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According to theweddingchannel.com (and many other websites), the recommended cost of an engagement ring is equivalent to two months’ salary. Washington based artist Lee Gainer developed a series of prints called “Two Months’ Salary“, where each print lists a profession (anesthesiologist, farmer, referee, etc.), and then shows images of the engagement rings that people in that profession could afford to purchase if they used up two months worth of their wages.
You can see the rest of the series here.
I think this is pretty fascinating, and I would love to see another series where they photograph actual rings from these professions.
What do you guys think? How do your rings stack up compared to others in your industry?
Wow..that’s interesting! I know what one of my coworkers bought his FI. It was about a 1.5 ct center in white gold with a hand designed band with diamonds around it..looked very vintage. I’d say this artist is right on target with this interesting project.
Oh Miss Gloss, I’m sorry to say this, but I would never compare my ring to what the industry says I should have. My ring came from my fiance’s grandmother (i.e. it was free!). However, I think it’s more beautiful than any of the rings the industry says I should/could have. There is no reason why a man should spend so much money on something that in the end, should be about commitment and love, and not how expensive (or not expensive) a piece of jewelry costs. I know how much my ring costs because I had to get it insured (it is less than 2 months salaries), but I could never tell you how much it means to me. I really hope you ladies don’t take those ad too seriously.
I love my ring and my husband spend nowhere near two months salary. He is a teacher and my ring cost right around 1 months salary — AFTER taxes and it is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen!!!!
REALLY intriguing. I know my ring is better than what others can usually afford in our “profession” (we’re student bus drivers until we graduate). He wanted to essentially buy a ring that would fall in the “2 month” range of his PTA profession instead of his bus driving college job, so we ended up a ring that is worth about $6000. My FI has perfect credit, hit an after holiday sale, negotiated with the jeweler for an extra 10% off, and had $500 his mother gave him to go towards the ring. He got the “upgrade” he wanted but without going into debt as a bus driver. He’ll have it paid off before we get married!
@Coffee Girl: I’m absolutely not saying that - I just find it really interesting. And love looking at pics of other people’s rings!
I think this is really interesting because while it shouldn’t MATTER (as coffee girl said) how much someone spent on a ring or how big the diamond is, it DOES matter because the money IS still being spent. I know I was shocked to see how much a lot of the rings I liked cost, and it was important to us to figure out how much we wanted and could afford to spend without going in to debt over it. In the end we went for something that was rather pricey because a ring is forever. (Why NOT spend a lot on a forever/heirloom jewelry piece? Most brides won’t bat an eye at spending many times as much on the wedding itself, and that’s just one day of their lives!)
Looking at the images in the gallery though, I kept in mind that jewelry prices vary a great deal with the clarity and color of the diamond, as well as the type of metal used. You could have two rings that look exactly the same to the average person, but one is a color H and has SI2, whereas one is a D and has VVS1… and their prices would be VERY different.
Thanks, Miss Gloss for posting this. I thought it was neat!
My ring cost approximately half of his one month salary, after tax. It’s a beautiful ring and I love it and wouldn’t have it any other way. He knows how little I care about engagement ring and cared much more for the wedding band. I no longer wear the engagement ring since we’ve been married and it was the best decision he made. Proves how much he knows me.
Neat!! This stuff is fascinating. That must have taken a lot of time to compile those images, but is that really art, or an observation? She didn’t take the pictures. I hope she gave the photographers their due credit.
I couldn’t tell the difference between dental hygienist, farmer, lifeguard and graphic designer… Seemed like a bunch of different rings for different tastes. Sure, the CEO, A list actor and anesthesiologist pics had bigger stones, but that’s about it.
To me, my ring is the most valuable thing I own. Knowing that it is something that is meant to signify our relationship to last forever, it means so much to me. Its more then just a diamond, it shows me, he really means it, he really does want to get married. He’s willing to splurge for something that is going to last forever. Even with the high sticker price, its worth it to spend as much as you can afford. Does he really have to spend that money? No, its something he should want to do. But that’s just me since I still spend hours staring at it, and it reminds me daily of my finance in his absence while he’s in Iraq.
Interesting! I know my ring was nowhere near 2 months salary - I’d kill him if it was!!! But my ring is perfect in every way and I can’t imagine anything different. It sparkles like you owuldn’t believe and looks big for being only .75 carat.
