How many carats do you call your ring?

[madelise]

Do you say X carats, as in Y center stone weight + Z melee weight (CTW)?
or do you just say it is Y carats?

I notice that off-PS, people always say the CTW of their rings.. and on-PS, it's a divide. Newbies usually state the CTW, and the longer term PS-ers will provide detailed stats.. but even then, the title of their threads vary on CTW or center stone weight.


and does it change when you're talking to someone who KNOWS jewelry, vs an average Joe pal that doesn't know jewelry?






________

I'm asking because a coworker recently got engaged and is telling everyone she has "about one and a half carats". It's a solitaire that has sidestones, but the solitaire looks about 3-4mm-ish.

 

[Enerchi]

hmmm... I just call mine a "3 stone" and I don't really say anything about the carat weight. No one in my 'real world' cares about jewelry like PS does! (bummer... PSers are WAY more fun!!) But for reference, my total weight is 2.09 and my centre stone is 1.06.

 

[audball]

I agree. I find most people tell me that their ring is xx carats and it's a teeny three stone that all adds up to what they say it is when their center stone is in fact 1/3 or something. I have NO issues with small rings, mine isn't large to PS standards, but I think it's misrepresentative of what the true stats are.

My ring is .788ct. I will never (aside from PS) tell someone that. If someone close asks, I'd probably say "Just over 3/4 carat".

ETA: granted I also have a solitaire with no additional side stones so my center stone weight IS my CTW, but that's not the case for most of the people I know.

 

[daintyG]

my setting has such a low ctw that it doesn't matter. It's .05.

My center stone is .48, so I just say it's 1/2 a carat or "about 1/2 a carat," but I have rarely ever been asked.

It's annoying when people make their diamonds/rings seem bigger or better than they really are, but I would probably not say anything. Sadly, my mom thinks her ring is almost a carat and nearly flawless, but it's .3 or less and I can see inclusions with my loupe. Her jeweler told her that 30 years ago.

 

[Laila619]

hmmm... I just call mine a "3 stone" and I don't really say anything about the carat weight. No one in my 'real world' cares about jewelry like PS does! (bummer... PSers are WAY more fun!!) But for reference, my total weight is 2.09 and my centre stone is 1.06.

This.

Technically my ring is about 2 carats total weight, but the center is only 0.98 carat and the sides total 1.00 carats. No one ever asks though!

I wouldn't personally count small pave stones for TCW though. If I had a pave setting, I'd probably just say my ring was 0.98 carats. I count individual side stones that are 0.25 ct each and above.

 

[armywife13]

When I had a pave/halo e-ring, I only said what the center diamond was-not the total carat weight including melee.

ETA-Madelise, does this have anything to do with melee putting your total carat weight over 4? I remember you saying how that is bad ju-ju in your culture-please forgive my lack of a better or more correct term.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I also have a solitaire, but I would never count the melee in saying the total weight of a pave setting! People only do that if they honestly know no better or they are trying to impress someone. If I had a three stone ring and was asked the weight, I would say the center is x cts and the sides are x cts.

 

[Dancing Fire]

if it was a 3 or more stone ring then i'll say XX total weight. if it was a solitaire ring then i'll say XX mm just to confuse them...

 

[missy]

I only include the carat weight of the solitaire stone and not the shared prong band if asked of course. Very few people ask the carat weight at all but if asked I just give the weight of the center diamond.

 

[kenny]

Just weigh the whole ring, diamond(s), gold, platinum and all.

Tell em your ring is 53 ct.
It's true.

 

[Haven]

I also have a solitaire, but I would never count the melee in saying the total weight of a pave setting! People only do that if they honestly know no better or they are trying to impress someone. If I had a three stone ring and was asked the weight, I would say the center is x cts and the sides are x cts.

Ditto.

My original e-ring was set in an eternity band, and I would have never said I have a 3+ ct. ring when the center stone was only 2 ct on its own.

 

[Autumnovember]

For some reason a lot of people lately have been asking me how many carats my ring is - I just say what my center stone is.

Had a weird experience yesterday in the ER. The woman who was registering me seemed pretty mad that I had a nice ring. She TRIED to compliment me but I could hear the nastiness in her voice. Bummer.

 

[Enerchi]

For some reason a lot of people lately have been asking me how many carats my ring is - I just say what my center stone is.

Had a weird experience yesterday in the ER. The woman who was registering me seemed pretty mad that I had a nice ring. She TRIED to compliment me but I could hear the nastiness in her voice. Bummer.

