Is this gross or net income?
Mine was about a weeks salary when we married. Now its about five hours of work.
I’m not sure what I’d do with a ring worth two months salary, then or now.
any woman who demands a ring worth 2 months salary deserves a husband who will pay it.
and vice versa.
In my experience, they are often very happy and share the same values. Yes, they deserve each other, and you might not enjoy being around them - but it never occurs to them that they are “disadvantaged” by their materialism - but they have some pity for those of us who live such “small” lives.
Two months’ pre-tax income is just insane, even if we limit the consideration to so-called “middle-class professionals”.
The 2008 average starting salary for a college grad (across all regions, disciplines and job positions) was just under $50,000. Let’s round that DOWN to 48,000, and further assume he’s still earning about that much (or only just reaching that average figure) by the time he gets married some time in his late 20s (the national average for the USA is now just over 27 years old).
That means the average young man getting married in the USA would be expected to drop $8,000 on a ring? When they may have other debt to pay off (school loans, credit cards, etc.) and are presumably thinking of saving towards a down payment on a house? Just how is that a responsible start for their future life, and maybe family, in putting so much equity in a piece of jewelry?
If it’s post-tax, assuming a 32% tax rate inclusive of any state income or property taxes on top of a 28% fed tax… That’s close to $5,500 on a ring. A little more reasonable but still rather extravagant, unless the guy is already debt-free.
But then again I wouldn’t be attracted to (much less propose marriage to) a woman whose reaction to being given an engagement ring was disappointment. While the ring I did buy myself to propose to my wife was close to $5K in cost, I was debt free and made considerably more than $48,000/year by the time I made that purchase. And I don’t doubt at all that she’d have preferred to have gotten a 25 cent novelty ring from a gumball machine a couple of years earlier than wait for my “ship to come in” so she could flash a rock. (She doesn’t even wear it much out of fear of its being a lure for robbers/muggers.)
When my husband proposed to me, he was making very little and we were expecting our first child. I told him not to buy me an engagement ring. It would have been very irresponsible, and I just don’t like diamonds. I have a sterling silver claddagh that cost $30, and I love it. He’s a mechanic now, but the rings shown for mechanic are ugly to me. However, if he’s rolling in dough someday and wants to load me up with pearls, I’ll take them. 
Actually with the Exception of the ‘A-list actor’ which are noticable huge. I really can tell a difference in those pages.
The type of person this marketing appeals to is the type of person who drives (or dates a guy who drives) a hot car. That might be a BMW right out of business school or it might be a Mustang out of tech school.
I’m not the type of person to date or marry someone who prioritizes a hot car - and I don’t even wear my own wedding/engagement ring - but if I were, I think a really nice ring is not out of line if a guy is going to spend half his salary on a car. At least the ring is likely to last for life.
I wear my husband’s great grandmother’s (on his mother’s side) engagement ring, just a round solitaire around .75 carat. Perfect for everyday wear. We had it re-sized and the prongs re-done, so my engagement ring cost him under $200. My wedding band was $3500, which is about a week’s salary. He wanted to get me an eternity band as my wedding band since he didn’t have to shell out $$ for the engagement ring.
We have another ring that was from his father’s side. It is a 2 carat center diamond with another carat of diamonds surrounding it. I don’t wear that one, it sits in the jewelry box most of the time. I will wear it on special occasions, but not for everyday. It is beautiful, but not practical.
Two months salary is a lot of money, no matter what your occupation. I would never expect a ring that expensive. Buy me a car instead, LOL.
I found that site totally appalling, but just couldn’t look away.
My engagement ring didn’t cost Mr. Neville two months salary, and I like it just fine.
I generally try not to associate with people who refer to their engagement ring as a “rock”, or who brag about how much it cost.
I suspect you could if you really wanted to. You wouldn’t get much nutritive value out of it, and it might hurt a bit when it came out, but you could do it.
