Carat Weight...

[Bia]

Date: 12/8/2008 3:31:01 PM
Author: Dreamgirl

I think I''d be happiest with a .90+ preferably 1ct
(I''ve been with FF for 10 years now. I feel I deserve a little somethin somethin)

I agree!!! Cheers to that

 

[vespergirl]

Just on more thing that I want to add - I did buy my husband a great gift a year after we married when I could afford it (I sold my investment porperty) - I got him the ridiculous flat-screen TV that he had been drooling over for years - he had never expected me to spend that kind of money on a gift for him, and he was floored - he loved it. It was a really nice feeling to be able to get him something that fancy!

 

[Haven]

Date: 12/8/2008 3:11:16 PM
Author: vespergirl
For me, because I''m tall (5''9'') with long fingers, I really liked the look of a 1.5 carat on my hand. I was lucky, though, that my husband liked the look of a 2 ct more

However, we were older and established when we got engaged (I was 29, he was 34) and we both made good salaries. My husband had been saving cash for an e-ring for some time, so we didn''t go into debt for him to get me a stone of that size.

When I was younger (early 20s) I was engaged with a 1 carat ring, that I thought was the perfect size for that point in my life. I guess that I always felt like 1 ct was a beautiful, large ring, and that anything above that was gravy

vespergirl--I could almost ditto your entire post! I''m a tad taller than 5''9", and my hubby was the one who wanted to go for the 2 ct stone in the end. We were 28 and 38 when we married, and he paid cash for my ring. AND, when I was younger (too young, actually) I was engaged with a 0.22 ct stone. It was a two-tone tension setting, and it really wasn''t my style at all, but I ADORED that ring! I could not take my eyes off of it. Had he been the right man I likely would have proudly worn that .22 ct stone for a very long time.

 

[that_someone_special]

Well, before meeting SO and seeing that not everyone has a lot of extra money.... I REALLY WANTED a 2 - 2.5 carat princess cut.

Now, back to reality, SO is carrying ALL of the bills right now, is going back to school, and I have a degree in a field where no one wants to pay money right now

We looked at 1-1.25 carats. We found quite a few nice ones, but the one he ended up getting, is a 0.60 OEC. Yep! A fraction of what I wanted, but I've seen the diamond and it's SO PRETTY. I love it. It fits the budget nicely and we've talked about upgrades (hehehe

). I think that if I ever did upgrade it, I would keep that diamond because it really shows how he tried his hardest to get me something even though our budget went from $7k to anything close to $0 over night. Ah!

I still feel that 1 carat- 1.25 is my perfect size, and I REALLY HOPE to get an OEC that size

Edit: I'm 25, he's 29.5

 

[Blackpaw]

Dreamgirl - I''ve been with FF for 10 years now. I feel I deserve a little somethin somethin

hear hear!

and i hear you about the size, my one of two possible styles of ering is a tiffs lucida and SO and I certainly wouldnt be able to stretch for more than a carat from there...

 

[sunnyd]

FF gets no engagement gift from me, but that''s mostly because I contributed 1/2 of it at least (well, $600 of it was contributed by Pres. Bush

).

 

[Dreamgirl]

Date: 12/8/2008 3:33:09 PM
Author: Bia

Date: 12/8/2008 3:31:01 PM
Author: Dreamgirl

I think I'd be happiest with a .90+ preferably 1ct
(I've been with FF for 10 years now. I feel I deserve a little somethin somethin)

I agree!!! Cheers to that

I'm sayin!

Not to sound like a brat but after 10 years (and probably getting engaged 11,12 years together......give me at least somethin somethin!)

Date: 12/8/2008 4:40:43 PM
Author: Blackpaw
hear hear!

and i hear you about the size, my one of two possible styles of ering is a tiffs lucida and SO and I certainly wouldnt be able to stretch for more than a carat from there...

