Those are pretty ugly. Besides, the only one that counts is the one you get that allows you to take half his stuff when you leave.

Linking to the actual page rather than some blog about it would have helped, but then that page offers no explaination. I guess art does not require captions.

Meh, big deal.

Damnit, now I have "Bananaphone" stuck in my head.

feckingmorons: Linking to the actual page rather than some blog about it would have helped, but then that page offers no explaination. I guess art does not require captions.

Meh, big deal.

I understood perfectly. Each poster depicting 9 rings has at its bottom the job title that can afford them. What's so difficult?

That said - Kreist, people are so easily manipulated. Especially men. I swear to Elvis, if you tell a man that buying a product will get women to like him and even let him fark them, he's going to say, "Uh... okay, gimme two!"

Anyone who spends 2 month's salary on an engagement ring out of a feeling of obligation that he has to "do it right" is a dupe of the diamond industry. DeBeers made it up. If you really want to mark the engagement with a ring, make it a ring you and she like and can afford.

Two month's salary is one of the many guidelines to ignore.

Benevolent Misanthrope: Anyone who spends 2 month's salary on an engagement ring out of a feeling of obligation that he has to "do it right" is a dupe of the diamond industry. DeBeers made it up. If you really want to mark the engagement with a ring, make it a ring you and she like and can afford.

You mean... be responsible and not buy into BS advertising? No thanks.

/I hate debeers. I hate Genocide.

Diamonds are a global scam, duh?

I never understood why people spend so much on rings in general, and in particular, the engagement ring.

Maybe I'm just a dumb guy, but wouldn't you want the wedding ring to be the expensive one? You're only engaged for a short period of time, compared to the time you're married (theoretically, of course).

What most Americans will be able to afford in 2010

I watched part of some goofy SciFi original last week. The demolitions guy was looking over his handywork while holding a gold wedding band up in front of him. The new person on the team asked if that was some kind of ritual where the workers think about wives and loved ones at home and hope they get back safely to them. The guy with the ring said "I'm divorced. The ring is a reminder not to make stupid decisions."

I just... thought that was funny. My wife didn't, so much.

A Pilot

/hot, 'cause that's the way your mother likes it

Space_Fetus: What most Americans will be able to afford in 2010

Dammit, to slow with that GIS

What kind of dumbass is going to spend 2 months salary on a ring?

FlyPanAm: Space_Fetus: What most Americans will be able to afford in 2010

Dammit,to too slow with that GIS

FTFM

If any guy spends two months of his salary on a ring for me, I'd slap him silly.

Don't get me wrong, I like pretty shiny things as much as the next woman, but honestly, two months salary for someone who makes 45k a year is about $7500. Really? 7500 for a ring? How about you buy me a nice ring for a few hundred dollars and do something useful with the rest of the cash, like take me on vacation somewhere interesting, add it to the down payment for a house, etc.

If you marry a woman who expects you to adhere to a "rule" of spending that was coined by someone with a vested interest in said spending, you get what you deserve.

AquaX: I never understood why people spend so much on rings in general, and in particular, the engagement ring.

Maybe I'm just a dumb guy, but wouldn't you want the wedding ring to be the expensive one? You're only engaged for a short period of time, compared to the time you're married (theoretically, of course).

The general idea is that the engagement ring stays on and the wedding band goes on the same finger. The two rings usually come in a set. Some of the wedding bands even wrap around the diamond in some way. Mine did until I smashed my hand in a drawer. The big diamond went flying and my finger swelled up so badly that we had to cut the rest of the ring off. We never found the diamond, and I'm now the proud owner of a stainless steel eternity band.

Carbon: ain't it special.



/though I understand the desire to own gold -- it has some neat properties like extreme corrosion resistance, a unique color, and it is isotropically-pure (all natural gold is Au¹⁹⁷ -- an oddity for such a heavy nucleus)

Shakes tiny fist at Ikam.

The two months rule is unnecessary. Anything over two week's salary is a complete waste of money.

I'm wearing a 2-week-salary ring right now, and it is absolutely stunning. Give me artistry, originality and love over some expensive bling any day.

I bought a 99 dollar emerald ring for my wife online. It's pretty, it's her birthstone, and it wasn't mined by a ten year old. She doesn't wear it all the time, which is fine, because I didn't spend 1/6 of my yearly income on it. I remember her having a conversation with somebody who pseudo-politely asked if it was an actual engagement ring. Her response was, "well, diamonds are basically the same thing as pencil lead, and i'm glad he didn't waste money on something I am going to wear for a few months then maybe never put on again. I mean, you aren't wearing your engagement ring anymore, right?" The woman was owned and I was satisfied.

jshine:isotropically

isotopically

/grr -- damn spellcheck

FlyPanAm: FlyPanAm: Space_Fetus: What most Americans will be able to afford in 2010

Dammit,to too slow with that GIS

FTFM

My GISfu is strong. You will get like me one day grasshopper. Or, if you have a life, probably not.

