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

[gailrmv]

I see a huge variety. I know a few people who have great jobs and/or husbands with great jobs and wear a very modest ring. Most of my friends have rings around 1 carat or so.

 

[Dancing Fire]

paging researcher...

she lives in Del Mar,Ca "land of the GIANT rocks" where 5 ct diamonds are normal on the street.

 

[Miranda]

Speaking of Del Mar...My friend lives there and has a 3.5 rb solitaire.

Up here a bit further north (in Orange County) there are lots and lots and lots of 1 - 1.5 ct. rb stones. In my area there are quite a few in the 2 - 3 range. At the mall near me it is rare to see anything under 1 ct. I think everyone here spends all of their money on their house and landscaping and not jewelry, haha.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

I live in North Dallas, as well, in the North Plano area, and in my immediate group of friends, the ranges are around .70 - 1.25 ct. We''re all newlyweds, from about 28 - 35 years of age in relatively modest homes.

The COO of my company (about 45) wears a 1.0 ct. EC with baguettes and lives in a $1 million house.

It really varies for people I don''t know. I''ve seen some huge diamonds at The Galleria Mall, and my husband tends to be the one to point them out to me.

 

[jewelerman]

Im in the state of Utah,and even being in the jewelry trade i dont see many women with diamonds even close to 2.0-2.5...in fact many poeple think my 2.54 is a cubic because they havent seen many natural diamonds over a carat on people here in this state.

 

[BigDiamonds]

I live in Boulder, Colorado, and I very rarely see anything over 1 ct. Most people my age (mid-late 20s) who are reasonably successful buy 1ct e-rings and nice w-bands. A few women have 1.25cts, but it''s pretty rare. Boulder is sort of crunchy (like granola, as in outdoorsy and a little hippie-ish) so although there is a lot of money here, people choose to spend it on other things. The woman with the 1/2 ct ring probably has a $5k road bike and owns several pairs of top-of-the-line skis.

Denver is a little more cosmopolitan, and I will occasionally see 1.5-2.0 cts in the showier areas of town. Still though, they''re rare and usually on slightly older (50+) women.

 

[kimikocat]

Here in SF, there''s quite a large spectrum. When I still worked in an art gallery, I often saw stones b/t 2 and 3 carats. I would say that 1.25-2.00 were common sizes. In my new position--I work in design--the stones are much smaller. I work for a small company and most ERs are between 0.5 and 1.00 carats.

I''ve had friends fret over the size of their ERs. With all the tech money here, affluent couples tend to have a bit of cash to throw around. A larger ring signals social status, and that can cause some anxiety...

 

[Octavia]

I''m in Philly, and my ring (.35) is by far the smallest of anyone I know, with the exception of one friend who got engaged/married when she and her husband were still in college. I''m not great at estimating size, but if I had to guess I''d say that most people''s center stones are ~1.25. It definitely varies, though, since my classmates'' rings are on the "closer to 1 ct" side whereas women in an organization I belong to have closer to 1.5 on average, and some have pretty huge stones (~3-4 ct and a few bigger ones). Another friend just got engaged and her cushion is probably 2.5ish.

I''ve never wanted a giant stone and I''m overall very happy with my ring, but I do sometimes feel like other people look down on it. What an awfully good excuse it would be to move to Europe...

 

[Sizzle]

I live in the midwest (Illinois on the border of Iowa). I have started to notice more and more bigger centerstones.. perhaps in the past 3 years. I work for a very large organization (approximately 6k) and there have been about 15 new engements in the past 4 years. Everyones ring has been about between 1-2 carats. WE work with alot of older women and they tend to have something between .5 and .75. In the beginning that had snotty comments to make about everyones rings, but I have notices several in the past 2 years upgrading their settings to platinum!

 

[elrohwen]

I live in Fairfield county, Connecticut (home to Greenwich - one of the most ridiculously rich towns I''ve ever seen) and women wear huge rocks alll the time. I notice them mostly at work and it seems like every single woman as at least 1.5ct (and those are the small ones!). My ex-boss is only in her late 20s and her fiance is a police officer, yet she has a giant e-ring. Where do they get the money for something like that? Neither of them are making tons of money. The older women have even bigger diamonds and I suspect they upgraded through the years as they got richer and richer.

I''m originally from western PA where women definitely do not have rings like that, so I notice them a lot when I see them. I always used to think that I wanted a little diamond, but after living here for a few years I''m gradually wanting a bigger and bigger diamond. Next I''ll be wanting a BMW and a $2k purse. Bah.

 

[Kaleigh]

I live outside Philly. I see a lot of big stones. It runs the whole gamut here, but those with big stones, didn''t start off with them.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/25/2008 9:18:25 PM
Author: elrohwen
I live in Fairfield county, Connecticut (home to Greenwich - one of the most ridiculously rich towns I''ve ever seen) and women wear huge rocks alll the time. I notice them mostly at work and it seems like every single woman as at least 1.5ct (and those are the small ones!). My ex-boss is only in her late 20s and her fiance is a police officer, yet she has a giant e-ring. Where do they get the money for something like that? Neither of them are making tons of money. The older women have even bigger diamonds and I suspect they upgraded through the years as they got richer and richer.

