What Americans Spend on Engagement Rings by State

[Mavric]

51. Utah: $3,518

46. South Dakota: $4,832

40. Nebraska: $5,818

35. Colorado: $6,310
 
33. Kansas: $6,318

21. Wyoming: $7,154

19. Missouri: $7,467

9. Iowa: $8,150

1. California: $10,241

Link

 

[GSG]

Link

 

[BigRedBuster]

LOL....I thought my $1,100 was a lot 27 years ago.

 

[Cdog923]

Holy s#!t. My wife's was less than $2,000, and she picked it out.

 

[NUinID]

I spent about 600.00 in 1990 and she picked it out. 

I spent right around 5000 on a 25th anniversary band

that’s crazy to spend that much on a ring

 

[ColoradoHusk]

When we were looking at engagement ring, my wife found the band and setting that she liked at one jeweler, and then I worked with a friend of hers who owns her own jewelry store for the diamond.  My wife said she wanted a marquise cut diamond, so I just needed to figure out the size and clarity of the diamond for the engagement ring.  All in all, I spent around $4,000, which was my goal of "two months salary" back then which I had always heard as the guideline for men.

 

[GSG]

Diamonds and the diamond industry are all bulls#!t

 

[NUance]

I spent an awful lot on bulls#!t then.    

 

[GSG]

I spent an awful lot on bulls#!t then.    

You did and so did a lot of other people. Good marketing ploy from DeBeers

 

[NUance]

You did and so did a lot of other people. Good marketing ploy from DeBeers

You did and so did a lot of other people. Good marketing ploy from DeBeers

True dat.  But not too much went to middlemen.  I bought one in the diamond district in LA.  Somewhere around 40% less than retail for a diamond of the same quality.   Although I did have to spend two afternoons down there shopping and haggling.  It was actually sort of fun.  

 

[GSG]

 

[deedsker]

All of these look like averages and not median prices, which would be skewed higher by the one person buying one for a million dollars.

 

[BigRedBuster]

I'm actually noticing more women wearing just a band with no diamonds.  they seem perfectly happy.

 

[GSG]

I'm actually noticing more women wearing just a band with no diamonds.  they seem perfectly happy.

I noticed one of my coworkers wears a silicone ring like this:

 

[knapplc]

I got my wife a diamond, spent about $1,100 in the early 1990s for it, and feel like a chump for contributing to the diamond scam. 

She likes her rings just fine, between the wedding band & engagement ring there are a couple of diamonds (or three? I think there's a row of diamonds on the band...).

The "two month's salary" thing is hogwash.  Diamonds are also a very common gemstone and should not cost nearly that much.  Think about how many people you know who own at least one diamond.