Funny and sad at the same time. I actually just used a local jeweler and designed my own; for a number of reasons. The main reason being that the SO would pop a stone out of the "traditional" things in about fifteen minutes.

The price was really nice, too, because you could see where the money really went. When you decide to have them made to your specs, they can tell you what the cost of the metals is, the labor in casting and finishing, etc. And I went through a small, local craftsman. Highly recommended. And it was not two month's salary. It was a good learning experience, too, about the craft.

jshine: Carbon: ain't it special.



/though I understand the desire to own gold -- it has some neat properties like extreme corrosion resistance, a unique color, and it is isotropically-pure (all natural gold is Au197 -- an oddity for such a heavy nucleus)

I like you.

tetsoushima: I bought a 99 dollar emerald ring for my wife online. It's pretty, it's her birthstone, and it wasn't mined by a ten year old.

Not to buy into the cliche, but, this.

And, as a follow-up for my own boneheadedness in not paying more attention - I did not have an "engagement" ring - I was referring to the basic wedding rings. An engagement ring would have just been a waste. Still, I could have hocked it for beer now that the price of metals has skyrocketed.

/just kiddding, Dear...

Originally engagement rings were a down payment of sorts, a precious metal and jewel bond in promise of marriage. Should the promise be broken, the woman would get to keep the ring as monetary compensation for having her time wasted.

They also served as proof that the suitor could pay for her material needs. If he could afford a decent piece of jewelry, then he must be financially stable.


But that doesn't apply anymore, at least not in most cases, and the rings are purely symbolic in nature; an expression of love and committment

So f*ck the two months salary rule. They can cost 5 cents in material, as long as they're meaningful to the people involved, then their value in commodities is irrelevant.

A couple I know who were recently engaged had some matching rings made up custom. They're polished stainless steel, not silver or gold, and not a diamond to be found anywhere, but she has a really neat sapphire like stone in an unusual mount. Cost maybe a few hundred for both.

What are you supposed to live on for 2 months if you do what De Beers says?

Jean-Puc_Licard: What are you supposed to live on for 2 months if you do what De Beers says?

I think De Beers is in league with VISA.

"Slap it on your credit card! It's like free money that you don't have to think about!"

jshine: Carbon: ain't it special.



/though I understand the desire to own gold -- it has some neat properties like extreme corrosion resistance, a unique color, and it is isotropically-pure (all natural gold is Au197 -- an oddity for such a heavy nucleus)

I had a nice discussion in a geology class about weather or not Diamonds will revert back to graphite when removed from high temp/pressure. Not sure what the answer was but I think I'll stick with carbon just to be safe.

FormlessOne: tetsoushima: I bought a 99 dollar emerald ring for my wife online. It's pretty, it's her birthstone, and it wasn't mined by a ten year old.

Not to buy into the cliche, but, this.

What a ten year old diamond miner might be able to purchase with a 2 month salary-

Jean-Puc_Licard: What are you supposed to live on for 2 months if you do what De Beers says?

Love and the satisfaction you're supporting a virtual corporate monopoly.

maxximillian: jshine: Carbon: ain't it special.



/though I understand the desire to own gold -- it has some neat properties like extreme corrosion resistance, a unique color, and it is isotropically-pure (all natural gold is Au197 -- an oddity for such a heavy nucleus)

I had a nice discussion in a geology class about weather or not Diamonds will revert back to graphite when removed from high temp/pressure. Not sure what the answer was but I think I'll stick with carbon just to be safe.

ugh...
That was a geology class asking whether, not a geology class about weather... I obviously didn't take many classes in the English Dept.

kmwheel: We never found the diamond

Daemon Spooler: The main reason being that the SO would pop a stone out of the "traditional" things in about fifteen minutes.

My one major requirement was that my ring not have anything sticking up from it. Big stones are just impractical and annoying.

Anyone who spends two month's salary on an engagement ring is a moron. Anyone who expects their fiance to do so is a gold-digger.

Benevolent Misanthrope:

Anyone who spends 2 month's salary on an engagement ring out of a feeling of obligation that he has to "do it right" is a dupe of the diamond industry. DeBeers made it up. If you really want to mark the engagement with a ring, make it a ring you and she like and can afford.

THIS

A diamond engagement ring is stupid when you can buy a handful of cut diamonds as a dealer for half the price they charge for one good stone at a store. I know profit margins are important, but diamonds aren't exactly rare enough to warrant the price DeBeers charges.

Now Mossinite, or however you spell it in English, that's worth the money if it's natural. More light refraction, comes mainly from meteors, but people call it "a diamond substitute." The NERVE!! Or my personal favorite Alexandrite. That shiat changes color from emerald green to deep red. A good stone shows both at once, but in a good way.

Hell, CZ is more romantic than a diamond if you're clever. "Hey baby, this stone cost me two dollars, and here it is on the key to our new house by the lake just like you always wanted."

