How Much Should You Spend on an Engagement Ring?

The two-month salary rule was a marketing device, not a standard. How to set an engagement ring budget that fits your life, from a Kuala Lumpur bespoke jeweller.

Almost every client raises this before they raise anything else, and usually with some embarrassment.

Here is the honest position: how much to spend is a personal matter. The familiar guideline of two months' salary was developed as a directional tool to help establish a budget. It was never a standard, and with the range of options available now it no longer functions as one.

Where the rule came from

It was a marketing device. It spread because it was memorable and because it gave anxious buyers a number, which is exactly what anxious buyers want.

It persists because nobody replaced it with anything better.

What we would use instead

Three questions, in order.

1. What can you spend without borrowing?

A ring bought on debt starts a marriage with a monthly reminder attached. We have never seen that end well.

2. What else does this year have to carry?

An engagement is usually followed by a wedding, sometimes a deposit on a home. The ring is the first expense in a sequence, not a standalone one.

3. What does she actually want?

This is the one people skip, and it is the only one that matters. Some clients want the largest stone possible. Others would be genuinely unhappy wearing something conspicuous.

What the money buys, in order of visibility

If the budget is fixed, and it always is, this is where it does the most work:

• Cut quality. The one thing that changes how the stone looks
• A setting that suits her hand and her life
• Colour and clarity, only to the point of eye-clean
• Carat weight, with whatever is left

A well-cut smaller stone in a setting she loves will out-perform a larger dull stone in a setting chosen from a tray, every time.

The Malaysian context

Gold prices have risen sharply, which has changed what a given budget buys. Two responses we see, both sensible:

Lighter, better-made settings. Less metal, more design. The piece reads no smaller on the hand.

Choosing the stone first, the metal second. The stone is the thing she looks at.

What we tell clients

We would rather build a modest piece you are proud of than a stretched one you resent.

Tell us your number at the start. A good jeweller works within it rather than trying to move it, and if we cannot make something worth having at your figure, we will say so rather than sell you something compromised.

Frequently asked questions

Is two months' salary still the rule?

No. It was a directional guideline and it is no longer treated as a standard.

Is it acceptable to spend less?

Yes. The right number is what you can spend without strain.

Does a bespoke ring cost more than a ready-made one?

Not necessarily. You are not paying for retail display stock, and nothing is spent on features she did not want.

Book a complimentary design consultation at the C'Garden atelier, The MET Corporate Towers, Kuala Lumpur: 010-766 7448 · hq@cgarden.com.my

C'Garden is an independent bespoke jeweller in Kuala Lumpur. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or certified by any organisation, laboratory or brand named in this article. Third-party names are used only to refer factually to those organisations and their published standards. All text and imagery in this article is original work created by C'Garden.

Reference

Jewelers of America. (n.d.). Engagement & wedding. Jewelers of America. https://www.jewelers.org/buying-jewelry/jewelry-buying-guides/engagement-and-wedding