*Admin. Note: Sorry I forgot to post this earlier. The VSB NYC Meetup (it ain’t really a Happy Hour) is on and poppin’ for this Saturday, October 3, at Latitude Bar & Grill on 8th Avenue (between 47th and 48th Street). Let’s say around 8pm. If you can make it great. Come party with Panama and Liz. The Champ is on the run from NYC hooligans ever since his NYC overrated post. I’m not getting a section, necessarily as the folks at Latitude said we should be okay in there without a special area though if its looking like I’ll need one, I’ll drop the dough for it as long as folks rain alcohol on me like an SWV song. Anyway. Hope to see you New Yorkers there. Let’s hear it for Neeew Yoooooooooork!*
The good people of VSB are no strangers to marriage proposals. And don’t even get me started on V.E.G. and her multiple marriage proposals! Well, one of the most imporant parts of a marriage proposal is the ring that comes with it. Right or wrong, people (mostly women actually) view the ring as the true testament of the man’s love. The bigger it is, the more he loves you.
I see you nodding your head in disagreement over there. Don’t even try it. You ladies know you judge the quality of a woman’s relationship by the size of the ring. Or at the very least, come to some type of determination of the man’s true desires.
It’s all bogus.
To the ring.
I happened to be perusing The Frisky tonight looking for blog fodder when I came across an article that referenced something I’d heard about on the radio: the idea that an engagement ring is actually a bad investment (especially in these current economic times). I’ve heard this stated before, usually by some cat trying to conjure up a reason good enough not to drop 10 stacks on what basically amounts to a really expensive bauble for women to show off and to other women as some sort of validation of her man’s love.
Now, I understand the reason why women love engagement rings so much. For one, its jewelry. For two, women like tangible expressions of love for some reason. Flowers, cards, BMW’s all make women feel loved and wanted so it stands to reason that a ring specifically intended to be an expression of love and commitment would mean the world to her. But if you think about it, that ring can usually represent as much as an actual down payment on a house. Banks aren’t doing 100 percent financing anymore so the $10K a woman is wearing on her left hand really could be a down payment on a house.
It would seem that the simple solution would be to not spend so much on a ring, which I suppose comes down to knowing your woman and what she could live with. But assuming a general desire for a ring let’s look at this from the perspective of the young urban professional. That guy can’t just go buy a $1K ring and his woman be satisfied. It’s quite likely that she’ll want a ring that is more indicative of her social status. $1K just won’t do it. But that also means that spending $10K isn’t unreasonable. So it’s like you either pay a grip or face humiliation and possible rejection. It’s quite the conundrum.
What happens if buying the ring your woman really wants sets you all back in your ability to purchase a home? I mean it would seem rather selfish for her to say something like, “we can buy a house any time, but we only get married once.” While I understand the sentiment, doesn’t that seem a littel bass ackwards? A house helps build actual usable value whereas the rings value is all intrinsic. Then again, can you put a price on intrinsic value?
Isn’t this a lot of questions? The main crux is this: just how important is the ring in an engagement or marriage? Or rather, how important would it be to you (or is it to you if you are married)? It truly does seem like there are better investments to make, but I completely understand why a woman would want a ring.
So good people of VSB, just how important is the ring?
-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka TANGLE JIG P aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL, HE A 3