Mine is a little over 3 carats and is amazing. However, we are both students in professional. We have 0 income and are living on student loans. But he has been saving to buy a ring since before we even met. I know how hard he has worked to save for it and it means so much that he put years of savings into a ring for me. And even after he popped the question when I was asking him if he was nervous before he asked he said that he was worried I wouldn’t love it. How could I not love it! I don’t think it matters the size or cost of the ring. I think it matters how much effort went into it. I mean he saved for years and had it custom designed. I could not ask for more.
This is fascinating! Thanks for posting about this artist. The two-months’ salary campaign is among DeBeer’s most clever marketing schticks; oh how I’d love to do a counter-series, based on what two-months’ salary for all those professions would purchase for those who mine diamonds for the DeBeer’s cartel.
That’s really interesting, although I would hope that my guy won’t spend that much on my ring. But thanks for the pics, I love looking at the different styles.
Um, wow. You have zero income, living off of student loans, and your guy chose to spend his entire savings on a 3 carat diamond instead of, say, paying off said student loans or saving for a house? Wow, my priorities and yours are WAY different.
Miss Hot Cocoa, I totally heart you.
I’m biting my tongue so much at this post but I guess I can’t keep it in: the 2-month thing is ridiculous. Diamonds are not rare, rarely appreciate in value etc etc. Yes, they’re super pretty and I like looking at pictures of them, but if my fiance paid 2 months salary for a ring for me, I’d kill him.
i have to say, i can’t stand the traditional e-ring (solitaires, etc.). to each her own, of course, but the way i see e-rings is OFTEN (not always) a competition btwn catty women about who got the bigger ring, or “oooh look at me, i’m ENGAGED!” i understand a girl wanting to love her ring, & i don’t begrudge anyone that, but i think most e-rings pretty much look the same, at least at a glance. they are just too flashy for me. they seem like an over-priced waste of $, especially with everyone & her brother getting a divorce around me (not that i am entering my marriage entertaining those thoughts.) my FI does alright for himself & could have afforded a pretty big ring, but i wouldn’t have liked it. (it isn’t like i went out of my way to be different, unique, or buck against society.) he was dead-set against getting me the ring i liked (a tiff & co. ring from the hearts collection- <$1500 out the door http://beverlys.net/photos/2005/shop/TiffanyRing.jpg - <2 wks salary for him), & said he wanted to get me a “real” e-ring when he proposed. i realize that this must sound like the rant of someone who feels she didn’t get a fair shake e-ring wise, but i truly made the decision not to get a traditional e-ring with no regrets. i like that no one can tell my ring is an engagement ring, although i feel as if it symbolizes exactly the same thing as a giant solitaire. that being said i do have my mother’s vintage e-ring, which i may choose to wear to honor her memory. (i am wearing her mathching band, & obviously my e-ring doesn’t fit w/ a band.) my FI will wear my father’s band for the same reason. –oh, miss gloss, your innocent post unleashed a fury–sorry. 
PS: I was thinking the same thing as Sarah, but again to each his or her own!
I feel like a lot of people are missing the point on this. It’s not an opportunity to look at pretty rings but instead a commentary on the commodification of marriage, the use of engagement rings as status symbol, and on how ridiculous it is that we are all tricked by a diamond company’s marketing campaign into thinking that if he doesn’t pay 2 months’ salary for your ring, he doesn’t love you enough. The peer pressure and advertiser pressure surrounding weddings is ridiculous. Take a deep breath and ask why you really and truly think you need a giant rock. Where did you get the idea? My money’s on the ad campaigns. My beautiful heirloom ring has a diamond that tiny by today’s silly two-month standard, but it is beautiful to me. Weddings are a public celebration of your commitment to your partner, not an orgy of consumerism.
I saw this project in the news last week. I believe the artist is making a sociological statement about how we value our rings; how diamonds have a perceived value (as opposed to a real one) and on the constructed tradition of the engagement ring itself.
I think it’s supposed to get us to think about how much we’ve bought into this tradition, how real it is for us personally, and how seriously we buy into the “love=diamonds” argument.
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Mrs. Gloss, Boston/Maine Age and Occupation: 24, Designer/soon-to-be Architect Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Systems Engineer Engagement Date: May 23, 2008 Wedding Date: August 2009 Venue: SS Katahdin/Lakeside Tent About Me: I don't like nickels or the skin that forms on pudding when it's in the fridge for too long. I couldn't live without Pantone markers, fountain soda (3/4 diet, ¼ regular Coke), run-on sentences, or ridiculously oversized sunglasses. I will try to DIY almost anything and am just OCD enough to make most of it work. I am truly excited about having all my family and friends together, becoming Mrs. Gloss, and having amazing photos to prove it!
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