It’s June – the month of Bridezillas…and it’s about to get ugly…get ready to comment ladies!!! (and gentleman, I want to hear from you too!)
Courtesy of http://gossuk.blogspot.com
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH $30,000.00?
A friend of mine mentioned that a good friend of hers recently got engaged and that her ring cost $30,000 (how she knows this as fact, I don’t know – but let’s just take her word for it). My friend also mentioned that she expected for her future fiance (whoever he may be) to be able to give her a ring in that price range, as well.
My immediate thoughts were somewhere in the range of: “Does she really think her engagement ring should be worth the price of a down payment on a home???
…really?
…REALLY???
No. It’s realllly not worth it!”
Instead of voicing these thoughts, I probably just smiled and nodded and masked my disgust. Please don’t fall into this materialistic trend and base the value of his love on the cost of the ring. Seriously, that’s just STUPID!!!
NOT SAYING IT SHOULD BE A CUBIC ZIRC…BUT…
Let’s be real…unless you’re a trained jeweler…can you REALLY tell it’s a real diamond or a cubic zirc??? You think you can…but you probably can’t.
Same with pearls… Not even salespeople at a high-end luxury jeweler can tell the difference between why one pearl necklace is $5000 more dollars than the other when they both look exactly the same to the naked (untrained) eye (TRUE STORY!). It’s a spin on the classic “Brand name vs Generic product” strategy. It costs more so you THINK it must be better, it’s all a pricing scam to get you to spend more money on the sammmme s***! Brilliant!!!
WHAT REALLY MATTERS…
Let’s face it – what a girl really wants is all of the “ooohing” and “aahhhing” that comes with displaying her newly bejeweled hand in public. THAT’S the important part! The ego-stroking. So what’s the point in spending an outrageous amount of money on something that could easily deliver the same amount of “ooohs” and “ahhhs” and “omg you’re getting married??? Oh the ring is beautiful!!!” screams when you’d get exactly the same amount of gratification by showing the $8,000 ring? That’s all I’m tryna say…that’s all!
BUT MORE EXPENSIVE IS STILL BETTER RIGHT?
Still people will purchase the $30,000 ring JUST for the novelty of knowing he paid $30,000 for it!!! And I can’t help those people. They are beyond help.
Let’s take the pearl example again, my fake pearls could look just like Martha Bush’s. But I paid $5.99 for mine, not $59,999.99. Okay…that might be a stretch, but…not that far of a stretch. If Martha and I traded pearls, you would oooh and ahhh over the pearls she’s wearing because you assume she’s wearing real pearls, whether or not she actually is. And you would barely comment on mine because you’d never assume mine must be the $60,000 expensive real thing. Life is alllll about perception and judgment and (often false) assumptions.
Now…I’m not saying he should spend $29.99 on a cubic zirc ring from Walmart for your engagement ring, ladies (not that there’s anything wrong with that…I guess…somebody SOMEwhere’s gotta be buying them RIGHT??? ).
SO WHAT’S MY POINT?
I’m just saying why not spend $8,000 or $5,000 on a nice diamond versus $25,000 on a nice diamond when no one will see the difference in clarity vs facets vs whatever else they make up to get you to pay that $25,000 price. In my humble opinion, I truly think $10,000 is the maximum needed to purchase a beautiful, acceptable ring. $2,000 can be the minimum if you like (not that you should put any kinds of limits on love…right…I almost forgot we’re in America…). But $30K+ for a muhfuggin ring??? C’mon son…ladies getdafuggouttaherewitdatbuuuullllshiiiiddd!!! I’m sure one can find more worthwhile uses for that extra money. At least get an overpriced brand new car that can actually be of some use!
COMMENTS PLEASE – I think this could be a good debate…
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
What can I say but that I completely agree. There’s some foolish rule that says an engagement ring should be 3 months of a man’s salarly. I say, if it looks nice and won’t rot on my finger, I’ll be happy. Why spend all that on a ring when you could spend it on the honeymoon and future home? It just doesn’t make sense. The real problem is not only materialism but the bigger is better mentality. I wish the lucky young couple the best. I just hope the payments on the ring don’t last longer than the marriage itself…
I agree with dollathug – as usual.
A coworker of mine has a wooden wedding ring, uniquely etched, and fitted. It’s really classic and I’ve never mentioned it to him, but cheers to him for not conforming to the bs our consumerism propagates.
With that said, I’ve seen a lot of tiny rings with tiny diamonds and I think, hmmmm not a good look. So, do a little something or just go for unique. A puny rock though…I can’t cosign that. I think whatever people do 1) get the best bang for your buck and 2) do it YOUR way, not just big and shiny. Coming from a guy who generally prefers the sentimental over gaudy, those upper west side/jersey house wives look plain silly and tasteless with their huge rocks.
