In fact I paid 0$ for my wife's ring; it belonged to my mother.

Which, to me, says a hell of a lot more than spending a wad of cash on something without any personal history.

It does, but not everyone has a family ring to use. The only reason I was able to use it was that my parents got divorced, certainly not a desirable condition.

At the same time, it was the DeBeers corp that put the idea to give her a diamond in your mind in the first place.

It sure was, but that didn't make her want it any less. However, she wasn't one who really cared how much I spent on it; If I'd had to buy her a ring, she would have been excited for whatever I could've afforded at the time.