Expert ice advice: Mormon Times' guide for wedding season Mormon Times
A ring is meant to be a reminder, a symbol of eternal commitment. But for some brides-to-be, a ring is also either a status symbol ("Look how loaded my guy is") or a measurement of his love ("Look how much he loves me").
Before taking that terrifying trip to the jeweler, first determine your budget and stick to it. You chose her for eternity, but that doesn't mean you have to spend that much time paying for it. There's nothing romantic about steeping yourself into deep debt.
Second, prioritize your five Cs: color, cut, clarity, carat weight and cost. What element is more important to you?
How much should you spend?
The rule about spending two months' salary isn't set in stone, even if roughly 60 percent of U.S. men and women say it's "appropriate." The fact is, the world's leading diamond company, DeBeers, came up with the notion as a 1940's marketing campaign. By that rule, if you earn $30,000 a year, your net pay dictates you should drop about $3,750; for $40,000 it's $5,000 a ring; for $50,000 it's a $6,200 piece of ice. The rule may be over the top, but skimping on an item your wife will wear for the rest of her life is not a good start, either. It will always be in front of her eyes, at arm's length, an extension of her physical self.
A peer-reviewed Rutgers University study says the mean U.S. engagement ring is $3,867.55 -- 11 percent of a man's average salary. (That number, however, is likely to be lower for Mormons who marry younger than their counterparts; about 40 percent of