This is a question many men face when contemplating buying an engagement ring for their fiancee. You don’t want to drop a house down payment on it, but at the same time you don’t want to come across as looking cheap or putting too low of a price on the love you feel for your woman. And then there’s those DeBeers commercials which urge you to spend two months salary on the damn thing- that’s one sixth of your entire pre-tax salary! So what’s a guy to do?

First thing to remember- the DeBeers commercial is just a clever marketing pitch, there is no rule set in stone about how much you should spend on a ring.  Forget about what those ads are trying to brainwash you to do and don’t listen to all the brain dead people telling you how much you “should” spend.

Here’s a good rule of thumb- the ring should look beautiful, with a clear, high-quality diamond, but that doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. The quality  and cut of the diamond is more important than the size. Buy a ring you wouldn’t be embarrassed seeing your girl in, but you don’t have to feel pressure to get lavish. Your woman will not love you anymore if the ring is a few thousand more. You just need at least one high quality diamond in an attractive setting, and the rest is just gravy. Frankly, the rest is just for materialist bragging rights, and do you really want to spend the rest of your life with someone who values material cost over the idea behind the giving of the ring?

A good resource to start with is Blue Nile, a website that you can order engagement rings from. They have a great resource section explaining what makes a quality diamond and what characteristics to look for. They have a great choice of available diamonds and settings at prices which are usually far lower than what you’ll find at a local jeweler, and they can ship it to you within a few days. You can find a ton of high quality rings for less than a thousand; the best bargains are probably in the $1000-$2000 range, but you can definitely find some beautiful looking rings at decent prices.

Remember, the greatest value you can give your woman is the love you give her, not the material value of the ring.