How Much Should You Spend on an Engagement Ring?

There is a rule people half remember: two months salary, or three, depending on who is telling it. It is repeated as though it were an established convention, and it is worth knowing where it came from before you let it decide anything.

It came from an advertising campaign. In the 1930s a diamond marketing campaign suggested a month's salary. By the 1980s the same campaign had revised the figure upward to two months, and in some markets three. The number went up because it was a marketing target, not because anything about engagement had changed.

That is the whole provenance. It is not a tradition, it is not etiquette, and no jeweller worth speaking to will hold you to it.

Why the rule is unhelpful even as a rough guide

A percentage of income ignores everything that actually determines what you can comfortably spend.

Two people on identical salaries can be in completely different positions. One has a deposit saved and no debt. The other is paying down a loan and moving flat next month. A rule that treats them the same is not giving advice, it is doing arithmetic.

It also ignores the wedding, which tends to arrive shortly afterwards and costs considerably more than the ring.

A more useful way to decide

Three questions get you to a sensible figure faster than any formula.

What can you pay without borrowing?

Start with what you have, not with what you earn. A ring bought on credit carries the interest into the marriage, and it is the least romantic possible way to hold on to a beautiful object. We do not offer instalments or finance, partly for this reason.

What does the person wearing it actually want?

This matters more than the budget and is asked far less often. Some people want presence and will happily trade a grade or two to get it. Others would be uncomfortable wearing something large and want something fine and quiet. Spending heavily in the wrong direction produces an expensive ring nobody enjoys.

Look at what they already wear. It tells you more than any conversation will.

What does your figure actually buy?

This is where most people are surprised, usually in a good way. The gap between what someone assumes a ring costs and what it actually costs tends to be wide, in both directions.

Settings start at £910 and a complete bespoke ring, setting and centre stone together, starts at £2,000. Most commissions land between £3,000 and £12,000. Our price guide breaks down what moves that number, and the configurator shows live prices as you build.

Where the money goes furthest

If your figure is fixed, and most are, these four decisions change what you get more than any others.

• Protect the cut. Cut governs how much a stone sparkles. It is the one place we would not economise, because the difference is visible across a room. See our guide to diamond cut.
• Ease on colour and clarity. G to J colour and VS clarity look flawless to the naked eye once set. Paying for grades only a loupe can see is the most common way to waste budget.
• Buy just under a round number. Prices step up sharply at 1.00ct and 2.00ct. A 0.90ct stone of the same grade costs noticeably less and is a fraction of a millimetre smaller.
• Consider laboratory grown. A lab grown diamond is a real diamond and costs less per carat, so the same figure reaches a larger or better graded stone. Some people want the geology. Others want the size. Both are reasonable.

On spending less than you could

Worth saying plainly, because jewellers rarely do.

There is no relationship between what a ring costs and what it means. We have made £2,000 rings for people who could comfortably have spent five times that, because they preferred the design, and we have made considerably larger pieces for people who saved for years. Neither was the better decision. They were different decisions.

What you should not do is spend an amount that makes the next twelve months harder. Nobody looks back fondly on that.

On spending more than you planned

Equally common, and not automatically a mistake. It usually happens for one of two reasons: the design grew, or a stone appeared that was better than the brief.

Ask for the difference to be itemised before you agree to it. A good jeweller will tell you exactly what the extra buys, and will also tell you when the answer is not much.

Frequently asked questions

Is the two months salary rule real?

It originated in diamond advertising, starting at one month in the 1930s and rising to two, and in some markets three, by the 1980s. It is a marketing figure rather than a convention, and it should not decide your budget.

What do most people spend on an engagement ring?

We can only speak for our own commissions, which mostly fall between £3,000 and £12,000. Bespoke rings start at £2,000. Treat any national average you read with caution, since averages are pulled upward by a small number of very large purchases.

Should I tell the jeweller my budget?

Yes, and early. It is the single biggest time saver in the process. A jeweller who knows your figure can tell you in five minutes what is achievable at it, instead of showing you things you will not buy.

Can I spend less and upgrade later?

You can, and some people do, though in practice it is less common than it sounds. A ring worn every day acquires meaning quickly and most people become attached to the one they were proposed to with.

Does a bigger diamond hold its value better?

Diamonds should be bought to be worn rather than as an investment. Resale rarely returns anything close to the purchase price, whatever the size, and any jeweller telling you otherwise is selling rather than advising.

If you would like to know what your figure actually buys before deciding anything, that is exactly what a first consultation is for, and there is no obligation attached to it. See how a commission works in our guide to designing your own ring, or book a consultation.