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Carat size for a small hand?

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kph77

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I''m wavering about what size carat to go for with my girlfriend''s engagement ring. Since i haven''t had her try any on I really don''t know how they will look, but i do know that she does have pretty small hands (size 4), and she wants a thin band. I want it to "look" like it''s at least 1 carat to the casual observer, so I''ve been thinking about a .9 carat. But I''m also thinking of expanding my budget and going larger. What about a 1.4-1.5, would that look just way too large and flashy on such a small hand? I certainly wouldn''t want to shell out the extra money if it makes the ring look too out-of-proportion or ostentatious.
 

Hest88

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Hm. Is she the modest type? I know a girl who is rather petite and she and her BF have settled on a 2 carat. Personally I think that's on the large side, but it makes her happy--and that's all that matters.

If you want to be safe, increase it to about 1.25. I wear a size 4.25 and I find that even a 1 carat looks a bit larger for my tastes, but then that's me. I've decided that if I want something with a little bit more of a wow factor I'd go with a 1.25, but no larger.
 

fire&ice

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How old are you? What are her friends receiving?
How long are her fingers?

Ring size matters less than how "large" her hands & fingers are. I have a friend who is a size 4 & her fingers are long & slender. She could easily carry a 1.5. But, if her hands are petite, a 1c would look very nice.
 

DancinGirl

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Personally I have very petite hands (size 4.5)... and my first ring I had was a .80ct, with a thin channel set band in white gold... it looked HUGE on me - and I couldn't have imagined getting one bigger. If you stick with a thin band, any rock that size will look really large.

See attached pic.
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MSEngagement Ring1A.jpg
 

kph77

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We are both 25, and she definitely has petite, yet sleek and beautiful hands. I wouldn't say she's "modest" judging from her closet and shoe collection, but she doesn't wear much jewelry at all. Her friend's rings have been in the 0.9 to 1.1 range. If i go larger i may have to downgrade on color (right now i'm looking at F-G for a 0.9-1.0), but we'll see....
Thanks all for your comments!
 

Hest88

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I"m not sure what kind of cut or clarity you're looking for, but if you get an ideal cut diamond you can probably go down one grade in both color and clarity and still have a knockout stone.
 

rktilleryj

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I actually just went through the same thing. My girlfriend is a size 4 as well with long slender fingers. We went and tried on rings a few months ago just to get a feel for what she liked. I can tell you that the setting has to be taken into consideration as well. Several of the rings she tried on had larger sidestones (trillions) which combined with a center stone of just over 1 carat looked really bulky on her finger. If you are going to be going with a setting with sidestones, I would consider maybe staying just under a carat for your center stone. But, as has been stated above, it ultimately depends on her personal preferences. Good luck!
 

fire&ice

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I'd go G/H VS2 (or clean SI) 1.25. If not, go for a stunning well cut stone in the 1c range. It's a good size for your circle of friends & age.

Just my 2cents- Good luck
 

DancinGirl

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Mine was a .80ct, VS1, I color (in the pic) and had 6 channel set diamonds set in white gold... total cost of the ring was $3200.
I wouldn't suggest going lower than an I color, but anywhere in the G-H-I color range is face up very white looking. You can go down to the SI range and lower your cost a lot. Just make sure there are no visable inclusions.

GOOD LUCK!
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Mara

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We just visited some friends and the woman had a .75c stone on what was probably a size 4 hand. It looked easily like a 1c..plus it was definitely well cut which as we all know, helps immensely with visual effect. She felt anything larger was too flashy for her. The diamond did look noticeable on her hand.

So you could probably do something between .75 and 1c and be fine but not too flashy..but if you feel she may suffer from diamond shrinkage over time (it happens to the best of us!), you may want to get the 1c or slightly higher (1.10c) to make it easier on yourself in the future..hee hee.
 

