shape
carat
color
clarity

2ct vs 2.5ct

Madsal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 5, 2018
Messages
32
Hello all,

My wife current ring is a 2ct MRB. If she were to upgrade her ring to a 2.5ct, do you think there is a noticeable difference in size between a 2ct and a 2.5ct?
I mean yes if we compare side by side I could see a slight difference but she would be only wearing 1 engagement ring so I doubt anybody would be able to notice if she were to upgrade from her current 2ct to a 2.5ct esp if she plans to use the exact same setting style. Am I right?
 

bludiva

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
3,076
What mm size is the original and potential new stone? Side by side yes likely very noticeable...to a casual observer in daily life not likely...
 

Dancing Fire

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
33,852
Hello all,

My wife current ring is a 2ct MRB. If she were to upgrade her ring to a 2.5ct, do you think there is a noticeable difference in size between a 2ct and a 2.5ct?
Yes, Big difference, 8.10mm vs 8.70mm.
 

AV_

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 5, 2018
Messages
3,889
I'd have a hard time telling without paying too much attention - eg. maybe over lunch, not at Hello.

The question is what she does care for.

Sidestones would make a relatively spectacular difference, IHMO. Interesting sidestones - would get my attention & I'd stare & still not be able to tell if the stone in the middle is a two or two & a half carats (hereby admitting to HUGE! bias - WWW.)

_
disclaimer: no, I do not count carats over lunch, LOL
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
8,228
Yes, Big difference, 8.10mm vs 8.70mm.
+1 to DF's comment - the usual observation on here is that a change of 0.2mm is noticeable, so over a half a mm will definitely look bigger.
 

kal2021

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 21, 2010
Messages
585
Anybody noticing vs her/you noticing are two very different things. If her friends/family are not into diamonds or jewelry they likely won’t notice. If they are, then they might. What I’ve learned is people don’t pay as much attention to your jewelry as you would think unless they are into jewelry! I went from a 1.23 carat MRB with pear sidestones to a 2 carat solitaire and have yet to have a single friend or family member notice in about 3 weeks! Now if one of my friends or family changed their ring I’d notice because I’m into rings and could tell you what all of my friend’s rings look like! Now, would your wife notice the difference, yes. So it’s a matter of who are you doing it for...
 

Madsal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 5, 2018
Messages
32
I am doing this for her but I don't want her to feel that she can't see the difference after a month or so.. because to be honest I dont see much difference between her current 2ct with the 2.5ct she tried on
 
  • Like
Reactions: AV_

MissGotRocks

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Messages
16,269
There really is an appreciable size difference between 2 and 2.5 - I've had both. The question is whether or not it gets her to the size that she would be forever happy with.
 

Dancing Fire

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
33,852
I am doing this for her but I don't want her to feel that she can't see the difference after a month or so.. because to be honest I dont see much difference between her current 2ct with the 2.5ct she tried on
A 2.5ct will soon look like her current 2ct, b/c a diamond will shrink about .15mm per yr. ;))
 
Last edited:

Gussie

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Messages
3,700
Can you tell which one is bigger?

ring compare.jpg

I have found this to be a bit deceiving because of the 2D representation. IRL, the difference is more apparent. I traded in a 2.5 for a 3.1 and it is definitely noticeable.
 

bludiva

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
3,076
I have found this to be a bit deceiving because of the 2D representation. IRL, the difference is more apparent. I traded in a 2.5 for a 3.1 and it is definitely noticeable.

I agree it would be noticeable to the wearer but it seemed like part of the question was if others would notice and I doubt it... I wear a colored stone ring on my left hand sometimes. It looks *very* different from my ER. And I've had friends who've seen my engagement ring up close and personal convinced that this other ring is my ER. Like even after I tell them it's a totally different color/shape/etc. they are confused. Point is, most people don't care about the jewelry other people wear in my experience and won't notice. It's really all about the wearer's perceptions imho.
 

Jelly88

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 28, 2018
Messages
44
I also don’t think other people would notice the difference unless they are very into jewelry. But since the upgrade is for your wife, I think the more important question is whether the difference is enough to make her happy.
 

nala

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
Messages
7,045
Last year I had a choice to pick a 2.05 G vs a 2.52 I. I took my dear daughter who isn’t I to diamonds and hubby, as I myself am bad at gauging sizes. They could both tell the difference. But just in case, set it in a halo and everyone will notice!
 

LaylaR

Shiny_Rock
Trade
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Messages
457
It could be a very big difference depending on the cut quality of the 2 carat. Many diamonds are cut deep and face up small for their carat weight. Our CBI diamonds face up at 8.1mm at 2 carats, for example. But many 2 carat diamonds face up at 7.9mm Sometimes even less. It’s not standardized.

And our 2.5 carat diamonds face up at 8.8mm. So even from 8.1 that's a large jump. But from 7.9mm or less it's even bigger. That’s almost a full mm.

Add to that the appearance difference. If your wife’s original diamond is not a super-ideal or has compromised performance. It could look small for it’s carat weight. If you maximize cut quality--even if you drop down a couple color grades and get SI clarity--you can get a diamond that is just as white, if not whiter because of the cut masking body color and just as clean looking as long as it is eyeclean.

But, and this is key, a diamond that has edge to edge brilliance will look MUCH larger than a diamond with compromised performance. So not only will the 2.5 diamond have larger dimensions but it will look even bigger because of the edge to edge brilliance. See the picture below for an illustration of this.

diamond-brightness-size-2.jpg
 

blueMA

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
1,257
do you think there is a noticeable difference in size between a 2ct and a 2.5ct?
Yes, a big affirmative you can see the difference in size, as long as the cut difference isn't too obvious (steep/deep) vs ideal .
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top