Especially, when they happen to find themselves unemployed and divorced. (I had a law professor who’s wedding ring was a distraction during classes it was so big; she was married for 10+ years; as of last year she finalized her divorce, her ring(s) have since stopped being a distraction, she no longer wears them)….kind of embarrassing, huh?
Thus, my take on it ends with the third rule 3), the marriage should be more valuable than the price of the rings combined and multiplied. No gaudy showing for the public is necessary when you have the real thing at home. A perfect wooden circle should be more than enough for your audience and will be noted by haters who’s big rocks no longer make them happy.
@ CKing: I think you bring up a great point – the big rock won’t make someone happy in the long run. What the ring is supposed to symbolize (whether it’s made of wood, diamond, or whatever) is what’s actually priceless. Thanks for your insight!
@ SO: “I just hope the payments on the ring don’t last longer than the marriage itself…” – mmm PREACH! Interesting concept, I wonder if there’s any study on whether the price of the ring negatively correlates with the length of the marriage? (i.e. the higher the price, the shorter the marriage – since the relationship probably has a higher probability of being based on shallow/monetary/trophy wife foundations…) Just an idea…thanks for commenting, SO!
Regarding CKing comment: “A puny rock though…I can’t cosign that”
This is exactly the kind of mentality I spoke of in my previous post…You‘re perpetuating the lie that a big rock is better because it’s well…bigger. Just because a man spends more money on a woman doesn’t mean he loves her more than if he spent less. A lot of love and hard work could be in that “puny rock.” Some of the longest and greatest marriages started with “puny rocks.” A small rock could equal BIG LOVE! So who cares if the ring is “puny” as long as the future wife and husband are happy.
This just reminds me how grateful I am to be married to a frugal, practical woman! When we went shopping for rings she said from the start that she only wanted a band, since she did not want a stone to catch on things or to worry about. We saw a pair of bands on sale (I think for $250 for both), and they have been on our fingers for nearly 18 years.
@SO: I stand behind my “puny rock not cosigning” comment. To clarify, that view is about personal taste, and not a broader statement about love as described in the rest of my post. I think if I was to buy a puny rock due to my budget, I would just go for a band. Something more subtle and practical- as Kevin points out- can actually look better. Also, less likely to break or snag on things. So, yeah, more of a style comment than anything. If you were to check out the rest of my post and the example I used, the wooden ring, that’s what I meant.
@ Kevin – Congrats on 18 years with such a practical woman!
@SO & CKing – I love the fact that you two are debating your thoughts and viewpoints (as long as we’re keepin’ it friendly!). That’s what I want this blog to be – a forum to exchange ideas that may go against the norm of this propaganda-filled world. Keep the comments coming!
I love this post. Dolla.
I am dating a guy who just made me a promise ring out of beads. It is the most beautiful ring I have and everywhere I go, people ask me, “where did you get that ring? Its so unique”.
Once I was in an airport waiting to board a plane. When I realized I left this ring near the airport bathroom sink, I ran like a mad woman and luckily found it!!! This was not only a pressure situation because I think the ring is cute as ever, but because my pookie face took time out of his extremely busy, corporate Trinidad schedule to MAKE me a ring that I will forever cherish.
My brother also engaged his girlfriend of 3 years by kneeling and then, sketching a ring around her finger (he’s an architect). She nearly passed out with joy! They are happily married (NY court followed by family/friend dinner and salsa dancing until 4am) and have NO wedding debt. Brilliant people!
I agree with CKing. Get the best bang for your buck and do it YOUR way!
@ Sceama – those are two precious stories. Glad to hear there are more people than I thought out there expressing their love with thought and creativity vs debt! And I’m sure your sister-in-law is happier with her inexpensive marriage than the bulk of today’s typical Bridezilla dropping $100K+ on their special day (that’s a WHOLE ‘nother post!). I’m inspired!!
Wow! I know that I am a little late with this comment, but I need to say a few statements. I got caught up in watching a lot of wedding shows. I was even watching the bridezillas and the platinum weddings until I came to my senses. Most of the bridezillas are rude, disrespectful, inconsiderate, and immature.
That is a poor representation of behavior or entertainment teenagers should be watching. And, the average citizen cannot a platinum wedding.
As far as I am concerned, buying a $30,000 ring is fine if you have $30,000 left in your bank account. That means the individual has some sense of sanity. The average person usually cannot afford to go out and purchase anything for $30,000 unless part of the cost is on credit. If I were to get engaged, I would not accept a $30,000 ring–unless it was coming from a billionaire. My mind would be clicking about all of the other practical items I could buy with the money. $30,0000 could pay for a nice wedding, including the rings, reception, honeymoon, and maybe some furniture.
In today’s economy, I would suggest the big “D”–downsize.
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but other than that, this is magnificent blog. A great read. I will definitely be back.