Well, you know Tiff's lowered the engagement ring prices. I made a whole over the top excited thread about it the other day

 

[glitterazzi]

Hmm... well, my dream would be 2 (okay... I dream bigger, but my "possible" dream). I wear about 1.25 carat solitaire on my right hand, and he wants to "beat" it... so I''m keeping my fingers crossed! BUT (and it''s a big BUT) it all depends on the bonus this year - and he''s worried... So I told him that if the bonus is bogus then we''ll just do wedding bands - we''ll have the rest of our lives to build the ring of our dreams. He said that may be fine with me, but it''s not okay with him... he wants me to have even more than I ever dreamed of. So we agreed that there is nothing we can do about the bonus, so we''re just waiting to see what it is! Whatever he proposes with I will be so happy to be marrying him it won''t even matter - but I''ll be sure to show you all whatever it is!

 

[meresal]

Date: 12/8/2008 3:24:45 PM
Author: vespergirl

Date: 12/7/2008 4:54:02 PM
Author: LaurenThePartier
Mine is a .71 ct. Asscher and I love it! I have small-ish fingers at 4.75, and with the halo, it has good presence on my hand.

I have to ask, are you ladies who are asking for such large engagement rings giving your SO an engagement gift in return? A motorcycle, watch, or TV or something?

I just think that the engagement ''tradition'' has become so incredibly one-sided (and HEAVILY weighted financially in our favour), and in an environment where women are making as much, or nearly as much money as men, I feel like the one-sidedness of the whole engagement process really isn''t fair, any longer.

Yup, my husband got me, and our wonderful son! (whom he would not have without me Even though I made a very good salary, my husband made more than twice what I did at the time, so he was more in the position to buy a ''big gift.'' Plus, I think that, especially if you have a child, a woman gives up a lot more in the marriage (in my case, my career, my freedom to move about the world without a child in tow, and my smokin'' hot pre-baby body

), so I don''t feel too bad about getting a nice piece of jewlery out of the deal

Of course, we decided to go with the traditional family route, and I can see doing the opposite if the woman is the breadwinner, and the guy''s going to stay home with the kiddies. Then you could buy him a nice minivan or something

And, here''s the cynical perspective - tradionally, in many cultures, women coudln''t necessarliy inherit or keep valuables or property in the case of being widowed or divorced (it would go back to the husband''s family), but jewels (in many cultures) were one of the things that woman ''owned outright,'' so in the case of a husband dying or leaving, her jewels were the fortune that she could keep to make her way in the world. As someone who sold my old e-ring to help finance a move out of a crappy state after a failed marriage, I was glad that I had received something of value after the end of that relationship

I just laughed out loud *snort*

 

[Samantha Red]

I got a 1.03 round which I am thrilled about, particularly as here in the UK stones of that size are not at all common. I get lots of comments about my huge rock, but I think it looks just right on my size 7 finger. I bought my fiance a vintage rolex which cost nearly, but not quite as much as my ring. I also plan to buy him a digital SLR camera for a wedding gift and I have booked a helicopter to take us to our first honeymoon destination 150 miles away

 

[Lynnie]

Mine''s 1.33 carats. Totally lucked out... he saw an ad in the paper about a jewelry store going out of business and we went there on a whim - and walked out with a ring! And got it appraised afterwards (it''s worth almost 3 times what he paid).

I got him tickets to 3 Phillies games (we''re huge fans). He took me to one and his brother to the others.

 

[Dancing Fire]

hoping for a 2.5ct RB.....still waiting.

 

[trillionaire]

My pending, still in hostage e-ring is 1.51ctw, with a 1.01 center. My ring finger is about 6.5, and that puppy looks HUGE on my finger. I think that the side diamonds add to how blingalicious it looks, but um, let''s just say I will be a bit self conscious with my pretty on my finger. It''s a trillion, so 6.98mm x 6.64mm (approx), but geez, it looks REALLY big. Any bigger, and NO WAY could I wear it. There are some gutsy women around PS, with all these huge diamonds! How do you ladies lift your fingers?

