Typical Aussie Land E-ring?

[gladyskristen]

I'm going to Melbourne for studies next Feb, so was just wondering how my e-ring will look, compared to what most pple there are wearing. Any idea what's the typical/average e-ring in Australia like? What's the average ring size?

 

[Dandi]

I work at a jeweller in Geelong, just an hour south of Melbourne. Going my what we sell, I''d say the average is about .70ct, and round brilliant and princess cut solitaires in white gold or platinum are very popular. In Melbourne, however, they get alot bigger! There are quite a few 3-4ct+ sold at our sister stores in Melbourne, I wouldn''t want to say for sure but the average for inner city Melbourne would be maybe 1-2 carats? Cushion/Asschers/Radiants and most fancy shapes are pretty rare here though, so your gorgeous sparkler will turn heads for sure!

 

[Harriet]

DandiAndi, what about Sydney?

 

[gladyskristen]

Haha, I''m not so sure abt turning heads... Mine''s only 0.591 carat! I think I''ll have lots to feast my eyes on though.

 

[Harriet]

Hey, I started out with a much smaller stone than yours.

 

[Dandi]

Harriet... I''d say Sydney would be the same or higher average size. Living expenses in Sydney are astronomical, and so accordingly are many wages, equating to big bling! In my book anyway

 

[gladyskristen]

Date: 7/18/2007 11:46:45 AM
Author: Harriet
Hey, I started out with a much smaller stone than yours.

Oh, don''t get me wrong, I absolutely adore my ring! Just wanted to know whether it''ll b small, average, or big in Melbourne, tt''s all. It''s slightly above average in Singapore.

 

[Harriet]

What''s the average in Singapore?

 

[gladyskristen]

From what I gather, it's 0.3-0.5 ct and 99.99% RBs. Not that Singaporeans are stingy or poor, but they tend to drop in size to go for extremely good specs like D, VVS1. Cut doesn't seem half as important.

I went the opposite way and went for 0.591ct, F, SI2 (eyeclean), WF X-factor, which has a very good light return. My friends ask about clarity by way of "Is is VVS1 or VVS2?". When I told them it's SI2, nobody knew what that was. *chuckles*

 

[poshpepper]

I find it interesting to get a taste of what other countries tastes are in ERings.
Good stuff

 

[Pandora II]

Gladys - come to London. Yours will look huge!

I''ve rarely seen anything here over 0.30 - 0.50 and that''s amongst people with decent salaries.

One of my friends has just over a carat and people ask her if it''s fake all the time.

The bling on the tube each day is sooooo disappointing.

 

[gladyskristen]

Date: 7/18/2007 1:13:24 PM
Author: Pandora II
The bling on the tube each day is sooooo disappointing.

I know exactly how you feel! I do occasionally see some smaller stones around on the MRT (our version of the tube), but they all look the same. RB stones, with 4 or 6 prong skinny solitaires. Never seen even a slight variation. Makes my x-factor in x-prong e-ring very unique though!

The big ones I''ve seen so far are obviously fake. Think sloppy-looking, sweaty dames carrying grocery bags, sporting rings that are obviously made of silver, with stones that look like plastic, the size of 1.5 carat or more. No perk-me-ups for me in the morning. So I usually just sleep on the MRT.

 

[Corseted]

I live in Singapore too and I like how my ring is different from everyone else''s. For one, it''s got an rather ornate design while everyone else goes for a solitaire and because my fiance actually bought it online, he saved $$ and that went into size. He''s very sore that he didn''t buy Blue Nile stock. It''s doing very well now and he thought about it way back when he bought my diamond because he was very impressed with their business model.

I have seen 1 carat rings among older ladies at wedding banquets but the design tends to be less elegant than some of the beauties we see here. So we definitely have less eye-candy here in Singapore unless you hang with the Tatler crowd.

Enjoy your studies!

 

[eac]

In New Zealand, your stone would be bigger than average - the e-rings I see here are between .30 and .50 carat. Princess cuts are popular here. All diamonds are imported, and they get hit with a luxury import tax of about 20%, so diamonds are way overpriced expensive.

I wouldn''t be surprised if you saw more pink diamonds than average over in Australia. The Argyle mine there is the world''s main source of them. Keep your eyes open!

