Woahhhh San Diego!

[reena]

just got back from an extended labor day weekend trip to san diego (considering moving there in january, and LOVED it) and i have to say, i have NEVER seen so many women with absolutely enormous e-rings on their fingers anywhere in my life. (and i live in NYC!) it was unbelievable.

it seemed like just about every woman i passed or sat next to at a restaurant was wearing the most ridiculous eyecandy on their fingers--even the young, newly engaged looking ones. some of the highlights included what looked to be an approx 5 carat EC on one lady and, i sh*t you not, probably a 7+carat RB on this ridiculous woman in saks. (it was about the size of a nickel.) what''''s the deal? is that just a southern CA thing?

maybe researcher will tell us!

 

[DavidEmslie]

Costume jewelry? CZ's? playin the bling bling game? lol if you want to have some fun use a diamond tester and a loop on them! See what happens.
But seriousely, some is real, some is not. Anyone with the funds to have a 5ct stone can generaly have a simulated high quality copy for travel or insurance reasons. Some people wont go outside with the real stuff one, however others will. In any area where status is based on mateiral goods, you will fine an abundance of both, that goes for alot of things, cars, clothing, jewelery, furniture, ect ect ect. Nice thing about diamonds is no one carries around a loop and tester and asks people randomly, can I see that stone? its taboo to even ask. playing one up and living up too the Jones's can be done with ease in jewelry.

 

[KittenKat]

So Cal is all about the 'bling'.

I live in Beverly Hills, and I cannot even begin to tell you how many ENORMOUS rings I see daily.

Many of my friends wouldn't 'settle' for less than 2cts. (A pathetic expectation, in my opinion.)

 

[Icicles]

I wouldn't be surprised if the stones you saw were indeed real, especially if you were in La Jolla, Del Mar, etc. Homes run in the millions in those areas... those rings gotta match somewhat.

The biggest I saw there was about a Pear. It was about half the length of her finger!

 

[reena]

it was indeed la jolla, and i have no doubt that the stones were real.

 

[researcher]

Now you understand why I don't think my 3+ ct ring is big! In the Del Mar/La Jolla area where I live very few women have a ring under 2 cts, and then only if they're a lot older and are not a native to the area. Most of my friends, who are in their mid 20's, have rings in the 4-5 ct range. A few, including myself, have gotten slightly smaller rings because we're students (finishing up Ph.D. and MD degrees), but the smallest stone is around 2 cts. And yes, they're all real. In fact, my friend's mom has a 9 ct emerald that's an E/VS1. It's spectacular! I guess you can say that this area of Southern California (as well as several places in L.A. and Orange County) does seem to have some of the biggest diamonds in the world on the hands of the women! Oh, and the only people I know of walking around with CZ's are the young girls who are not engaged but just want to keep the gross guys away (I did it for several years myself)! So, you can bet that what you were seeing was real.

Anyway, I'm glad you had a great trip, Reena! Look me up if you do moev down here!

 

[LGail]

I live in San Diego as well and I know what you mean. But to the majority of the people I know, my 1.44 ctw is rather large. But then again, I am only 24 so I am sure this is only true in my age range. For a different age group the ring stats are likley a lot different.

I am more shocked by the number of people in this town that have had plastic surgery before the age of 25. It's insane. Southern California is definitely a whole other world!!

 

[Icicles]

A few of my friends in high school had nose jobs for their 16th birthday. Now those same people are getting their boobs done, eyes (eyebrows?) lifted, and liposuctioned... at the ripe old age of 26.

 

[reena]

researcher: we LOVED san diego and what's more, we loved Del Mar the best!!! (i think you were telling me before you live right there.) the del mar beach--

fabulous. if i could wake up and look at that view every morning, life couldn't possibly be bad.

we even went to dinner at a very fun mexican joint in del mar one night: en fuego. yum.

we're realllly considering a move in early January if the job thing works out--can't wait! then the challenge will be finding a nice place to rent (we're going to wait a bit before buying) in del mar or la jolla. fingers crossed!

 

[researcher]

I'm so glad you liked it out here! "Bubba" (John), the owner of En Fuego, is GREAT! You definitely found a great place to eat In addition to Del Mar (old money, more understated) and La Jolla (new money, show what you have), a very nice area is Carmel Valley. It's a little east of Del Mar, but several of the homes still have ocean views and can be purchased for a mere million (rented for a couple thousand a month), as opposed to 2+ (with double the rent unless you live in the UTC area (slightly east of La Jolla). However, I would pay any amount of money to stay in this area! IMO there's nothing that can beat growing up on the beach in Del Mar!

If you have questions on different places to live/rent, PM me and I'll help you out!

 

[reena]

THANKS! we're so excited.

we were taken aback at how expensive the real estate was--luckily for us we're coming from the one place that's worse!!!

 

[SeanSD]

We're in San Diego and there is a lot of money out here.

I'll take Coronado over La Jolla and Del Mar though...

 

[MrsFrk]

Oh my gosh, En Fuego is the shizzle! We took a road trip to San Diego (we live in Northern California), and absolutely loved it. Palm Springs/Palm Desert is another place with unlimited bling-gazing opportunities. Frizzled, perma-tan ladies with tennis player legs, wearing giant pieces of ice all over.

 

[ninasstar]

We live in San Diego, too....we spent 8 years in the La Jolla / UTC area, 2 years in the Del Mar / Carmel Valley Area...and now we are living in Scripps Ranch. You are so right that many of the women have HUGE eye candy......BUT, I must say that my 1.54 ACA RB from Whiteflash, really still stands out and puts some of these huge rocks to shame.....the quality and cut truly make such a significant difference, that in the end, there is no comparison....unless we''re looking at my 1.5 ACA and comparing it to a larger ACA stone, of course. I just haven''t seen that many diamonds, despite the size, that compare in brilliance and fire.