sarbox's advice would work but I don't think spoon is dating a dude. girls think differently, and some girls care about that type of shit. my wife knew waaaay before we started dating the exact type of ring she wanted. nothing too big or elaborate, but it's not a $50 ring from Wal-Mart either. financially I could afford it after saving for a while, so I made her happy and got it. would she have been happy with a cheaper ring? of course, but she wanted this ring. Because she wanted this certain ring, *I* wanted to get it for her...

I wish sarbox's advice was universal and that it'd work for all girls....but it doesn't.