Solitaire pendant -- regrets in size?

[myprecious]

Did anyone regret the size of their solitaire -- too big or too small? I can always upgrade in the future, but don''t want it to be too big to wear daily. I tried several on at T -- the one that I thought would be too small seemed pretty big on my small neck (.29). Maybe because I haven''t been wearing anything on my neck for a while. I could see myself wearing it with anything. Then I tried on the bigger one... it POPPED!

But I didn''t know if it was a bit too conspicuous (only .43).

 

[CLEICS]

Hi

Now I do love a solitaire pendant. When I bought mine about five years ago we basically trawled the diamond district in NY whilst i tried on different settings (decided I wasnt a bunny ears gal) and sizes and metals and ooh everything, I loved looking about although my poor hubbie started to look bemused after a bit.

I ended up going with a 0.61 G colour (I think) four prong solitaire in 10k WG the diamond has 2 tiny loops in the setting that chain is attached to but you cant see so diamong almost looks like its floating, now Im 5ft 4 so not the tallest and Im fairly petite but for me that size seemed just right! I wear the pendant about 80% of the time because I love its classic simplicity and the WG is still holding its own! itll probably want replating in another few years or so

Of course its completely personal opinion (as is everything jewellery related) but I have never regretted this size as its small enough for everyday but large enough that I feel its noticeable. And it still gets comments now (Im UK based so solitaire pendants tend to be quite a lot smaller here)

I think go somewhere where there are lots of different jewellers try everything on within your budget and I think you will find your comfort point! then enjoy enjoy enjoy!!!! (and barter.....)

 

[MichelleCarmen]

You need to figure out what''s best for you. Just as CLEICS, I''m also 5'' 4", and decided on a .414 E VS2 and am happy with the size. A few months back, I began searching for a larger stone, but decided that it probably would be bigger than I''d like.

I do think .29 may be a bit small unless you bezel the stone. That''ll frame it and make it more substantial on your neck and have it stand out more.

My other pendant is a .38 in a bezel and it is more obvious on my neck than my .414.

 

[that_someone_special]

I had (

wahhh I lost it) a .25 rb diamond in a martini setting and I felt it was too small. When I get another, it will be much bigger. While the size was nice... it just seemed pointless to me, or on me.. but it''s really up to what you want!

 

[marcy]

I had a .33 ct solitaire I bought from an estate sale - that was a gorgeous diamond. No stats but it was eye clean, probably G color and a real fire ball. Sadly I decided it wasn''t big enough. I took it back to the jewelry store and upgrade to a 1/2 ct. (RB) and like it just fine. While that diamond isn''t bad it certainly is not as nice as the one I returned. I have a larger mm green sapphire solitaire and actually think it''s a bit too big (it''s around 6mm).

I believe everyone has a different sweet spot. I don''t like very large jewelry but I want to be able to see it in the mirror.

I do wish I still had that .33 ct diamond.

 

[swingirl]

I think .50ct is a perfect pendant size. I bought one for my 21 year old daughter and it''s a perfect size set in a thin bezel. She is slim with a long slim long and I don''t think it looks too big on her. You can go lower in color and clarity in a pendant since it''s not viewed as close as a ring.

 

[PumpkinPie]

I don''t have one yet, but I have used an earring (.42) to see what that size would look like - I would probably get a stone between .4 and .5 and bezel it for a pendant!

 

[KittyGolightly]

I have a 1/2 carat bezel-set pendant from Blue Nile. I feel it''s a good size for daytime wear. So, no regrets.

 

[Andelain]

I have a 1.1 ct I was thinking to get made into a daily wear pendant. Now I''m wondering if that''s going to be too big.....

 

[Bella_mezzo]

mine is .412 in a thin bezel from BGD. I love it and wear it almost every day.

If budget wasn''t a factor I''d probably have gone with a .5-.6 in a bezel or a .6-.8 without a bezel. But, I really do love my .412 and I doubt I''ll every upgrade.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/10/2010 4:01:13 AM
Author: Lone_Wolfe
I have a 1.1 ct I was thinking to get made into a daily wear pendant. Now I''m wondering if that''s going to be too big.....

I think size of pendant has a lot to do with height. Taller women probably can pull off larger stones! Also, what kinds of clothes you wear. Bulky or frilly collars make seeing a necklace less visable, meaning a larger stone may be required to be noticed.

Comes down to comfort. Always important to test out sizes in stores before setting any diamond. Be sure to look for good cut stones to see accurate sizing.

 

[AprilBaby]

Mine is a .38, my original engagement diamond, so I wouldn''t trade it for bigger but I had it haloed so now it looks bigger.

