Should you ever give your wife a ring that’s better then her engagement ring? How about for an anniversary?
(I’m guessing that this will be moved to IMHO fairly soon, as it is more of an opinion-type survey than a question with a clear-cut answer.)
My opinion: If I were the type of person who cared a lot about the size/quality of the ring(s) on my finger, and I had become engaged at a time when my fiance couldn’t afford what I would have preferred, I might like to have a nicer ring given to me as an anniversary present. I can’t imagine replacing my true engagement ring, though, as it would hold great sentimental value.
I suppose a couple might agree, at the time of the engagement, to buy/replace a ring at some future date. But I wouldn’t spring it on your wife and say, “here, take that one off; this is much better” without knowing how she might feel about that.
Now, as I review what I have written, I wonder if you didn’t mean as a replacement, but rather "should any other ring she owns be bigger/better than her engagement ring? In that case, I can’t imagine why not.
When Anniz and I were engaged back in March, I was unemployed and unable to afford an engagement ring. I promised her that I’d buy her one helluva ring in the future. So, that might help answer the OP.
FWIW, we’re planning on getting slightly-nicer-than-usual wedding bands, too.
aceo,
You are wondering about this because of all those “anniversary ring” ads, aren’t you? The assumption behind them, of course, is that after you are together for awhile you are going to be able to afford more than you did when you got engaged. Well maybe, and maybe not, but of course the jewelers want you to pay more! They need a gimmick to sell more expensive jewelry after the initial engagement ring/wedding ring purchase. They are selling anniversary rings as a symbol of financial success and the continuing of a strong married relationship.
Now being a wife myself for 13 years, I would say in my own opinion that another, more expensive ring could never mean more sentimentally than the original engagement and/or wedding rings, but if I really liked jewelry and we could afford it, I would certainly enjoy something else given to me by my husband that is prettier and/or fancier. (Though, I have always wondered why the engagement ring costs more than the wedding ring, typically. After all, it’s the wedding ring that seals the vows, so why isn’t its cost aligned symbolically with the gravity of the occasion?)