A new study has revealed the ten areas in the UK where it will take residents the least amount of time to save for an engagement ring, using the 3-month rule – Kensington and Chelsea top the ranking. The 3-month rule suggests that a person should spend 3 months’ worth of their salary on a ring.
Experts in customised jewellery Glamira.co.uk calculated the number of months the average person in each local authority would need to save to afford an engagement ring, using the rule that three months’ salary should be spent. The locations were then ordered from least to most time to reveal the ranking for the top ten areas where residents can afford an engagement ring in the shortest time.
At the top of the ranking with the shortest time is Kensington and Chelsea, where the average resident will take only 6.29 months to save for an engagement ring costing 3 months’ salary.
In second place is Camden in London, where residents will take an average of just 6.67 months to save to buy an engagement ring.
The City of Westminster is in third place, home to the House of Commons and much of the British government, where residents must wait 7.2 months to save enough to buy a 3-month rule engagement ring.
Fourth is Aberdeenshire, the first Scottish region in the ranking, where it will take residents approximately 9.42 months to afford an engagement ring.
Wandsworth, another London borough, is in fifth place, with just 9.83 months to afford a ring costing 3 months’ salary.
Ranking sixth is another Scottish region, this time the City of Aberdeen. Aberdeen residents will need to wait approximately 9.92 months to save enough for a ring costing 3 months’ salary.
County Durham, also known as just Durham, is the first region in the North East to appear in the ranking. Durham residents come in seventh place, as it will take them 10.12 months to save for an engagement ring.
Next is Northumberland in eighth place, another North East region close to County Durham. Northumberland residents could need to wait 10.18 months to afford an engagement ring.
Ribble Valley, another Northern region, this time in Lancashire, is in ninth place with 10.22 months to save enough to buy a 3-month rule ring.
Just making the top ten regions where residents can save for an engagement ring the quickest is Mid Ulster in tenth place. Mid Ulster is the only Northern Ireland region in the ranking, where residents can expect to wait just 10.97 months to save for an engagement ring that costs 3 months’ salary.
A spokesperson for Glamira.co.uk has commented on the findings: “It is interesting to see many London areas at the top of the ranking. Although, it should be no surprise Kensington and Chelsea sits at the top with the least time, as it is a royal borough after all.
“On the other hand, Greenwich residents, another royal London borough, will certainly struggle to save for a 3-month rule ring, as the borough has the second longest time to save – some residents will not be able to afford an engagement ring using this rule at all. This highlights the divide in cost of living and income in the UK, especially inside London.
“We know the 3-month rule is just a suggestion, and engagement rings do not have to cost excessive amounts. However, the findings of this study – with some regions only having to wait 6 months to save, and others having to wait years – shows how people living in areas that have been hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis are simply left with no choice but to buy a cheaper ring.”
