You’re scrolling Instagram when you see it: your cousin, co-worker, or college roommate, beaming next to her partner and flashing her hand with a huge engagement ring. Cue the inner monologue: “Wait… How many carats is that?”

Sure, your first thought might be “Aw, love!” But five seconds later, you’re calculating: Is it lab-grown? Is it moissanite? What did that thing cost?

We know you want to know (because, duh, so do we), so we asked. Bustle reached out to several brides and brides-to-be, and they spilled all the details of their engagement rings, from inherited diamonds appraised at $20,000 to nontraditional gems like rubies and sapphires, and everything in between.

The 44 women who responded spent an average of $6,988 on their engagement rings, with the reported prices ranging from

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