You’re about to buy an engagement ring? Congratulations, this is a huge step for you. You want to get it right don’t you? Before you head off down to Hatton Garden here’s some man to man advice about the finance side of things. If you asked him, this is what rich Uncle Harry would say.
How much do you plan to spend?
There are some crazy rules out there about how much money you should spend. Are you sitting down? Because you’re going to need to. Here’s one suggestion which is three months of your gross salary. Let’s say you earn £60,000. At that salary level, for an engagement ring London you’d spend, gulp, £15,000.
Is there a better spending rule?
The rule of one-tenth might work well for you – spending 1/10 of your gross annual salary. This is a big purchase, yes, and she is your forever girl, but there’s way more than a ring coming your way if you are to be married so keep it in the realms of reasonable.
Did you know there is such a thing as an engagement rule calculator? Don’t fall for this one either. It is as ridiculous as the hotness factor. This one works as follows, the hotter the girlfriend the more you spend. Except who measures hot? You think she’s hot, you’re marrying her.
There are two things you really could consider on price
Your honest financial situation is a really good one to start with. What can you really afford? What will that do to your finances? Yes, you want something spectacular but like hotness it varies.
What about the meaningfulness of the ring? Is this a second marriage? Does it mean more or less because of that? It is ok to get something in line with how you feel about it.
Carats
Carats are the value of a diamond. The trick is to cut a fraction off the carat and slice off the price. Instead of buying 1.0 you buy 0.98. To the naked eye, this is going to look exactly the same. No one will know the difference, but you and your wallet.
Cut
The cut is the way in which the diamond is shaped. It is best to read up on this so that you understand the difference between an Asscher and an Emerald cut. The more complex the cut the more you will be asked to pay.
She’s going to love it
Buying a ring is such a fantastic thing to do. Put some research in and then head down to Hatton Garden. Then when you’re looking you know what you’re looking at and you can buy something that you know all about.
The jeweler can then advise you from a place of knowledge rather than education and you’ll have a better conversation.
I mean, imagine if your best mate asked you about your new car and you said, “I don’t know, I like the color and the shape’s like a heart.”
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