(no subject)

[alexseanchai]

CNBC says the average engagement ring costs just shy of $6K.

My car cost me about $6.5K. And it's a lot more practical and, because generally speaking cars are harder to misplace than rings, I'm a lot less afraid of losing it!

Comments

[syntaxofthings]

That's one of those things I just shake my head at. Especially because I bet a lot of it is just because people are willing to pay those prices for one reason or another.

[alexseanchai]

De Beers is greedy and has had a stellar marketing team for decades. :(

[the_rck]

My impression is that engagement rings were traditionally meant as a sort of proof of financial ability to support a family and as something that the woman could fall back on in a financial crisis, especially after a divorce.

[alexseanchai]

...huh. Plausible first point, sensible second point.

Still.

[the_rck]

I have a friend who, while unemployed after getting divorced, did end up selling her engagement ring. This is one reason why, barring some major sentimental/family attachment, it's seen as tacky to ask for the rings and other gifts of jewelry back in a divorce and worse than that for in-laws to ask for such things back in the event that the spouse dies.

[alexseanchai]

Nod nod!

[kittydesade]

... yeah if I had 6k I'd use it to fix my house up some more, not buy an engagement ring.

[alexseanchai]

Yup

[aris_tgd]

... Diamonds Georg, who bought a 8.3 billion dollar engagement ring studded with priceless gems and more than one car, is an outlier adn should not be counted.

[alexseanchai]

YES

[silveradept]

Wow. That's a rather significant amount of money for a jewel.

[alexseanchai]

Yup. And "average" entails "people spend more than that" and implies an appended "often"...

[everbright]

And the resale vaule for diamonds is like, bupkis. It's the same sort of scam as college textbooks.

[alexseanchai]

Yep!