But really, congrats to everyone on their lovely diamonds, and diamonds to come.

 

[mariewest]

I have small fingers so I do not wish to have a very large diamond. I think our budget will allow a decent .50 ct. That is find with me. Just a simple setting, and then maybe get a nicer wedding band.

 

[4ever]

Our budget will depend on what job my partner gets when he finally makes the long distance move to live with me.

I''m not expecting anything particularly large, I''m a youngin and living in a country where people tend to have much smaller stones then I''ve seen on here.

I''ll be happy with any size that suits me and in a style I like

 

[sba771]

My FI surprised me with a 2.35 RB, but I thought we were going to stick to 1.5 range, which I would have loved too! He is 8 years older than I am so I didn''t feel awful as I know his financial situation. I don''t have much money, but he proposed in Disney World so for his gift I got him 2 grumpy t-shirts (fits his character sometimes) and a personalized beer-stein with Mickey in Lederhosen on it since we were about to move to Germany. He really loved that one!

 

[emeraldlover1]

My fiance was very generous with my E-Ring however we are 29 and almost 31. We own our NYC apartment with a huge morgage, pay our bills on time, and have virtually no debt (just the rest of my school loans). My fiance makes more money than me and has been saving his pennies for the longest time so he was able to pay cash for my e-ring. We are also paying for our entire wedding. I''m saying this because it is possible to get what you want if you are really frugal with the other things. Yes, we have established careers however we could be broke if we didn''t save. We sacrifice doing a lot of fun stuff, expensive meals, clothes, and vacations, in order to save for the things that we really want. My FI wanted to get me the ring he got me and I''m not going to argue.

He didn''t want anything for an engagement gift. I still got him a really nice pair of cufflinks so he would have something to remember the day by. I wasnt able to give them to him on our engagement because he did such a great job of surprising me I didn''t have them with me.

As far as my ring is concerned, we got really lucky. My fiance compromised on a color a bit to get to the size that he thought looked good on me. I still am so happy he did because I see no warmth in my stone. I may not be color sensitive but that is fine by me because I feel we got the most bang for our buck. Then, my FI went a little overboard and go the Tacori setting I loved.

 

[lovelee]

Mine is a 1.91. When we first started dating, we discussed 1ct... then when we started looking, we decided (or I decided and he agreed

) we liked the look of a 1.5 better. Then he actually suggested going up in size.

. I was completely pleasantly surprised.

As for his "engagement gift," since his salary is about 5 times the amount of mine, I got him an Armani suit for the wedding.
Sigh... he looks so handsome in it.

ETA: I'm 26 and he's 33, he's been working in his career field for over 10 years, and I've only had a full time job for 1.5 years.

 

[musey]

I wear a 1.96ct asscher. It faces up 7x7mm, so about like a 1.3ct round. We got really exceedingly lucky in finding our stone--I didn't think we'd be able to afford even a carat. Before we found it, I'd been planning to get a colored stone placeholder or an eternity band.

He refused any sort of engagement gift, but I got him his first fancy suit and a pair of lovely Tiffany cufflinks, both for the wedding.

 

[Starry-eyed]

Considering what my SO recently mentioned along the lines of how much his idea of a ring would cost, I''d guess I would get something around the 1.5 carat range, which would be amazing, if you ask me.

 

[Krissie]

I didn''t really have a size in mind when we started looking at rings - I just figured I''d want above 1 ct because my fingers are on the large side (7.5). My e-ring is 1.26 carats. We''re both lawyers, and my ring is smaller than most in our social circle, but it''s from Cartier and I wouldn''t trade it for the world. It''s got a high color and cut grade, but more importantly, the diamond spoke to me!

I knew that by selecting a Cartier ring, we would not be able to get as much "bang for the buck", but I am so glad my sweet DH was receptive to the idea! I will always remember our visiits to Bond Street (we were living in London at the time), our champagne in the store and a fabulously giddy cab ride afterward!