I''m originally from western PA where women definitely do not have rings like that, so I notice them a lot when I see them. I always used to think that I wanted a little diamond, but after living here for a few years I''m gradually wanting a bigger and bigger diamond. Next I''ll be wanting a BMW and a $2k purse. Bah.

husbands

 

[Harriet]

DF dear, women make their own money too, ok?

 

[researcher]

Thanks for singling me out, DF!

Yes, in my area I see huge stones daily. But, I really do live in a bubble (the Ranch is notorious for gaudy jewelry). The other day this woman came up to me and told me my ring was really "cute". Yes, 3+ carats was cute compared to her 9 carat pear. Around here, when people have a smaller stone it''s usually either a family ring or T&C, HW, etc. I think all but 3 of my friends have 2+ carats, with a range of 2-10 cts. I have to say though that the big stones on young girls looks a little silly (they look like costume jewelry).

Believe it or not, instead of experiencing diamond shrinkage I''m beginning to appreciate the smaller stones a lot more--especially now that I have a little one and don''t wear my ring much out of fear of scratching her!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/25/2008 9:32:26 PM
Author: Harriet
DF dear, women make their own money too, ok?

Harriet
you didn''t know women''s E-ring always bigger the second time around?

 

[Harriet]

Oh. Did you mean that they upgraded their hubbies?

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/25/2008 9:53:54 PM
Author: Harriet
Oh. Did you mean that they upgraded their hubbies?

of course !!

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 5/25/2008 9:29:33 PM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 5/25/2008 9:18:25 PM
Author: elrohwen
I live in Fairfield county, Connecticut (home to Greenwich - one of the most ridiculously rich towns I''ve ever seen) and women wear huge rocks alll the time. I notice them mostly at work and it seems like every single woman as at least 1.5ct (and those are the small ones!). My ex-boss is only in her late 20s and her fiance is a police officer, yet she has a giant e-ring. Where do they get the money for something like that? Neither of them are making tons of money. The older women have even bigger diamonds and I suspect they upgraded through the years as they got richer and richer.

I''m originally from western PA where women definitely do not have rings like that, so I notice them a lot when I see them. I always used to think that I wanted a little diamond, but after living here for a few years I''m gradually wanting a bigger and bigger diamond. Next I''ll be wanting a BMW and a $2k purse. Bah.

husbands

Haha. You''re probably at least partially right; I think both the husbands and the wives are making major money. I''ve gotta get me a husband like that. Though my fiance-to-be is giving me his family''s 1.67ct Old European Cut, so I can''t complain. It''s actually a little shallow, so it looks a bit bigger than its actual carat weight. I''ll be able to flash it around at the office with pride.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/25/2008 5:40:29 PM
Author: sonomacounty
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?

you should ask them.

or would that be rude ?

 

[lesco]

I'm in NYC and variety is the norm. I do a lot of observing

. I think the average here is a little over a carat.
Most larger rings I see are covered by some sort of halo or ornate setting, hence the larger appearance.
Maybe I have not been lucky enough to spot the 2 carat plus beauties. They must be somewhere - maybe downtown by the financial district?

 

[diamondfan]

DF, I have not had to upgrade my hubby...he is doing just great! I have taught him well...

 

[arjunajane]

I''m in Western Australia, and I doubt I have ever seen anything over 2cts to be honest - infact when I go into the stores to try things on for perspective, often they don''t have anything over about 1.2..
It probably has alot to do with the fact of how much more diamonds seem to cost here I guess..

I would say the average I see is 0.5, and 1ct would be considered quite large.

 

[researcher]

Date: 5/25/2008 9:50:19 PM
Author: researcher
Thanks for singling me out, DF!

Yes, in my area I see huge stones daily. But, I really do live in a bubble (the Ranch is notorious for gaudy jewelry). The other day this woman came up to me and told me my ring was really ''cute''. Yes, 3+ carats was cute compared to her 9 carat pear. Around here, when people have a smaller stone it''s usually either a family ring or T&C, HW, etc. I think all but 3 of my friends have 2+ carats, with a range of 2-10 cts. I have to say though that the big stones on young girls looks a little silly (they look like costume jewelry).


Believe it or not, instead of experiencing diamond shrinkage I''m beginning to appreciate the smaller stones a lot more--especially now that I have a little one and don''t wear my ring much out of fear of scratching her!

BTW, here''s what Wikipedia has to say about the area where most of my friends live: "Rancho Santa Fe is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States and a bedroom community of San Diego. The population was 3,252 at the 2000 census. It is the highest income community in the United States with at least 2,500 households at $237,967 [1]. The CDP is primarily all residential with one shopping avenue as well as several private schools, condominiums, and single family residential areas situated on uncommonly large lots.

