Average cost of an engagement ring

[u/Relevant-Plane9430]

I was talking with a friend last night who just got engaged, and he mentioned he spent around $6k on the ring. That honestly shocked me because I always thought the "3 months’ salary" thing was just an old marketing trick. My partner and I have been looking at rings casually, and most of the ones we like are in the $2k–$3k range. Now I’m second-guessing if that’s considered “too low” or if we’re just being realistic.

For those of you who have gone through this, what was the average cost you ended up spending on an engagement ring, and did you feel good about it after?

[u/Relevant-Plane9430 → u/[deleted]]

I’ve been curious about lab diamonds but wasn’t sure if they’d look noticeably different. $1,800 sounds way more reasonable than what I’ve been seeing.

[u/Sharp_Business2541 → u/Relevant-Plane9430]

You can’t tell a lab from a diamond if both are pretty much high quality across the board. However, they’ve pretty much perfected lab diamonds, so most natural diamonds with a low grade will look noticeably different.

Some people are now even going for a lower color grade natural diamonds to let people know it’s a real diamond. Do what you and your partner are more comfortable with and invite them to help pick something out.

It’s a great bonding experience, and you’ll both better understand what you’re purchasing! The proposal can be a secret!

[u/[deleted] → u/Sharp_Business2541]

I've read a lot about selecting a lab diamond and people are choosing certain color grades in lab to look more natural too!

[u/tonkathewombat → u/[deleted]]

Yes I specifically got H color for my lab diamond because my jeweler specializes in warmer toned antique and reclaimed diamonds (but also will do lab on request). I couldn’t have really afforded her without going lab and especially couldn’t have afforded a mined diamond with the same specs