How Much Should I Spend on a Wedding Ring?

The cost of weddings add up, but your wedding rings will be one of the most important, longest-lasting invest you make. This guide will give you an idea of the average cost of wedding rings, the factors that can drive prices up and down, and how you can set a sensible budget for your wedding rings.

There’s a whole host of opinions and 'rules' on how much to spend on an engagement ring, but little attention is paid to the cost of wedding rings post-proposal, and how much you should budget to spend on them. Weddings aren’t cheap, so planning ahead is important, and everlasting purchases such as your wedding bands is a good place to start when planning your big day. Here we look at the average cost of wedding rings, the factors that can make them less or more costly, and help you figure out how much to spend on your wedding rings.

The average spend on wedding rings is £2,285. At Queensmith 82% of people buy both partner's rings at the same time.

As with most raw materials, the various prices of metals can fluctuate, largely due to demand and availability at a given time. That said, the cost of wedding rings has generally stayed consistent over the past few years - whether you buy your wedding rings 3 months, 6 months or even a year before your wedding, you’ll likely pay the same amount!

Whilst this hasn’t always been the case, the cost of your wedding rings won’t change depending on your choice of metal. You should note that white gold needs re-plating every so often, as the white-toned rhodium will wear off to reveal the more buttery-yellow colour of the un-plated white gold. Most jewellers will charge to for re-plating; the cost of which will build over the years with every re-plating.

Diamonds are amongst nature’s most sought after produce; exquisitely created over millennia of Earth’s natural processes, it’s no wonder that adding diamonds to your wedding ring will make it more costly. The bigger each diamond, and the more of them used on the wedding ring; the more expensive your wedding ring will cost.

Simple in design and without the embellishment of diamonds, plain wedding rings are the most affordable style of wedding ring. The price of a plain wedding ring will largely be driven by the amount of precious metal needed to craft the ring; the thicker the band, the more expensive the ring.

In either platinum or 18K gold, a plain, light court wedding ring with the width of 2.5mm will cost around £425. If you’re after something a little chunkier, say 6mm in thickness, you’d be looking at more like £1,145.

As with any fine jewellery, prices can vary pretty vasty between wedding rings, based largely on their style and size. The thicker the band, the more precious metal needed, and therefore the more expensive the ring. The second determining factor of a wedding ring’s price will be any added features, including engravings or contours, which require more of a goldsmiths’ time to craft and therefore cost more than simple bands.

Most prominently, the addition of diamonds will impact the overall cost of the ring: bigger diamonds and more of them will equate to a larger price tag - for obvious reasons!

Another factor that can impact price is luxury brand premiums. No matter the size or style, you’ll find that the big-name brands and jewellery houses (such as those located on London’s Bond Street) will charge almost double the amount of an independent jewellers like Queensmith. At Queensmith, we create our rings in-house whilst avoiding brand-premiums and larger overhead costs. Weddings are costly, so it is important to find a jeweller who will craft your rings to the highest standards, whilst ensuring unrivalled value for money.

This blog should give you a good idea of how much wedding rings can cost, but ultimately how much you budget for your rings is a very personal decision. Whilst rumours circulate that engagement ring buyers should spend two or even three months of their salary, we can’t say we agree with outdated rules and ideas conjured up by marketers, decades ago. The sentiment should be true of your wedding rings: do your research to get a realistic idea of what wedding rings cost, figure out what's important to you (do you want diamond coverage? A thick band? These will cost more), then define a budget that you know will work.

If you’re confused about how much to spend or would like some further clarification on how much your dream wedding ring could cost you, get in touch with our friendly wedding ring experts, who will help you get to the bottom of your queries.

The cost of weddings undoubtedly add up. From venues to dresses and suits, bands, catering and booze: there’s a lot to consider! Your wedding rings should last a lifetime and be worn everyday; so the most important thing is to find a reputable jeweller, with proven, trusted reviews and a promise to craft life-long quality. Avoid the premium prices of big-name luxury brands, but still be sure to invest in renowned craftsmanship: beautiful aesthetics and lasting quality at the best value for money.