69gm

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hi kph,

i recently gave my girlfriend...oops, now fiance...have to get used to that one...
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a 1.02 diamond. she wears a size 3.5! very small i take it from the other sizes i've heard about and read on this thread. anyway it's in a temporary setting right now in a tiffany six-prong 2.5mm. the thing looks HUGE on her finger. i love it!
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i agree that it kinda depends on what she wants and partly what her circle of friends have (i don't care what anyone else says...girls DO talk about such things!). sounds like the 1 ct. neighborhood is the way to go since all her friends seem to be in this range. after all, it's also kinda nice having her friends admire what wonderful taste you have. hehehe.

make sure you get a well cut diamond though. this will help a lot in making it look even bigger! a well cut .90 will look bigger than a crappy cut (hey cut geeks out there...that's a correct technical term, right?
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) 1 ct. diamond.

if you haven't found a diamond yet, come back and seek the advice from some of the friendly and knowledgeable people here on the forum. they're awesome and there are tons of us here who would like nothing better than to help you find the "perfect" ring. they'll give you all the help you can handle on choosing the right diamond including opinions on what to look for.

good luck!
 

3Richmond

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I just recently purchased a 1.05 ct ring for my girlfriend who has long slender size 4 ring finger. I went with the sleek line platinum solitaire setting which has a 2mm band. She gets many compliments on how thin the band is as it fits with her thin small fingers. The diamond looks quite large on her hand. I could have gone with a .85 or .9 and still be o.k. Much of the attention she gets is from how fiery and bright the diamond is. It comes back to cut again :&nbsp
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Good luck!
 

Talonnav

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Ring sizes 3 1/2 .... 4????
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I could probably wear a 5 1/2 on my pinky!
 

Mara

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I hear ya Talannov...I think my pinky is a 4!!
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Then again I'm tall for a girl...or so I am told...so it must be a proportion thing?
 

sizematters

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I have very small hands and my ring size is a 5. My engagement ring stone is a 1.3 and it looks HUGE. I've been engaged for about 3 weeks so I'm getting used to it but a lot of people comment that it looks huge. If she's not shy, I'd say 1.25-1.3 seems appropriate but if she would mind people gawking at her ring than smaller is probably best.
 

Jax172

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I wear a 3 and 3/4 ring size and my diamond is a 1.34. It's noticably large but not obnoxious.
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Mara

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On 6/4/2003 Jax172 wrote:

I wear a 3 and 3/4 ring size and my diamond is a 1.34. It's noticably large but not obnoxious.
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There is no such thing as an obnoxious diamond!!
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Well except for maybe some of those eBay ones we post from time to time that are opaque.

I was in a store the other day and the owner was wrapping my purchase. She had what was AT LEAST a 3c diamond and it was very beautiful. I was sneaking surreptitious glances and the thing was a wonder of sparkle and was enormous and so clear and beautiful. It looked almost 3 times as big as my stone from diameter perspective. I was almost drooling as I left the store.

Yesterday on our plane ride back from the state of cheese, we sat next to a woman who had what we estimated roughly was at least a 2c stone, but it was hard to tell because it was in a semi bezel setting so it could have looked 'enhanced' in its visual diameter, setting was somewhat like cowboy stu did for his girlfriend/fiance recently. Pretty setting, huge stone. Very sparkly and clear. She had large fingers, so it fit well with her hand...but it was big. Again...the drool was almost noticeable.

Either of them obnoxious? No way. The 3c woman had around what looked like size 4-5 fingers and that stone just shone like a white beacon of light.
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aljdewey

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On 6/4/2003 8:31:58 PM Mara wrote:

I hear ya Talannov...I think my pinky is a 4!!

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Then again I'm tall for a girl...or so I am told...so it must be a proportion thing?

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Or maybe not......I'm only 5'4", and my pinky is a 5 or 5.5.......ring finger is a 6.25.
 

Mara

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Yeah but aren't you a guy AL?

