From $0 to $36K: 33 women on how much their engagement ring really cost.

When someone you know gets engaged it gives you full permission to ask a whole heap of questions: How did they propose? When do you think you'll have the wedding? Do you think you'll change your name? What colour theme are you thinking of for the big day?

...But there's one question you're definitely not supposed to ask: How much did your engagement ring cost?

Watch how this man hid an engagement ring inside a necklace he gave his girlfriend for months. Post continues after video.

We get it - it's rude, nosey and barely anyone likes talking about money. But we WANT TO KNOW.

So, we asked the frowned-upon question to our Mamamia community. And they were as candid and honest and glorious as ever.

Without further ado, here is a big old list of engagement rings and their respective price tags. Go forth and have a snoop. 

Rebekah's engagement ring, $600.

"It was 'cheap' (by engagement ring standards), and I’m not a massive jewellery wearer, but I love this. It was about $600. If I'm honest, I think I’ll glow up to the fancier version of the same ring when we get married to fit the band I want but I do love my ring and I get so many compliments about it."

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Brit's engagement ring, $1,100.

"We picked a ring together while on holiday for the stone it had in it, then got it set into white gold once we got home. Perfect for us and my simple style. I love it! Not much value to anyone else but very special to me."

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Renee's engagement ring, $2,000.

"I think mine was about $2,000. I would have been upset if he spent any more than that because it’s just a ring and the money could be spent on much more important things. I love that it’s small and dainty so I don’t ever have to take it off."

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Chloe's engagement ring, between $800 and $1,000.

"My hubby picked out the ring himself, and it was between $800 and $1,000. I did not expect a certain amount and would never have put that sort of condition on his choice. He knew what sort of thing I liked though because every shop we walked by I’d say 'I like that one'."

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Donna's engagement ring, all together $10,000.

"I dated a very rich guy for four years in my early 30s. He bought me a diamond cross necklace, despite me not being religious at all. In my mid-30s we broke up and I moved on to eventually meet and marry my now wonderful husband. He was a tradie and his earnings were on the opposite end of the scale to my previous partner, which didn’t bother me one bit. When he asked me to get married, he told me to pick the ring. I wanted to get the ring made and knew he couldn’t afford a lot so I took the necklace to the jeweller and asked if they could turn it into a ring. They evaluated the necklace at $8,000 so my husband only paid a couple of grand for them to remodel it into a platinum ring. Let’s just say my husband was very surprised at how nice a ring he was able to get for $2,000! I wore that ring for a few years but you know what, it used to give me a rash. It now sits in a jewellery box. I believe the life we have built together (kids, house, family, friends) are more a representation of our love, way more than any ring."

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Brooke's engagement ring, just under $4,000.

"Mine was just under $4,000. We were young and had just bought a house together. It was a complete surprise, style and all. I still love it today. I don't have a pic of it alone, but this is it with my wedding and eternity ring."

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Danni's engagement ring, $1,000.

"Mine was originally $1,000 but Prouds had a one-day 40 per cent off sale so my husband got it for $600. It’s half a carat of diamonds in total. He wanted to spend more. I love it."

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Felicity's engagement ring, unknown.

"I got myself an upgrade late 2019 - 10 years after the fact. I've always wanted a big ring and decided to get it for myself. It’s totally overboard which is why I love it!"

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Christina's engagement ring, $649.

"I’m not a big jewellery wearer so the thought of wearing something that cost nearly as much as my car scared me a little. My fiancé was happy to pay however much and took me to a place to get a custom ring done, but nothing really felt like me. I walked by a store and saw this and fell in love... turns out it was on sale too! It was worth just over $1,000 and we managed to get it for $649. We both paid for it and actually both decided to get engaged. No big special moment or getting down on one knee - but it was and is still just as special."

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Bern's engagement ring, under $5,000.

"My ex asked how much he should spend, I said no more than $5,000. I was so in love with my ring."

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Kylie engagement ring, $6,500.

"We happened upon a ring while out shopping months before the actual proposal. The ring was originally over $8,000 but he somehow managed a discount and got it down to just over $6,500. There was no size/price expectation, and this was not what I thought I wanted to begin with. So I’d definitely recommend trying things on, either on your own or together, to make sure you like what you’re getting. The second band is my wedding band."

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Carly's engagement ring, $14,000.

"My ring was $14,000 - or $9.58 per day for the period I wore it."

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Elizabeth's engagement ring, $30,000.

"I’m divorced now but my ring value is $30,000. I still love it so much, so I am getting it remodelled." 

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Paige's engagement ring, $500.

"I started with a Pandora ring (which I chose), then upgraded to this when I picked my wedding band - it was on sale for about $500. Couldn't really care less about having an expensive ring, I wouldn't trust myself to wear something expensive anyway."

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Natasha's engagement ring, over $2,000.

"We discussed getting engaged beforehand and agreed on a ring budget as we felt that spending a huge amount on a ring wasn’t for us. And by a huge amount I mean the $10K+ kind of deal. But also I had an individual taste and wanted something ethical and unique which would mean it would be $2K+. He ended up going over budget as he got one specially designed and made. I knew the cost because we had to get insurance plus we share a bank account! But it wasn’t what I would call outrageous. I bloody love it so much."

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Amelia's engagement ring, $5,000.