 

[NikkiP]

Hi

I''ve been a bit of a lurker thought I''d comment.
I live on the west coast of Australia. Most engagement rings I see here are less than one carat. Anything over one carat gets noticed! In my city we have only a few good jewellers, but many chain stores that sell sub-standard rings. When I''ve been to Melbourne & Sydney the stones are bigger. Believe me I''ve noticed.

Nikki

 

[Dandi]

I can guarantee you though, gladys, that the vast majority of the population here will have never laid eyes on a diamond like yours! The humble princess and the odd marquise here and there are about the only fancy cuts you see around here... there are VERY few others.

I forgot to ask you too, did you decide on La Trobe?

 

[gladyskristen]

I haven''t decided yet. I wanna haf clinical placement as a form of experience, but La Trobe only offer it to those who wanna register in Victoria and I even have to seek permission from the Victoria Nursing Board. Is this the case for all nursing schools in Australia?

 

[nomissjane]

Heya, Sydneysider here....

Mine''s a 2.12ct D SI1 RB... it''s been on my finger for not even a year yet and DSS has defo started...AAARRRGGGHHH!!!...but I think that mainly has to do with my lurking around on PS all the time...but I''m so in love with it that it''s likely that I''ll upgrade the setting only and and start musing in the direction of a gorgeous RHR...

Mine seems to be quite a bit larger than the ''average'' size of my friends rings but then we live on the harbour and it''s more likely for us and our friends to pour money into a hole in the harbour...better known as a yacht...

 

[wolftress]

Hi Gladys! I''m originally from Singapore, but I''ve been living in Melbourne for the past 5 years or so, and in Sydney for the 5 years before that. I''m also a freelance journalist who writes for a fine jewellery mag so I''ve tried to keep myself up to date on jewellery trends here!

My e-ring is a .75 rbc. Diamonds here seem to be at two extremes. There are lots of chain stores here that sell large diamonds, 1-2 ct in size but colour, cut and clarity are all pretty bad. There are also a few high-end ''boutique'' jewellers that sell beautiful diamonds, but they are soooo expensive.

The average e-ring size seems to range from .3-1 ct, but can go as high as 2 or 3 carats in the city. I''ve seen a lot of rbcs and some princess cuts in simple solitaire settings. Your lucida setting is gaining in popularity here and will be much admired, as well as your lovely sparkly diamond!

By the way, my aunt from Singapore came to my wedding a couple of months ago and she was sporting a HUGE solitaire. I didn''t even know they sold them that big there! Maybe the ''bigger is better'' trend is catching on?

 

[Dandi]

Date: 7/19/2007 11:30:08 AM
Author: gladyskristen
I haven''t decided yet. I wanna haf clinical placement as a form of experience, but La Trobe only offer it to those who wanna register in Victoria and I even have to seek permission from the Victoria Nursing Board. Is this the case for all nursing schools in Australia?

Not sure! You''d have to shop around and ask them all!

 

[Sassee]

Hi Gladys Kristen

I am from Melbourne... still waiting for my ring to be made (its nearly killing me!!!)

From what I can see, the "average" would be somewhere between .8 - 1 carat. But then, that could just be my group of friends/acquaintances. I work in a professional environment (as a lawyer) so maybe its slightly different to the rest of the population. One girl at work has a 1.75 ct RB, whilst others have much more modest bling.

Mine will be a 1.1 carat cushion cut. It was so hard to find one as they are still very rare here. People tend to be pretty conservative - i.e. a radiant cut would be considered "unusual" or different, so goodness knows how people will react to my cushion!!


Having said that, I don''t think engagement rings don''t really lend themselves much to comment in Australia (maybe because there aren''t that many unique or truly beautiful). But having seen pictures of yours, I wouldn''t hesitate to suggest that you will get many positive responses because it is such a gorgeous stone and setting

 

[jadeleaves]

Hello!

It really depends on which part of Melbourne - You''ll definitely see some huge sparklers in the affluent eastern suburbs.

That said, I''ll say the average size would be 1-1.5ct?

It''s kind of hard to gauge because some of these rocks are rather poorly cut, hence may seem smaller - I''ll go for cut over size any day

 

[simplysplendid]

Date: 7/18/2007 1:33:05 PM
Author: gladyskristen

Date: 7/18/2007 1:13:24 PM
Author: Pandora II
The bling on the tube each day is sooooo disappointing.