 

[KaeKae]

I didn't choose either of my pendents, as both are heirlooms. I can say that I wear the smaller (.35ct in wg basket) much more than the larger (1.05ct in yg bezel.) I wear that one more, in part because I now gravitate toward the white metals more. Also, I've never thought it too small. That little guy sparkles like mad. And, though I would never say one carat could be two big, I have liked the 1/3ct for "every day."

 

[Bella_mezzo]

If it makes any difference in proportion, I am 5''8, very curvy, and a size 14/16.

 

[Andelain]

Date: 4/10/2010 12:28:51 PM
Author: MC

Date: 4/10/2010 4:01:13 AM
Author: Lone_Wolfe
I have a 1.1 ct I was thinking to get made into a daily wear pendant. Now I''m wondering if that''s going to be too big.....

I think size of pendant has a lot to do with height. Taller women probably can pull off larger stones! Also, what kinds of clothes you wear. Bulky or frilly collars make seeing a necklace less visable, meaning a larger stone may be required to be noticed.

Comes down to comfort. Always important to test out sizes in stores before setting any diamond. Be sure to look for good cut stones to see accurate sizing.

Hmmmm, that really makes me wonder. I''m only 5''4", but I''m real broad shouldered and stocky. I also dress very casual, jeans and a t-shirt when possible. I can pull off some nice sized rings on my hands, so I was think a big pendant would be good, but maybe not.

 

[Diam100]

Date: 4/10/2010 1:43:09 PM
Author: Lone_Wolfe

Date: 4/10/2010 12:28:51 PM
Author: MC

Date: 4/10/2010 4:01:13 AM
Author: Lone_Wolfe
I have a 1.1 ct I was thinking to get made into a daily wear pendant. Now I'm wondering if that's going to be too big.....

I think size of pendant has a lot to do with height. Taller women probably can pull off larger stones! Also, what kinds of clothes you wear. Bulky or frilly collars make seeing a necklace less visable, meaning a larger stone may be required to be noticed.

Comes down to comfort. Always important to test out sizes in stores before setting any diamond. Be sure to look for good cut stones to see accurate sizing.

Hmmmm, that really makes me wonder. I'm only 5'4', but I'm real broad shouldered and stocky. I also dress very casual, jeans and a t-shirt when possible. I can pull off some nice sized rings on my hands, so I was think a big pendant would be good, but maybe not.

Ok I wear 1.1 Platinum Bezel and I wear it with my 4 prong basket studs proudly. I had my second set of 1.5ctw studs micropaved by Leon (they grew lol) and gasp the bezel darn well SHRUNK. So, here we go back to Mr. Mege to Pave a 1.6ct Pear into a pendant... Wear what your comfortable with that's what it comes down too..

 

[Rachel9]

Agreed, height matters, after wearing a .50 for about a year I realized it got lost among shoulders and hair.
1.14 ct is perfect for me.

 

[curiousmind]

Other than you size, I think age matters as well. What''s considered beautiful has changed as I get older. I have a few diamond pendants with smaller stones and I just don''t think they look as good on me as before, particularly after I upgraded by stub earrings. Now, I''m shopping for a bigger diamond solitaire pendant in the 1.5 - 1.8 range. I went to Tiffany and tried on a few sizes (but I''ll likely get a BGD Barbara pendant). 1.6 looked really good to me and I think I''ll wear that everyday.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/10/2010 1:43:09 PM
Author: Lone_Wolfe


Hmmmm, that really makes me wonder. I'm only 5'4', but I'm real broad shouldered and stocky. I also dress very casual, jeans and a t-shirt when possible. I can pull off some nice sized rings on my hands, so I was think a big pendant would be good, but maybe not.

I'm also 5' 4" and am petite build, but have boney shoulderblades

. My wardrobe basically is designer jeans and t-shirts from old navy (lol) and then diamond earrings and diamond pendants and seems to match up together.

Also, I just wanted to add that my .414 is there but not really that obvious. For example, a person will glance at it, but it's not as if every person I talk to is immediately drawn toward it. It is a good basic size for me especially since I'm a SAHM.

Keep in mind that there is a price jump once you go over .50, so if you're looking for around that size, try for a .40-47ish. I did that with both my earrings and my pendant and got a much better deal. I ended going up in color on all three diamonds because when shopping in that size range, going up in color doesn't increase the price as much.

 

[Black Jade]

I have a .70. I like that size on me. I knew I liked it because I got a couple of CZ pendants and wore them around first--for about a year or so, once I knew I wanted a pendant. I found I was wearing the .70--and not the 1.5 pendant. I found I didn''t wear the one that had a bezel, and that i was not crazy about round pendants. Mine is a heart shaped diamond--I also like pears. I find it''s not so useful to just hold a stone up against your neck, but that it''s good to actually wear the necklaces, because then you get an idea of what you actually will wear.

