I found out too late, but my wife would have actually preferred a synthetic diamond (look it up, it is NOT cubic zirconia) to the cost of a real diamond. Better quality, better clarity, no imperfections, and less than 1/10th the cost.
Also, if you're looking at platinum, take a glance towards pallidium. It's in the platinum family, can be soldered together with platinum, wears the same, etc.. and costs 25-50% less.
Ultimately though, it's up to what the woman wants... if she wants to wear $1000-6000 worth of slave labor from Africa as a piece of jewelry, that's the price you pay for a happy wife!