I don't know if the rule of thumb for larger hands/fingers works for men!
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aljdewey

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On 6/5/2003 1
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6:31 PM Mara wrote:
Yeah but aren't you a guy AL?

I don't know if the rule of thumb for larger hands/fingers works for men!
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No, I'm not. Female all the way.
 

Hest88

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Oh gosh, Alj. All this time and I thought you were a guy too! Sorry. I should know better, since people have mistaken me for a man as well. (Not in person, though, thank you very much!
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)
 

pelepup

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I personally like big rings. I have a size 5 finger but my hands are a little wide. I wear almost 2 carat diamond with small diamonds all around it. But I have been wearing diamond rings for a while. I started out with a 5 stone half ctw band. Then upgraded to a 1 ctw, 5 stone band with a 40pt middle stone. Now my e-ring is almost a 2ct stone. Someone around here stated that diamonds shrink with normal wear and they do!
 

rktilleryj

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I keep reading the statement that diamonds shrink with normal wear over time. Can someone indulge my obvious ignorance on this subject and explain this?
 

69gm

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correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe that the "diamond shrinkage" that mara and some others refer to is that in the beginning, your diamond looks huge and wonderful. but over time, especially after noticing other people's rings (mara, i would've drooled over a 3ct ring too!) you begin wishing you had a larger diamond.

this actually happened recently to my fiance (see i got it right this time!). a co-worker saw the diamond i bought for her, which is bigger than the co-worker's, and made the comment of, "i gotta get a bigger diamond". of course i'm sure she was mostly joking...mostly that is...
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fire&ice

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On 6/5/2003 4:42:12 PM 69gm wrote:

correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe that the "diamond shrinkage" that mara and some others refer to is that in the beginning, your diamond looks huge and wonderful. but over time, especially after noticing other people's rings (mara, i would've drooled over a 3ct ring too!) you begin wishing you had a larger diamond.

Yep, it takes a while to get used to the size. When my ring was finished, I exclaimed "It's huge." I was worried that I went with the wrong size. The jeweler said "you will get used to it fast." I did.

Also, sometimes I think people get a knock your socks off stone & it is hard to get used to the sparkle - which you get over real quick. And adapt to the name Rudolph.
 

Hest88

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Yep. Diamond shrinkage is quite a phenomenon. Once you get used to have a rock on your finger, it doesn't seem all that gigantic anymore. So, soon, it starts looking so natural that you wonder what a bigger one will look like.

I think that's how older women end up with huge honkers--or too much makeup--they just get too familiar with what they have.
 

69gm

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uh oh, does that mean after all that work i put into researching the "perfect" diamond, i'm gonna have to go through it again?!
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stopt the madness!
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Mara

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Yes thats definitely correct...as you get used to looking at something, it tends to somehow lose that 'awe inspiring' feeling..its like almost anything else.

A few years back when I moved into my place, I did alot of remodeling, about a months worth of daily work on the place..new wood flooring we laid ourselves, painting, cabinet refinishing, etc etc. When I first did all the work (with the help of friends and the like), yes it was AMAZING and the whole place just looked great--I loved to look around it and see the fruit of our labors.

Now people come over and always tell me its so gorgeous and/or homey and how much they love what I've done. I actually have to take a step back and think..yeah it does look really good. Over the last few years as I have lived there..it just becomes 'home' and you forget to notice the small details that others exclaim about.

That's how I view the 'diamond shrinkage' syndrome as well. If something is always there, you end up getting used to it!
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BTW AL..I too thought you were a male..maybe it was the avatar? SORRY!!
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fire&ice

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On 6/5/2003 4:57:24 PM Hest88 wrote:


I think that's how older women end up with huge honkers--or too much makeup--they just get too familiar with what they have.
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Hey, I have gotten used to my big honker - but wear the same amount of makeup as in my 20's - which is slim to none. ;-)
 

Hest88

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F&I, dah-ling, I'm sure that the only makeup you need is the scintillation of your diamond playing across your face.
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