do you see many women wearing big diamonds in your area,like in the shopping malls? ...

[Dancing Fire]

my guess.... NYC girl''s avg E-ring is about 2.75 ct?

and couple of cities in so.Ca might avg 2.5 ct.

 

[vslover]

I''ve been to NYC lately and to Florida....and live on the east coast...and have noticed that most women''s e-rings are small. I didn''t see anything even close to 2.5 carats in either place. I spent a lot of time looking too!

 

[diamondfan]

I am in Suburban Philadelphia. I have friends with rings around a carat or two, and I have friends with rings up to 10 carats. It really depends. My three closest friends have around 4, around 4 and 7 carats (pear, radiant and asscher respectively)...

 

[IrishBreakfast]

Date: 5/25/2008 3:50:55 PM
Author: diamondfan
I am in Suburban Philadelphia. I have friends with rings around a carat or two, and I have friends with rings up to 10 carats. It really depends. My three closest friends have around 4, around 4 and 7 carats (pear, radiant and asscher respectively)...

Wow I would love to have friends like that! I''d spend all my time drooling and trying on HUGE diamonds!

I live in Germany and I don''t see many large diamonds at all - they are massively expensive here. Even among the American community here, you don''t see many over 1ct.

 

[bee*]

I live in Ireland and occasionally I will see a very large diamond but not very often. The clinic I work in is in a very affluent area of Dublin so some of the rings that people wear when they come in are very large, but most are less than 1ct.

 

[lauralu]

I am in Minnesota and have lived in various areas of this state as well as in Colorado and south and north dakota. The average size I have seen is always .5 to 1 crt. I work retail and spend alot of time doing cash transactions and I take notice all the time to diamond sz''s. Hmmmmmmm does that make me a diamond stalker? LOL don''t say it!!!!

I see bigger diamonds on older women. Say 50plus than I do on younger women''s fingers. I am amazed at the 1 1/4 to 1.5 crt range I see older women wearing. I always ask and most all say it is their first and last diamond and would never consider an upgrade. We have girls in our store who have gotten engaged and married in the last couple years. The girls in our store have gotten .5 .75 and .98. 1 RB and 2 princess. All basic cathedral style settings with half eternity diamond channel set bands.

 

[Delster]

Like bee, I'm in Ireland. In everyday life I never see big diamonds. My mother has by far the biggest diamond of anyone I know and hers is .80ct. Most rings I see on a daily basis are around .30ct to .50ct. At work I regularly see larger diamonds but nothing over 1.5ct. I took a course in uni with a minor Irish celebrity and her diamond was the biggest I've ever seen on someone's hand here, maybe 3cts.

I regularly see large coloured gemstone engagement rings though, particularly on women who got married in the 70s or 80s. Lots of sapphires and emeralds.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

Yes. I live in North Dallas, Texas, and most of the moms at my son''s private school live in Plano and Frisco. These ladies wear BIG diamonds. They also live in BIG houses, drive BIG SUVs and carry BIG Louis Vuitton handbags. I guess if you can afford it, do it.

 

[bee*]

Date: 5/25/2008 4:06:59 PM
Author: Delster
Like bee, I''m in Ireland. In everyday life I never see big diamonds. My mother has by far the biggest diamond of anyone I know and hers is .80ct. Most rings I see on a daily basis are around .30ct to .50ct. At work I regularly see larger diamonds but nothing over 1.5ct. I took a course in uni with a minor Irish celebrity and her diamond was the biggest I''ve ever seen on someone''s hand here, maybe 3cts.

Oooh who?....I''m so nosy! We have a friday night talk show host''s wife come into our clinic quite a lot and even her ring isn''t extremely large.

 

[Rhea]

I live in London. Most people my age (20s and 30s) have 1/3 - 1/2 carat round or princess cut solitaires. I do sometimes see 1 - 1.5 carats but that''s pretty rare.

Rings here tend to span from plain band to diamond band to 1/2 carat solitaire to (on women in their 50s and up) an oval blue or red stone, about 1 carat surrounded by small diamonds paired with a wide yellow gold wedding band.