Are you OK AN???

 

[marymm]

Do you say X carats, as in Y center stone weight + Z melee weight (CTW)?
or do you just say it is Y carats?

I notice that off-PS, people always say the CTW of their rings.. and on-PS, it's a divide. Newbies usually state the CTW, and the longer term PS-ers will provide detailed stats.. but even then, the title of their threads vary on CTW or center stone weight.

and does it change when you're talking to someone who KNOWS jewelry, vs an average Joe pal that doesn't know jewelry?
________

I'm asking because a coworker recently got engaged and is telling everyone she has "about one and a half carats". It's a solitaire that has sidestones, but the solitaire looks about 3-4mm-ish.

Most of my rings are solitaires so there's just one stone and I tell its carat weight - if I'm wearing my three-stone I give the carat weight of the center stone and the mm size of the side-stones.

I'm thinking your co-worker's ring doesn't really have one large keystone if the center stone is truly only 3-4mm - it may be she is telling people her ring is 1.5ctw because that is what she was told by her BF? Or, maybe she thinks if she told only the center stone carat weight it wouldn't reflect the actual diamond carat weight her ring has? I'm guessing she is showing it off in excitement and out of newness - and is proud of it (as I hope anyone would be proud of their e-ring). OP - do you think your coworker is trying to mislead people, or that she was misinformed about its true carat weight?

 

[madelise]

When I had a pave/halo e-ring, I only said what the center diamond was-not the total carat weight including melee.

ETA-Madelise, does this have anything to do with melee putting your total carat weight over 4? I remember you saying how that is bad ju-ju in your culture-please forgive my lack of a better or more correct term.

Yes and no mine will be substantial though on its own to not NEED fluffing in size.. But since everyone I know seems to lie about theirs, or maybe not lie.. Be misinformed? That if a 3mm stone is 1.5 ct, mine MUST be like 10ct, right? Haha

And yeah, my setting will either have only .2ct, or will need more than 1.2ctw to bring it over the death hump.. In that case, 888 is SUPER fortune filled, so can I get a 5ctw set? Hahhahaa JK.

 

[Circe]

Center stone alone. The only time I provide tcw is when I'm talking about an eternity.

I tend to assume that the people who give tcw either don't understand jewelry and are just parroting what salespeople or giftgivers told them, or are trying to subtly inflate their status. Reminds me of a dude I know who (he is a crass man) was talking about a new girlfriend's, er, appeal, who described her as being "like, a 40C, like Pamela Anderson." He was a bit crestfallen when I told him it didn't exactly work the way he thought it did.

 

[Haven]

Center stone alone. The only time I provide tcw is when I'm talking about an eternity.

I tend to assume that the people who give tcw either don't understand jewelry and are just parroting what salespeople or giftgivers told them, or are trying to subtly inflate their status. Reminds me of a dude I know who (he is a crass man) was talking about a new girlfriend's, er, appeal, who described her as being "like, a 40C, like Pamela Anderson." He was a bit crestfallen when I told him it didn't exactly work the way he thought it did.

 

[justginger]

It depends on the person asking, what they are actually wanting to know. My coworkers are often legitimately interested in both pieces of info, so I'll stipulate center stone and setting weights. 1.7 cts, another carat in the setting.

 

[Autumnovember]

For some reason a lot of people lately have been asking me how many carats my ring is - I just say what my center stone is.

Had a weird experience yesterday in the ER. The woman who was registering me seemed pretty mad that I had a nice ring. She TRIED to compliment me but I could hear the nastiness in her voice. Bummer.

Are you OK AN???

Oh, yes! Just fell and messed my hand up. I'm ok! Thank you =]

 

[madelise]

For some reason a lot of people lately have been asking me how many carats my ring is - I just say what my center stone is.

Had a weird experience yesterday in the ER. The woman who was registering me seemed pretty mad that I had a nice ring. She TRIED to compliment me but I could hear the nastiness in her voice. Bummer.

Was it me? Haha JK I work in the ER but it'd never say anything other than a compliment.. And even then, there are so many fakes that I don't even bother.

Maybe I'm around nasty people often. People always ask me/ people around me what size diamonds they have.. And they all have such skewed and screwed up perceptions of size and cost, it pisses me off. Another coworker of mine said half carat diamond engagement rings are $500 last night, and I nearly spit out my coke on him from laughing. And he WOULDN'T let go of it, insisting he is right. His idea is that .5 ct is $500, so 1ct is $1000, and so on.