Rancho Santa Fe has strict design restrictions. Many streets outside of the downtown area are lined with landscaping; on side streets the landscaping of individual properties provides ambient decor. Very few homes are visible from the road. Forbes reported Rancho Santa Fe as having the third most expensive zip code in the United States, and most expensive in California, with a median home sale price of $2,585,000".

Like I said, it really is its own little bubble. Oh, and the women are often wearing CZs, but only as replica rings when they''re out and about running errands.

 

[tberube]

I live/work in the Boston area, and most people I know are between .5ct and 2ct. (with only two people falling in the 2ct range - one's an upgrade and one's a guess). I'd say I fall somewhere in the upper-middle of my bubble of friends with my ~1ct, as many of my friends fall into the .5-.7 range. As I get older, though, I find people who are getting engaged now are receiving much larger diamonds than my other friends who got married before 25.

 

[akmiss]

Date: 5/25/2008 8:17:53 PM
Author: BigDiamonds
I live in Boulder, Colorado, and I very rarely see anything over 1 ct. Most people my age (mid-late 20s) who are reasonably successful buy 1ct e-rings and nice w-bands. A few women have 1.25cts, but it''s pretty rare. Boulder is sort of crunchy (like granola, as in outdoorsy and a little hippie-ish) so although there is a lot of money here, people choose to spend it on other things. The woman with the 1/2 ct ring probably has a $5k road bike and owns several pairs of top-of-the-line skis.

Denver is a little more cosmopolitan, and I will occasionally see 1.5-2.0 cts in the showier areas of town. Still though, they''re rare and usually on slightly older (50+) women.

Sounds like my kinda place - love the granola

I live in Alaska and have seen only a couple of stones over 2 cts. Most of people in my circle have 1 ct stones with nicer settings. All are in their late 20s to early 30s. I have noticed that more established (older) couples just wear weddings bands even those with more $$$. It is their kids buying all the bling.

 

[dogmama]

I don''t know about mall stores, but in NYC I''ve seen some pretty hefty rocks and very often too. Yes, there is a solid variety but when I took the train in to the city (NY speak for Manhattan) I saw the execs in their power suits with ginormous bling. Definitely 2+ carats. On the other hand many women had 1ct or less.

I''m a teacher so I''m not too fussed about a big ring since it''s an anomaly in our circle. However we do have 2 teachers who are young with very well-off husbands. They both have 2+ carat rocks and 2+ eternity bands. Am I surprised they hang out with each other? Nope! ^_^

A teacher I student taught with got engaged and she had a 3 stone ring that was at least 3-4 carats. I was in awe because, honey, you saw the ring before you saw her! (And I wondered where the heck it came from since her FI was a grad student!)

So, ya''ll probably guessed: I''m well on my way towards developing a serious case of DSS. Sigh. I can only be happy knowing that my 1.29 looks nicely sized on my 4.5 size finger. Not 2 carat huge, but very nice!

 

[Babyblue033]

I''m in NYC too, in a beauty industry, so you would think I would see a lot of large stones but that''s not the case at least where I work. I would say the average size is somewhere between 1-1.5 ct, although there are a few who have 2+ stones. Even the older executives don''t seem to wear big blings at my company, wearing more low key but fashionable jewelry instead.

 

[Haven]

I live in Chicago and work in a northwest suburb of Chicago. I see a huge variety in the city--women with small diamonds to very large diamonds, but if I had to guess at an average I think 1 ct is pretty much it. As for the suburbs, most women have under 1 ct stones in the burb where I work. However, the suburbs just north of Chicago are a totally different beast--most women have at least 2 ct stones there.

My friends and FI''s friends'' wives and fiancees all have 2 to 3 ct center stones in their e-rings.

 

[Deelight]

I very rarely see anything over .50ct''s It could be like AJ said prices (20K for a 1ct diamond anyone?) or just big diamonds are not the norm .

Works for me though it will make my puppy when I get it seem larger *whoot*

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/25/2008 10:41:31 PM
Author: researcher


BTW, here''s what Wikipedia has to say about the area where most of my friends live: ''Rancho Santa Fe is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States and a bedroom community of San Diego. The population was 3,252 at the 2000 census. It is the highest income community in the United States with at least 2,500 households at $237,967 [1]. The CDP is primarily all residential with one shopping avenue as well as several private schools, condominiums, and single family residential areas situated on uncommonly large lots.

Rancho Santa Fe has strict design restrictions. Many streets outside of the downtown area are lined with landscaping; on side streets the landscaping of individual properties provides ambient decor. Very few homes are visible from the road. Forbes reported Rancho Santa Fe as having the third most expensive zip code in the United States, and most expensive in California, with a median home sale price of $2,585,000''.

Like I said, it really is its own little bubble. Oh, and the women are often wearing CZs, but only as replica rings when they''re out and about running errands.

hey researcher

anymore RICH and single friends?