have afforded to spend more but this is the exact ring I wanted, a lovely little emerald set in gold. It’s timeless and perfect, completely his style.”

—Karen, 30

12. “I will never again tell anyone how much my engagement ring cost because the last time I told a group of friends a few of them all said shitty things like ‘you got screwed’ and ‘that’s cheap’. I basically picked it out and my husband wanted to spend way more so he’s not cheap. I just hate that some people can be so shallow about this one issue. I’m not friends with those two girls anymore, btw. No one gets to talk shit about the man I love. Dirt. Off. My. Shoulder.”

—Janice, 29

13. “My engagement ring is a Black Opal in a silver setting. I love it more than life itself. It’s so unique and bold and I don’t have any idea what it cost, I just love that my husband completely went for it with the design.”

—Cindy, 27