I told him to buy his girlfriend a 5 carat diamond ring if he loves her, lol. And he swore he would.

 

[madelise]

Do you say X carats, as in Y center stone weight + Z melee weight (CTW)?
or do you just say it is Y carats?

I notice that off-PS, people always say the CTW of their rings.. and on-PS, it's a divide. Newbies usually state the CTW, and the longer term PS-ers will provide detailed stats.. but even then, the title of their threads vary on CTW or center stone weight.

and does it change when you're talking to someone who KNOWS jewelry, vs an average Joe pal that doesn't know jewelry?
________

I'm asking because a coworker recently got engaged and is telling everyone she has "about one and a half carats". It's a solitaire that has sidestones, but the solitaire looks about 3-4mm-ish.

Most of my rings are solitaires so there's just one stone and I tell its carat weight - if I'm wearing my three-stone I give the carat weight of the center stone and the mm size of the side-stones.

I'm thinking your co-worker's ring doesn't really have one large keystone if the center stone is truly only 3-4mm - it may be she is telling people her ring is 1.5ctw because that is what she was told by her BF? Or, maybe she thinks if she told only the center stone carat weight it wouldn't reflect the actual diamond carat weight her ring has? I'm guessing she is showing it off in excitement and out of newness - and is proud of it (as I hope anyone would be proud of their e-ring). OP - do you think your coworker is trying to mislead people, or that she was misinformed about its true carat weight?

I don't think this coworker is inflating the size to show off, but she *is* showing off. I think her FI probably told her it was that size, and she isn't questioning it. But why would the guy inflate the diamond size to her? Which then brought me to this: wondering what people tell others..

 

[madelise]

Center stone alone. The only time I provide tcw is when I'm talking about an eternity.

I tend to assume that the people who give tcw either don't understand jewelry and are just parroting what salespeople or giftgivers told them, or are trying to subtly inflate their status. Reminds me of a dude I know who (he is a crass man) was talking about a new girlfriend's, er, appeal, who described her as being "like, a 40C, like Pamela Anderson." He was a bit crestfallen when I told him it didn't exactly work the way he thought it did.

You mean 100 triple Z?

 

[madelise]

It depends on the person asking, what they are actually wanting to know. My coworkers are often legitimately interested in both pieces of info, so I'll stipulate center stone and setting weights. 1.7 cts, another carat in the setting.

You haven't worn your new 4+ct-er?

 

[MissGotRocks]

When people ask how big my three stone is, I tell them the center is 2 1/4 carats. They seldom ask the size or weight of the side stones. The whole thing is 2.88 but I would never say that - it probably wouldn't mean anything to them anyway.

IMO, the compliment is that they notice and comment or ask. No need to make it more than it is. I always get a kick out of people asking 'did you just get it cleaned' or 'is it new'? They think it's new because it's sparkly! Proof positive that PSer's are not representative of the public at large. I don't think I've ever had anyone ask me the color or clarity. Some say it looks really 'clear'. Folks here would ask about crown angles and table size - ha!

 

[Dancing Fire]

[quote="madelise|

I don't think this coworker is inflating the size to show off, but she *is* showing off. I think her FI probably told her it was that size, and she isn't questioning it. But why would the guy inflate the diamond size to her? Which then brought me to this: wondering what people tell others..[/quote]


most men love to exaggerate the size .. yes,i'm taking about diamonds...

 

[Haven]

When people ask how big my three stone is, I tell them the center is 2 1/4 carats. They seldom ask the size or weight of the side stones. The whole thing is 2.88 but I would never say that - it probably wouldn't mean anything to them anyway.

IMO, the compliment is that they notice and comment or ask. No need to make it more than it is. I always get a kick out of people asking 'did you just get it cleaned' or 'is it new'? They think it's new because it's sparkly! Proof positive that PSer's are not representative of the public at large. I don't think I've ever had anyone ask me the color or clarity. Some say it looks really 'clear'. Folks here would ask about crown angles and table size - ha!

I rarely get people who ask me how large my stone is, but the people who comment on my ring almost always ask if I just cleaned it. My good friend has a very poorly cut 3 ct and when ever we're together she says, "My ring must be filthy because yours is so much sparklier." I can't tell her that it's just a terrible cut, because there's not way to say that and not be RUDE, but if that stone were mine I would send it to BGD for a recut ASAP.

Nobody has ever asked me about the color or clarity of either of my rings, at least as far as I can remember. I do get a laugh when people say my ring is SO WHITE, which they say often when they're talking about it. I think they're responding to the sparkle and scintillation, because my stone is an O-P.