If anyone is superficial enough to demand a boring, overpriced diamond worth two months' salary from their beau, they don't even deserve an onion ring. I wish I could go back in time and throttle the marketing people at DeBeers years ago for retarding the jeweler's art and giving rise to shiat like bling and "rocks".

maxximillian: I had a nice discussion in a geology class about weather or not Diamonds will revert back to graphite when removed from high temp/pressure. Not sure what the answer was but I think I'll stick with carbon just to be safe.

Well, even if thermodynamic considerations do predict a conversion to some other allotrope like graphite (I'm not sure about this -- I haven't looked at the numbers), it's possible that such a conversion would take *so* long as to be irrelevant on a realistic human timescale. In fact, given that very old diamond jewelry still exists, we know that this is the case.

/thermodynamics often says that some reaction should happen, but in reality the rate of that reaction is so slow that for all practical purposes, it doesn't happen without some sort of catalyst
//and, actually, from a thermodynamic standpoint, diamonds probably should oxidize to CO₂, since they're exposed to atmospheric oxygen, and in fact this can happen in a fire (diamonds will burn like coal)

If a guy who dates me wants to spend two months worth of his salary on me, then it better not be in the form of a farking ring. It would be much better spent on a new entertainment system or something similar, so that it shows an upgrade in status from girlfriend to fiance, but it's sensible too. I think two months salary on a single piece of jewelry is extravagant and unnecessary.

The jewelry industry in general sucks. Somewhere along the way the jewelry industry decided to change December's birthstone from turquoise to blue zircon, and I have been irate at the jewelry industry ever since.

/I still say that my birthstone is turquoise.

Scutter: Anyone who expects their fiance to do so is a gold-digger.

Well... she ain't messin with no broke *cough* um... man.

/Kanye West

Ikam: If any guy spends two months of his salary on a ring for me, I'd slap him silly.

Don't get me wrong, I like pretty shiny things as much as the next woman, but honestly, two months salary for someone who makes 45k a year is about $7500. Really? 7500 for a ring? How about you buy me a nice ring for a few hundred dollars and do something useful with the rest of the cash, like take me on vacation somewhere interesting, add it to the down payment for a house, etc.

This girl is full of win.

They run outta capital letters at some point on the internet?

Anyone who would spend two months of salary on a piece of jewelry for me clearly does not know me well enough to marry me. I would totally kick his ass.

Now if he wanted to spend two months of salary on the bar at our wedding, that's A-OK.

kunibob: The two months rule is unnecessary. Anything over two week's salary is a complete waste of money.

I'm wearing a 2-week-salary ring right now, and it is absolutely stunning. Give me artistry, originality and love over some expensive bling any day.

You said it. My engagement ring cost probably about $30 (moonstone on silverish band) and our wedding rings were designed by my husband and made by a friend of his. Simple knotwork and ivy designs on flat white gold bands.

I genuinely feel sorry for guys with fiancees that expect lavish expensive rings. Unless the guy is rich, in which case that's probably why she's marrying him.

kth: Anyone who would spend two months of salary on a piece of jewelry for me clearly does not know me well enough to marry me. I would totally kick his ass.

Now if he wanted to spend two months of salary on the bar at our wedding, that's A-OK.

Heh, or save it for the honeymoon.

Caulfield: If you marry a woman who expects you to adhere to a "rule" of spending that was coined by someone with a vested interest in said spending, you get what you deserve.

Very true. I've seen lovely rings for around the price of tetsoushima's engagement ring (sounds like you did good there). Oh, and I have no interest in diamonds whatsoever, except for one diamond, the diamond that belonged to my great-grandmother that I will inherit upon my mother's death, and I'd be just as interested in the ring if it were not a diamond simply because it belonged to my great-grandmother.

stranger in a strange land: kmwheel: We never found the diamond

Daemon Spooler: The main reason being that the SO would pop a stone out of the "traditional" things in about fifteen minutes.

My one major requirement was that my ring not have anything sticking up from it. Big stones are just impractical and annoying.

I inset the stone on purpose for that reason. A couple of months after we were married, she scratched it up a lot moving rocks in a creek behind her parent's house. It is only metal. She felt bad; I thought that it was funny;

A-list actors apparently have no taste in jewelry. Gaddamn those rings are ugly.


doglover: Hell, CZ is more romantic than a diamond if you're clever. "Hey baby, this stone cost me two dollars, and here it is on the key to our new house by the lake just like you always wanted."

Newsletter. I would like a subscription.

Eh, I'm quite happy with tungsten carbide for my wedding band. Cheap, shiny, and unique!


The ring I bought my fiancee was a Canadian diamond to avoid that whole blood diamond thing too.

Ikam: If any guy spends two months of his salary on a ring for me, I'd slap him silly.

Don't get me wrong, I like pretty shiny things as much as the next woman, but honestly, two months salary for someone who makes 45k a year is about $7500. Really? 7500 for a ring? How about you buy me a nice ring for a few hundred dollars and do something useful with the rest of the cash, like take me on vacation somewhere interesting, add it to the down payment for a house, etc.

I like you. I don't know if you have a profile pic, but you're hot 'cause you're sensible.