Blog

As a premiere Tucson jeweler and Foothills jewelry store, I regularly assist dozens of men and couples with the most important piece of jewelry they will ever acquire and gift: their engagement ring. The good news is: the hard part is over, you've found her! And you're now ready to spend the rest of your life with her. Selecting an engagement ring is easy and I make the process fast, simple and affordable. To learn more, please watch my two minute video here.

Engagement rings come in an unending selection of styles and prices. A quick glimpse of some designs I've created is on my custom designs page. Today some couples choose a color gemstone instead of diamond as the centerpiece of their ring. I have more information about color gemstones here.

Now, the big question: How much should I spend?

The best way to start is to understand what the average engagement ring costs. According to The Knot, the average cost of an engagement ring in 2016 was $6,163. Now, you can spend substantially more or significantly less, it's up to you. Think of it like buying a car. Do you want a Chevy, an Acura or a Mercedes?

Here are few items to consider:

- What are your and your partner's priorities? Are you looking for a high-quality diamond? Are you willing to sacrifice a bit on quality in order to afford a larger diamond? Do you want a simple, less expensive band or one with many accent diamonds that will require more of your budget?

- How much are you comfortable spending, based on your personal financial situation? Think about your current income and determine whether either will change (for better or worse) in the foreseeable future.

- What are your partner’s expectations? By now you should have some idea of the type of engagement ring your significant other is dreaming of, but if you don’t, now’s the time to find out. Your main goal is to purchase a ring that she’ll love and feel proud of, regardless of the price. You could ask her outright for ring options, or go “window shopping” together to figure out what she really wants. If you want your proposal to be a complete surprise, consider asking her friends, or check around for hints she may be leaving you; has she mentioned a friend’s beautiful new ring? Are there magazines laying around that “happen” to be open to a page with a picture of a ring? What's on her Pintrest page? Consider her individual style, along with gifts you’ve given in the past that she’s enjoyed.

- Stay away from online Engagement Ring Calculators. They go from only marginally helpful to downright silly by attempting to help you decide how much to spend on an engagement ring by gathering information about your income, lifestyle, and debt-to-asset ratio.

The truth is, there is no “right” answer, to "how much should you spend." If all else fails, consider the fall-back to the tried and true "two month’s salary rule", which indicates that you should spend two months worth of your gross income on an engagement ring.

Finally remember, engagement rings and fine jewelry are really something you should not buy online. Doing so is fraught with risk, everything from photoshopped pictures that make pieces look bigger and better than they are to bait-and-switch and outright scams.

High value jewelry and engagement rings should be acquired at a local jewelry store where you can personally examine the piece before you buy it. That's exactly how it works with me, your Tucson jewelry store.