 

[mandielee]

Like IrishBreakfast, I live in Germany, and can confirm that diamonds over 1ct are rare, even on American women''s fingers on-post. My .90 ct got big eyes from the jeweler I brought it to to do the "diamond/not a diamond" test to make sure nothing happened in transit (Whiteflash I trust; the many hands the package had to go through to get here, not so much).

Germany really doesn''t have much of an expensive engagement ring tradition; it''s more common for the pair to wear what will be their wedding rings on their left hands as kind of his/her engagement rings - they switch them to the right hand at the ceremony. Because of that, I plan to wear my plain wedding band on my right hand. I''m just pleased that my German fiance understands how important sparklies are to Texas girls He was prepared to spend a lot more than what we (read: I) eventually decided on; Whiteflash and comparable are WAY cheaper than jewelery stores here when you can even find comparable stuff, even accounting for the VAT.

My high school friend who ended up in London reports similar. Her friends and their guys are quite well to do, and tend to get engaged and married around age 30-35, but her .91 princess is the biggest rock of them all - .4-.5 is more common, even among that set which tends to own 300,000-500,000 GBP apartments and take fantastic vacations.

Only rocks I''ve seen bigger than mine off-post are on the hands of rich old ladies at the opera in Nuremberg.

Big engagement rings = American thing. Europeans with that kind of money on-hand would rather spend it on spiffy trips. Different luxuries for different folks

 

[tradergirl]

To Neverendingupgrade:

I doubt they can afford it. Check out the bankruptcy and foreclosure rates in Plano and Frisco. I used to bankruptcy work out there.

and the diamonds for sale on Craigslist from there.

There's a 12kt tennis necklace on there today from Frisco.

 

[vslover]

Date: 5/25/2008 4:15:27 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
Yes. I live in North Dallas, Texas, and most of the moms at my son''s private school live in Plano and Frisco. These ladies wear BIG diamonds. They also live in BIG houses, drive BIG SUVs and carry BIG Louis Vuitton handbags. I guess if you can afford it, do it.

My town''s like that too....though the SUVs are hybrids mostly...and LV isn''t big here. lol

 

[Lill_The_Thrill]

Well, I live in Sweden, and don''t see big diamonds to often. I usually see different types of bands with smaller melee, .25 ct solitaires are pretty common, I sometimes see .50 ct solitaires, and have seen 1 ct solitaires a couple of times (maybe three) around town. The other day I saw a girl with a 1.5-2.0 ct princess (not sure if it was real) but that''s by far the biggest I''ve ever seen here.

 

[Lill_The_Thrill]

Date: 5/25/2008 4:37:31 PM
Author: mandielee
Like IrishBreakfast, I live in Germany, and can confirm that diamonds over 1ct are rare, even on American women's fingers on-post. My .90 ct got big eyes from the jeweler I brought it to to do the 'diamond/not a diamond' test to make sure nothing happened in transit (Whiteflash I trust; the many hands the package had to go through to get here, not so much).

Germany really doesn't have much of an expensive engagement ring tradition; it's more common for the pair to wear what will be their wedding rings on their left hands as kind of his/her engagement rings - they switch them to the right hand at the ceremony. Because of that, I plan to wear my plain wedding band on my right hand. I'm just pleased that my German fiance understands how important sparklies are to Texas girls He was prepared to spend a lot more than what we (read: I) eventually decided on; Whiteflash and comparable are WAY cheaper than jewelery stores here when you can even find comparable stuff, even accounting for the VAT.

My high school friend who ended up in London reports similar. Her friends and their guys are quite well to do, and tend to get engaged and married around age 30-35, but her .91 princess is the biggest rock of them all - .4-.5 is more common, even among that set which tends to own 300,000-500,000 GBP apartments and take fantastic vacations.

Only rocks I've seen bigger than mine off-post are on the hands of rich old ladies at the opera in Nuremberg.

Big engagement rings = American thing. Europeans with that kind of money on-hand would rather spend it on spiffy trips. Different luxuries for different folks

I agree with Your observation about Europeans, BUT people here (in Sweden) usually raise eyebrows when they see someone wearing something "extravagant" or expensive-looking and they start to comment it. A girl in my uni-class got married, and she received a 0.9-1.0 ct diamond ring with sidestones, and the other girls went gaaah over her ring, asking if it was real, and that it must've cost loads of money, and that they wouldn't risk wearing a fortune on their fingers. (Who says that to a newlywed woman?) Anyway, I don't know what it's like in Germany, but I can imagine it's pretty similar to Sweden when it comes to certain things (kind of a European thing I guess), and people here usually don't appreciate luxury items such as jewelry and don't spend much money on them.