I cannot see myself upgrading my engagement ring. To me, it is already an heirloom

I would adore an asscher someday, as a RHR. And I would never turn down a fab eternity ring at an upcoming anniversary

 

[gryffindor]

I'm in a male dominated field, and the wives of these men nearly all parade around with on average 2 ct rings. I didn't want to be attending professional meetings with these men sporting something less, so I felt 1.5 ct was a good number. When I tried rings on, we decided RB looked best on my finger and he thought the stones between 1.5 and 2 looked good. Once he gave me his stone budget, I have settled on searching in the 1.78 - 1.82 range, although we both want high color. I have been wavering with dropping the color just a tad and seeing how much higher I could push the carats, but ultimately I don't think I will. The stone I select is the stone I will keep in my family. This is the first diamond purchase in either of our families. Also, with all the research I've been doing and time I've spent with my jeweler, I want to hang on to whatever it is I ultimately select! If I ever decide to "upgrade" later, I'd rather buy a different stone. We are both almost 29.

The jeweler has 4 new stones for me to look at tomorrow and has me all excited! I really hope I can skip out of work by 4 and get over there to look. I don't want to wait till Friday!

 

[supergirl10]

I live in Australia and where i am from it is extremely rare to see a ring over 1crt. I have a 0.48 carrots which I love, we are on one income and it is the best quality ring we could affort at the time. Since we live together and our finances are combined we both payed for it.

Supprisingly i have comments from friends, family and strangers ALL the time about the ring. It is more along the lines of OMG that is soooo huge. To me it just looks like any standard ring size wise but there have been lots of people making a huge fuss. The most suprising was my FFIL who went on and on and on about how huge the diamond was and how much money that would have cost. I have openly heard my FSIL make comments and apparently my FMIL has also made comments about the size of the diamond to my mother.

I really don''t know what to say, the ring was not extravagent by any means and was well within our budget. Oh well we are both happy

 

[~*Alexis*~]

I am looking to get a center stone with 1 to 1.5........im a size 7 so I need something with coverage...we are looking at an emerald cut

 

[KatM]

we aren''t there yet and i have nothing to contribute. i just like to vote for things

 

[stbfyffe]

Mine is a .614. Its funny because when he took it out of the box he was a little disappointed...he thought it was going to be bigger...I think its perfect however if he wants to upgrade i won''t refuse

 

[Amanda.Rx]

I am hoping for a 1 - 1.5 ct. round brilliant bezel set.

 

[Clairitek]

I was hoping for a 1.25 carat RB and I ended up with a 1.04 8 main pavilion cushion. I was surprised that it was only 1.04 carats because it faces up much larger. Its a perfect square with sides of 6.06 mm. I was curious what equivalent area RB this would match and it has the same "face up" surface area as a 1.2 carat RB so I suppose I ended up with about the same amount of finger coverage for a lot less money. I don''t think that FI could have even gotten an ideal cut 1.1 carat RB for what he paid for my entire ring.

When I went into work (a research center at a University) everyone in there thought my ring was huge. Most of the women who work there have about a 1/2 carat RB.

In regards to the engagement gift for my FI... I bought him a Movado watch for our one year anniversary. I plan to get it engraved soon to commemorate our engagement. He wears it every day and loves it. He knows that I don''t have the money to get him an expensive gift right now so I think hes OK with the engraving.

 

[Resonance.Of.Life]

Between 2.5 carat to a 3 carat antique cushion!
Finger size: 3.5

But the catch here is that there is no upgrading ever! T___T
I''m 23 and he''ll be 27 very soon.

I''m getting him a new computer system (~$2500) which has to do with his career higher end parts for rendering 3d models and CGI effects.

 

[MissDimity]

Updated. I originally thought my SO would buy a 0.8-1 ct RBC, but he bought today a 1.17 ct RBC! WOo Hoo!