I know exactly how you feel! I do occasionally see some smaller stones around on the MRT (our version of the tube), but they all look the same. RB stones, with 4 or 6 prong skinny solitaires. Never seen even a slight variation. Makes my x-factor in x-prong e-ring very unique though!

The big ones I''ve seen so far are obviously fake. Think sloppy-looking, sweaty dames carrying grocery bags, sporting rings that are obviously made of silver, with stones that look like plastic, the size of 1.5 carat or more. No perk-me-ups for me in the morning. So I usually just sleep on the MRT.

That''s probably due to too many Lee Hwa sale items being bought as engagement rings! Yours is unique and beautiful!

 

[gladyskristen]

Haha, actually almost all jewelers here sell the same thing, not just Lee Hwa. It''s just the trend I guess. I''ve had pple commenting that if they were me, they''d go for a skinny solitaire instead of what I have now. WHATEVER!

 

[yeewl]

Hello corseted,

I like your setting very much...

 

[yeewl]

Hi DandiAndi

I work at a jeweller in Geelong, just an hour south of Melbourne.

May I ask how is it like working in a jewelry outlet? Just curious.. have you applied to other places like Michael Hill or Zamels etc before deciding your current place in Geelong?

 

[yeewl]

Hi Jadeleaves

Long time no see....it''s been a few months since we last met at burke street. How''s the baby? Hope to meet up again when you are free and the weather''s not too cold and raining.

It really depends on which part of Melbourne - You''ll definitely see some huge sparklers in the affluent eastern suburbs.

What about places like springvale where there''s lots of asians especially the vietnamese community? I seen a few ladies at this yum cha place wearing quite big blings too.

The largest carat among my friends circle (excluding you) is my ex -uni friend''s wife wearing a 0.50 round. He (an aussie) bought the ring when he was in hongkong working. Told me that he won''t be able to get this size, color and clarity for what he paid over here. BTW, it''s D vvs1.

Another friend''s sister hubby bought a 0.38 princess cut at Goldheart. The aussie guy proposed to her and seeked her parent''s permission to marry her when he was in spore. Now they are staying at hoppers crossing, (western suburb)

 

[Dandi]

Hi yeewl!

No, I really had my heart set on the jeweller I work with now, it''s fabulous. I also have a full-time job (Associate Nurse Unit Manager of hospital operating suites) - worlds away from retail! But I stayed on one day a week selling sparklies, I just love it and the team I work with is fantastic, we''re all really good friends and I have a ball every time I''m there! I''m sure not everywhere is as good... one of our rival jewellers across the road has massive staff turnover because none of them get along!

 

[yeewl]

Hi yeewl!

No, I really had my heart set on the jeweller I work with now, it''s fabulous. I also have a full-time job (Associate Nurse Unit Manager of hospital operating suites) - worlds away from retail! But I stayed on one day a week selling sparklies, I just love it and the team I work with is fantastic, we''re all really good friends and I have a ball every time I''m there! I''m sure not everywhere is as good... one of our rival jewellers across the road has massive staff turnover because none of them get along!

Hello again DandiAndi,

Thanks for the info. Btw, how long have u been working p/t at the jewelry outlet? Need any kinds of working experience? I am considering trying out sending my resume to one or two different jewelry chain malls at Southland as this is the closest place i can go using public transport. I am now at clayton.

Can only consider doing it as a p/t job as I am teaching from home during weekend and a also public pri school (p/t). I have no prior sales experience and am quite shy talking to people.

May I ask how did you apply for this p/t job? walk-in or the usual channel, sending resume etc?

 

[Dandi]

yeewl,

I applied for my job after seeing an ad in the paper, they wanted 'Christmas Casuals' to help fill in the busy times at Christmas. The best sellers get kept on, and the others have their employment terminated at the end of January. I was lucky enough to stay on, and this is my 8th year! Other jewellers I had put my resume into when I was jobhunting, and they all told me that they weren't looking for staff until Christmas anyway. You might be lucky and put your resume in somewhere that is looking for staff, just try and see!

I didn't have any prior expereince, the company I work for provided all the necessary training once I had the job, which I beleive several other jewellers do too (not all do!) Good luck!