I was looking in different jewelry stores for a future diamond engagement ring, and the SA's would actually steer me away from diamond rings, saying they don't look like engagement rings (WTH?).

 

[bebe]

I''m in Houston, Texas. I do see 2-4ct.''ish stones on a regular basis. Depending on what part of town
I''m in, it''s not uncommon to see larger stones.
My best friend wears a 3ct EC with side stones.She also has lots of other nice pieces.
I have another friend with a 5+ ct. Pear that is HUGE. She is always dripping in her
pet rocks. (way too much at one time, if you ask my opinion)
Other friends have 2ct and a little more.
I''m always checking out other women''s ERs

 

[diamondfan]

Feeling a bit upset over here...

I am 42, have a large stone, which is a second upgrade from two years ago. The first upgrade, which I wore from 35-40 was sizeable too.

I hope nobody sees me out and looks and thinks "old lady with a big stone"!!!

I mean, I do not think I look 42, so maybe I am in the clear!

 

[Rhea]

Date: 5/25/2008 5:12:53 PM
Author: diamondfan
Feeling a bit upset over here...

I am 42, have a large stone, which is a second upgrade from two years ago. The first upgrade, which I wore from 35-40 was sizeable too.


I hope nobody sees me out and looks and thinks ''old lady with a big stone''!!!

I mean, I do not think I look 42, so maybe I am in the clear!

If you''re feeling that upset I will happily let you loan me your large ring. I''ll keep it nice and clean for you and post it back when you decide you miss looking like a "lady with a beautiful ring".

 

[icet]

i''m 29 in nyc. my circle of friends have around 2ct-3ct center stones. but i see alot of 1.5-2 where i work.

 

[strmrdr]

no, anything over a half ct is rare and most people start out with a .25-.33ct.

 

[beaujolais]

Oh yes, but I do wonder how many of them might be cz. Too many people, it seems, have Huge, Huge ones.

Are many of them czs in nice settings, I wonder?

 

[diamondfan]

Addy, you are too kind!!!

I would just hate to think that all the young gals out there think that...even if I know I look like I am in my early 30''s...I recall being a lot younger and wondering the age of the women I saw wearing those mondo rings...and wondering if I would ever have one myself while I was young enough to enjoy it!

 

[mandielee]

Date: 5/25/2008 5:09:48 PM
Author: Lill_The_Thrill


I agree with Your observation about Europeans, BUT people here (in Sweden) usually raise eyebrows when they see someone wearing something ''extravagant'' or expensive-looking and they start to comment it. A girl in my uni-class got married, and she received a 0.9-1.0 ct diamond ring with sidestones, and the other girls went gaaah over her ring, asking if it was real, and that it must''ve cost loads of money, and that they wouldn''t risk wearing a fortune on their fingers. (Who says that to a newlywed woman?) Anyway, I don''t know what it''s like in Germany, but I can imagine it''s pretty similar to Sweden when it comes to certain things (kind of a European thing I guess), and people here usually don''t appreciate luxury items such as jewelry and don''t spend much money on them.


I was looking in different jewelry stores for a future diamond engagement ring, and the SA''s would actually steer me away from diamond rings, saying they don''t look like engagement rings (WTH?).

I think Bavarians around here are used to American women and our ostentatious (relatively speaking!) jewelry, so it''s not something they''d feel the need to dwell on.

Yeah, I ran into the same thing when I went into jewelry stores to figure out the German diamond market. When *pressed*, salesladies brought out .2-.25ct rings, stones already set. German jewelry stores (at least in my mid-sized city) do not do loose stones, it seems, and are incredulous about couples looking to sink a few thousand Euro into something given before the wedding. Diamonds are mostly used as an accent to the overall design, not as the main purpose of the piece.

I think most larger (over .5 ct) diamond rings are given as later gifts, thus the "rich old ladies at the opera" observation - when I say "old", I mean 70+.