I knew I wanted a biggish pendant because I have bigger studs that I wear pretty much everyday and I didn''t wnat it to look out of proportion. But I found .70 looked big enough (the pendant I finally got is a heart and its about 6.3mm)--for me, the 1.5 was too big for daily wear.

I didn''t want to spend a bundle on my pendant and what I did was to buy a pawnshop ring with a stone I liked and have local jeweller reset it. My .70 pendant cost about as much as .25 would cost, if I got a very good quality diamond. In a pendant, you don''t have to have the very best quality as no one gets that close up--it just has to sparkle. Mine has white inclusions if you are eyeballing it close up, but it sparkles a lot and it looks very nice.

I got advice on PS as to how to have it set and also I looked at the threads where people showed their pendants and gave the sizes--it was very helpful.

Of course, some like super quality like ACA''s for everything; for people like that, what I did wouldn''t be a good idea.

 

[ILoveDiamondsToo]

I''m 5''1", 108 lbs. and wear a 1.3 carat solitaire with 2 ctw studs. I gets compliments constantly and my kids would definitely tell me if they thought it looked too big.

 

[motownmama]

mine''s .83 and I think it works well - I wear it 24/7 and it takes me from bathing suit to black tie!

 

[myprecious]

Thanks for all your replies, everyone!

The consideration of height was helpful. I''m short with a small frame, so 1/3-.5 might be good for me.

I have some more questions and would love your input!

Does anyone have a sliding pendant? Does it prevent flipping and moving up? One setting I''m considering is the BGD Barbara but would have to get a smaller stone because it''s pricey. Would it be worth it for a smallish stone?

Also, I''m outside a lot and wear sunscreen (or trying to remember to...). Would the exposed culet of a bezel setting get dirtier faster than a setting with a backing? Would plat be better if I''m cleaning it frequently?

ILoveDiamondsToo, motownmama, Rachel9, Diam100, Lone_Wolfe, KaeKae, AprilBaby, Maevie, KittyGolightly (cute avatar!) - thanks for sharing!

CLEICS - You sound like you LURVE your pendant!! That''s a great idea, I need to go other places besides Tiff and try different ones on, with different price points. But I''ve wanted to own a ACA or H&A stone since I didn''t for my e-ring (hubby wanted T so he could see it first), so I''m considering WF.
Does your 4-prong flip?

MC - your posts are super-helpful. I have seen your pendants pics -- they are beautiful. You mentioned once that they both flip -- do you wear one more than the other?

Swedishbean - I''ve lost jewelry before, too (a tennis bracelet my MIL gave me, GULP!) and it feels awful. Sorry you lost your .25! But now you can get a bigger one!

Marcyc - The reason you preferred the smaller one... was the cut/color of the .33 better?

Swingirl - what a great gift for your daughter -- lucky girl! What color and clarity did you choose?

Bella_mezzo - actually, you convinced me to go with the pendant instead of a bracelet in another post. Thanks! Is the BGD bezel the one with the exposed culet?
curiousmind - I hadn''t considered changing preferences with age. I was considering the WF Ready-set-go as one of my choices, but it might be better to go with an upgradeable stone... hm...

BlackJade - wow, that''s real research! Where did you get your CZ pieces? Did they look like diamonds?

 

[Black Jade]

I don''t know if this is breaking the rule about talking about sims in this situation, but I got sim from freecz.com and then had it set in silver at local jeweler. Looks so real that people asked why I was bothering to buy a real diamond after that.

as for the real diamond, I don''t have a sliding pendant, but I had the stone attached to a chain with rabbit ears. My jeweler was able to attach the rabbit ears so I have absolutely no flip.
I would be curious to see sliding diamond pendants, if anyone has links to pictures of one. I always think that a marquise set EW would look great in a sliding pendant (one day).

 

[Circe]

Hi, MP! I have one .25 ct. round pendant, and a new 1.3 ct. bezeled pear pendant. I''m not tall, but I''m busty, and I felt like the .25 just got lost on me. The 1.3, on the other hand? Feels like perfection. Part of that is where I wear it - I go from a 16 inch chain to a 24 inch chain. It can be face-framing or lost in the neckline, depending on how I''m feeling, which is nice - if there''s one thing I know I wouldn''t get after this, it''s a fixed pendant-necklace with no jump rings. I''ve worn it every day since I got it, and I haven''t felt it was too much once.

I will say, while you can always upgrade, since you love the Barbara setting and since it''s pricey ... while you *can* upgrade in the future, why not get the larger size straight away? The money you save on the reset amortizes the larger stone.

P.S. - An open culet is MUCH better for cleaning, in my experience: for one thing, you can *get* to it. A closed back can be a nightmare for proper cleaning.