 

[MissGotRocks]

When people ask how big my three stone is, I tell them the center is 2 1/4 carats. They seldom ask the size or weight of the side stones. The whole thing is 2.88 but I would never say that - it probably wouldn't mean anything to them anyway.

IMO, the compliment is that they notice and comment or ask. No need to make it more than it is. I always get a kick out of people asking 'did you just get it cleaned' or 'is it new'? They think it's new because it's sparkly! Proof positive that PSer's are not representative of the public at large. I don't think I've ever had anyone ask me the color or clarity. Some say it looks really 'clear'. Folks here would ask about crown angles and table size - ha!

I rarely get people who ask me how large my stone is, but the people who comment on my ring almost always ask if I just cleaned it. My good friend has a very poorly cut 3 ct and when ever we're together she says, "My ring must be filthy because yours is so much sparklier." I can't tell her that it's just a terrible cut, because there's not way to say that and not be RUDE, but if that stone were mine I would send it to BGD for a recut ASAP.

Nobody has ever asked me about the color or clarity of either of my rings, at least as far as I can remember. I do get a laugh when people say my ring is SO WHITE, which they say often when they're talking about it. I think they're responding to the sparkle and scintillation, because my stone is an O-P.

I so agree. You can't explain cut quality to someone in a casual conversation. A friend of mine recently got a five stone ring and while she doesn't say anything, I catch her looking at hers and then looking at mine. I know she wonders what the difference is and while I would never point it out, I feel for her. This was the basis for most all of my upgrades - looking for that wonderful sparkle and not knowing where it came from. Once you realize it's the cut of the stone, it's like 'ahhhh, now I see'! My guess though is that for many of them, realizing it would also mean realizing much greater cost and they wouldn't be interested in paying anything beyond Macy's prices and their 20% plus 10% discount - however that all works!

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

The only people I see referring to the ctw is someone who purchased their ring from a mall. They just don't know any better.

 

[distracts]

If people ask, I let them know the center stone is 2 cts (2.06, I think?) and each of the half-moon sidestones is .75ish. I have no idea what the melee weight is. It would be really weird for me to tell people I had a 3.5+ ct ring, though I guess by one way of accounting I do. When people who I don't know or don't want to share with ask the size, I tell them it's "just the right size." Like, strangers I just met at Intergem I would tell the carat weight to, but strangers I just met at a scifi convention I would deflect (unless they had nice jewelry).

Also, about people who give the total carat weight - many places like Zales, etc just tell you the total carat weight, and not even the weight of the center stone or anything (presumably unless you ask, which I imagine most people don't know to do). So many people probably don't even know!

And they all have such skewed and screwed up perceptions of size and cost, it pisses me off. Another coworker of mine said half carat diamond engagement rings are $500 last night, and I nearly spit out my coke on him from laughing. And he WOULDN'T let go of it, insisting he is right. His idea is that .5 ct is $500, so 1ct is $1000, and so on.

Umm, that is HILARIOUS. If that was really the way it worked, I would have SO MANY BIG DIAMONDS. And a diamond riviera necklace. If diamonds were really that cheap, EVERYONE would be walking around COVERED in them.

 

[madelise]

If people ask, I let them know the center stone is 2 cts (2.06, I think?) and each of the half-moon sidestones is .75ish. I have no idea what the melee weight is. It would be really weird for me to tell people I had a 3.5+ ct ring, though I guess by one way of accounting I do. When people who I don't know or don't want to share with ask the size, I tell them it's "just the right size." Like, strangers I just met at Intergem I would tell the carat weight to, but strangers I just met at a scifi convention I would deflect (unless they had nice jewelry).

Also, about people who give the total carat weight - many places like Zales, etc just tell you the total carat weight, and not even the weight of the center stone or anything (presumably unless you ask, which I imagine most people don't know to do). So many people probably don't even know!

And they all have such skewed and screwed up perceptions of size and cost, it pisses me off. Another coworker of mine said half carat diamond engagement rings are $500 last night, and I nearly spit out my coke on him from laughing. And he WOULDN'T let go of it, insisting he is right. His idea is that .5 ct is $500, so 1ct is $1000, and so on.

Umm, that is HILARIOUS. If that was really the way it worked, I would have SO MANY BIG DIAMONDS. And a diamond riviera necklace. If diamonds were really that cheap, EVERYONE would be walking around COVERED in them.

OH I love that response! I'm going to steal that.