Not that there''s anything wrong with being a rich old lady at the opera, wearing a big diamond ring - I''m sure much of PS aspires to this, myself included

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/25/2008 4:15:27 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
Yes. I live in North Dallas, Texas, and most of the moms at my son''s private school live in Plano and Frisco. These ladies wear BIG diamonds. They also live in BIG houses, drive BIG SUVs and carry BIG Louis Vuitton handbags. I guess if you can afford it, do it.

yes,everything is bigger in Tx.

 

[diamondfan]

I have many European friends and acquaintances. Mostly from Germany, England and France. Mostly I have been told that huge diamonds are NOT the norm. People put money into clothes, vacations and country homes, as well as cars. Most people wear a more modest ring and have lovely clothes or handbags, and take great trips. It is not about how much money they have to spend, they just chose to spend it other ways than on rings.

I wanted my bling now while I young enough to enjoy it!

 

[purrfectpear]

I''m currently on an assignment in the midwest where my 2 carat stands out big time. In Los Angeles where I live, it''s barely over the norm and in some cities like Newport it would be considered on the small side.

 

[Lill_The_Thrill]

Date: 5/25/2008 6:02:42 PM
Author: mandielee

Date: 5/25/2008 5:09:48 PM
Author: Lill_The_Thrill


I agree with Your observation about Europeans, BUT people here (in Sweden) usually raise eyebrows when they see someone wearing something 'extravagant' or expensive-looking and they start to comment it. A girl in my uni-class got married, and she received a 0.9-1.0 ct diamond ring with sidestones, and the other girls went gaaah over her ring, asking if it was real, and that it must've cost loads of money, and that they wouldn't risk wearing a fortune on their fingers. (Who says that to a newlywed woman?) Anyway, I don't know what it's like in Germany, but I can imagine it's pretty similar to Sweden when it comes to certain things (kind of a European thing I guess), and people here usually don't appreciate luxury items such as jewelry and don't spend much money on them.


I was looking in different jewelry stores for a future diamond engagement ring, and the SA's would actually steer me away from diamond rings, saying they don't look like engagement rings (WTH?).

I think Bavarians around here are used to American women and our ostentatious (relatively speaking!) jewelry, so it's not something they'd feel the need to dwell on.

Yeah, I ran into the same thing when I went into jewelry stores to figure out the German diamond market. When *pressed*, salesladies brought out .2-.25ct rings, stones already set. German jewelry stores (at least in my mid-sized city) do not do loose stones, it seems, and are incredulous about couples looking to sink a few thousand Euro into something given before the wedding. Diamonds are mostly used as an accent to the overall design, not as the main purpose of the piece.

I think most larger (over .5 ct) diamond rings are given as later gifts, thus the 'rich old ladies at the opera' observation - when I say 'old', I mean 70+.

Not that there's anything wrong with being a rich old lady at the opera, wearing a big diamond ring - I'm sure much of PS aspires to this, myself included

Yes! I think Youäre right about that, the "big" diamonds are usually given as gifts later on or weddingbands. It kind of might have something to do with the fact that an engagement isn't taken very seriosuly maybe? not here atleast. Many people here get engaged at a very young age, or stay engaged for several years 5-10+ yrs, and don't usually follow the 1-2 yr rule (not that there is anything wrong with that). Most people here don't plan for a wedding when getting engaged, they donät even call each other "fiance", so it might not be the same type of commitment (canät seem to find a better word for it), hence the plain bands???!!

 

[Harriet]

No shopping malls here, but the diamonds are BIG.

 

[gwendolyn]

My friends in the Baltimore/Washington DC metro area back home mostly have rings between 1.0-1.25cts, with the exception of one who has a 3 stone totaling 2 or 2.5 cts. Here in the UK, I only know a couple of people who are engaged, and their diamonds are both less than 0.5cts. Maybe 0.3?

 

[isaku5]

Here in Ontario, Canada, large stones are few and far between. My original e-ring diamond was .64c and was considered huge even by me as I had never worn a ring on that finger before.

Any larger stones that I see are usually quite warm in colour; not my preference, but if they''re happy, I''m happy.