Heh, I actually have a (mostly defunct) side business making jewelry, but I work in beads and wire. But I do have access to wholesale jewelers’ catalogs. Rio Grande has some nice stuff. Still, the shopping is half the fun!
Am I wrong in interpreting the thread title as “Brag about how much money your ‘man’ makes?”
Mine didn’t spend 2 months salary–he says he can’t remember (it was 24 years ago), but it was about $1200. I wasn’t given a choice in my engagement ring, but I didn’t care about that. Then, at our 5 year anniversary, we had 2 smaller diamonds added to the setting–with the intent of adding 2 more at 10 etc. Well. Times change. <need rueful smiley here>
It is a lovely ring and suited my hand just right. Frankly, if the guy is The One, a cigar band is fine. Or nothing at all.
Not here. Here it’s “brag about how your ‘man’ has more sense than to spend two months’ salary on a piece of jewelry, and how you have too much sense to want him to do it”. Which I personally think is better than bragging about how much money he makes.
Not for me, if that meant he smoked cigars. If he just happened to have a cigar band but didn’t smoke, and it didn’t smell too bad, that might be OK.
I think I spent two HOURS salary on my wife’s engagement ring. (She picked it and it was on closeout :D)
At the time, we’d’ve been looking at a $5k ring with two months pre-tax. These days, it’d be $12k. I think she’d rather have the extra down payment on the house we’re trying to find, personally.
Usually these are the women who describe themselves as “high maintenance” like it’s a positive thing. Anyone who demands such an object because of it’s monetary value rather than it’s emotional one is pretty pathetic in my opinion.
Then don’t marry that sort of woman. But what skin is it off your back if someone else does like the sort of woman who likes expensive jewelry?
My husband likes nice cars - is that pathetic? I personally find it a little silly - my Jetta gets me to work just like his Audi gets him to work - and I can put the dog in my car without worrying about it (although his Audi is much nicer to drive) - but we can afford for him to drive the Audi and he likes it. For my own sake, there are things I’d rather spend money on - like vacations - but he’d rather drive a nice car. So we compromise - he has a nice car, but not so nice I don’t get vacations. I get vacations, but not such extravagant ones that he is reduced to driving a Civic.
I’ve got no objection whatsoever to being pampered, but any man who thought that was the way to do it is… well, so far away from understanding my personality that they might as well be with someone completely different. Put that shit in a term deposit and save it for a really awesome honeymoon.
(Seriously, two month’s salary?! Even at my modest freelancing income, that’s like six thousand dollars! Do you know how fantastic a vacation I could have for that?!)
I like jewellery, but I’d be too freaking intimidated to wear a ring like that. I’ve had bad luck with rings and I’d be walking around all day paranoid that it would fall off or get stolen. It’s like Rita Rudner said: “My husband bought me a pearl necklace. It’s fake. I requested fake. We live in dangerous times and I don’t want something around my neck that’s worth more than my head.”
Besides, I don’t even like diamonds. Get me a nice silver or titanium ring with an amethyst.
Yech… We’ll keep our carbide rings that cost less than an hour’s net pay each. Neither of us are into diamonds or gold.
Nah, the OP is a guy, and one with a history of being fairly jaded about romantic situations. I have no doubt it was posted with a cynical view behind it.
I’m with wolfman in saying that I’m having trouble spotting the difference between most of those rings. The size of a solitare is pretty much the only thing I can spot. As for the rest, it’s hard to tell if they’re Platinum, White Gold, Silver, etc. All of which would vary the price significantly without changing the look much. A platinum ring with a small solitare may be as pricey as a yellow gold ring with a larger solitare. And without a hand under them it’s hard to tell the large rocks with larger settings from smaller rocks(think Marquis cut) which are displayed differently. I hope the actual exhibition has some more info on those shots and not just what we can see online.
Neat idea for an exhibition though and if it were nearby I’d probably go see it with a friend of mine who works in the jewelry business.
Enjoy,
Steven