"My husband proposed with a Swarovski crystal ring, with a plan to get a real diamond later. I really wanted a Tiffany solitaire. Instead, he bought a diamond ring on Gumtree or something and had it reset. I think the whole thing cost about $5,000. My plain wedding band is Tiffany - so close-ish!"

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Mikaela's engagement ring, $5,000.

"I didn’t have an expectation on cost or what it would look like and I was so happy with what he chose. It was $5,000 but I don’t think the cost really matters (within reason) because in my case my now-husband chose it for me. I didn’t find out how much it cost until I went to insure it. I adore my ring and love that it was a surprise in every way."

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Maddison's engagement ring, $2,500.

"Mine was 50 per cent off, so we got it for $2,500. Picked it together after my husband proposed to me while I was counting our money tin and asked ‘wanna go ring shopping with that?’ (Which was funny because there was definitely not $2,500 in our money tin!)."

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Kristy's engagement ring, $36,000.

"I never expected a certain amount to be spent, and I don’t know exactly how much it was but it was double digits for sure. My now-husband got my ring from New York and their diamonds are definitely more reasonably priced. The valuation came back at $36,000 - but I hope he didn’t pay that much. We had talked about cuts and styles I liked but he designed it himself, I love it!"

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Christie-Lee's engagement ring, unknown.

"My husband just got me a new ring to celebrate 20 years together (14 years married). My previous ring was broken, so we decided to pick something new. It was custom made and I absolutely adore it."

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Kylie Jane's engagement ring, $1,000.

"I started out with a real ring, it was under $1,000. I loved it but it didn’t last, and we decided to get tattoos instead. It’s definitely not for everyone, but it's perfect for us. I actually don’t wear rings or bracelets or watches as they annoy me so this is a great option for me. We had been together about 10 years when we got them done and this year we will have been together 20 years. For the people who think 'what if you break up?', I don’t see us ever not being together but as my husband said at the time even if we weren’t together we share two kids and will always be a part of each other’s lives. A tiny tattoo would be the least of our problems. My hubby has a plain black tattooed ring."

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Mel's engagement ring, $1,200.

"My ring is non traditional. It cost $1,200 and is a highly treasured member of my family. Google: KitchenAid mixer." 

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Rachel's engagement ring, less than $500.

"Mine was less than $500 full price, as it was sterling silver and not white gold. I don’t wear it now as I’m not really a jewellery person and instead I wear a wedding band with diamonds in it that we picked together."

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Emma's engagement ring, $1,800.

"We scored a huge discount, as it was retailed at $3,500 and I think we paid $1,800. As for my wedding band, we bought it in Hong Kong for around $500. Slim diamond band. Both don't get caught on much and understated. I don't wear much jewellery so suits me great!"

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Lee's engagement ring, $2,500.

"In 1997 my engagement ring cost around $2.5k. A friend had asked me to tell her what styles I liked (at the request of my boyfriend at the time). We had also been jewellery shopping, and he’d asked me to tell him rings I liked and hated. He went back and picked the one I had expressed the most love over but I had no idea if it was cheap or expensive! I still love my ring to this day - and we've been married for 23 years.

"Eternity ring was added after my first child and we designed that together. That seemed like such a huge amount of money at the time (I needed to know the value for insurance), but another friend got engaged at a similar time and hers was $12K for her dream ring so it’s really all down to taste/budget. If I got married again, I would ask to pick a vintage ring as I love the idea of buying items with a rich history."

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Adele's engagement ring, $0.

"My ring was $0. My husband made my ring himself - it's made from a silver fork, a silver spoon, copper wire, brass from a bullet (the heart) and the stone is pink petrified wood from our rural station."

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Kirsty's engagement ring, $5,000.

"My ring cost about $5,000 in 2007. It was a nice but basic solitaire. Last year I had it remodelled into something a bit fancier and more me."

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Georgia's engagement ring, $7,500.

"My engagement ring was $7,500 and made overseas, and my wedding band with 14 diamonds was $3,500 custom-made from Cerrone with the most stunning setting! I was going to opt for a cheaper wedding band but the smaller size diamonds didn’t look nice on my chunky hands. My mum intervened and paid for the nicer quality and bigger diamonds because she didn’t want me to regret it and have a ring I didn’t love that I was stuck wearing for the rest of my life."

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Emma's engagement ring, $300.

"I’m a very EXTRA person with an obsession with glitter sparkle and colour, but for reasons I can’t explain I like my 'proper' jewellery to be very simple and classic. I got this 17 years ago, we were just starting out with not much money. He got it in Thailand (his dad worked over there every third month and took photos and bought it etc) and it cost $300. Perfect for me."

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Katie's engagement ring, $1,600.

"My mum gave my husband one of my grandmother's rings and he spent about $1600 redesigning it. I love that it’s from my grandma."

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Erica's engagement ring, $12,500.

"My engagement ring has my mum's solitaire emerald diamond in it which I had set with smaller emerald-cut diamonds. After 30 years of it sitting in her cupboard, it was finally evaluated at $10K. So it is now a $12.5K ring. We couldn't believe it! It will be passed onto my daughter later on when she stops losing her own jewellery. I still get sad about this ring as I'm no longer married and don't wear it."

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Want to see your engagement ring in this article? Send over a picture, the price and a little paragraph about the story behind it to katie.stow@mamamia.com.au 

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