A number of times in this thread I’ve used terms such as mature, intelligent and marriageable, and suggested that they apply to me and to my wife. Inherent in this suggestion is that we’ve talked values, money, life, future, etc. We know each other well. In that sense, yes, I knew I would not be paying an outrageous sum for a ring, just as I knew she wouldn’t fly me, herself and our friends to Paris for my thirtieth birthday. However, we never spoke about rings at all. She really wasn’t expecting one. And yes, I knew the box would ultimately be more important, because I made it myself.
In the end, I look at a ring as a gift, and I don’t usually discuss the price of gifts, and my wife and I trust each other not to be foolish with our own money. We can’t be foolish with our joint money, as I’ve mentioned, because that money does need clearance from the other when it is used.
I too am weary of this thread. I wanna discuss comics, beer-making and low angle jack planes.