interesting , i would prefer no ring to a ring i did not like, i would rather wait, maybe get a cubic zirconia in the mean time, some of those are so pretty and look the real thing, many would not know , i got a gorgeous one for my daughters birthday, and was only 30 dollars and it is stunning, so that maybe an option, or go to a second hand dealer and choose one,i guess it is up to them to talk about it and decide what to do, if he wishes to surprise her then he could present her with something like a plastic ring or something funky with a promise to buy her one later, she surely knows the financial situation he is in.

I do feel quite strongly it is not a good idea to give her a ring she has no choice in, but again that is just how i feel and would have felt had my husband given me his mothers, or grandmothers ring, unless of course i had expressed that i loved it, or i actually did.