realistic carat weight

[jewelryjunkie]

I love this website. I''ve found so much great information.

This is a very subjective question and I''d appreciate lots of opinions on it.

I''ve been married for five years and the stone my husband bought for me is pretty, but smaller than I wanted.

I''m 32 years old and I''m trying to decide if I should buy a diamond in the 1 carat range or buy a little smaller (.75pts) and invest the money I save. Then in 21 yrs or so when the money I''ve invested has grown, I''ll go and get a diamond around 1.25 carats.

I know that alot of people buy smaller diamonds first and then upgrade later in life. But it seems that when I look around at other women''s rings, even women that look younger than me, they all seem to have larger stones, meaning 1+ carat stones.

An e-ring has a lot of status attached to it and I''m not ashamed to say I want to feel like I fit in with the average middle class woman in the U.S.

What do y''all think? Should I buy smaller now, invest the savings or buy bigger now? What do y''all think the average size of an e-ring diamond is for a woman in her 30''s?

 

[sumi]

Hi there! You'll probably get a lot more responses if you post this question in Diamond Hangout or Rocky Talky. Also, do a search for this subject on this website. I remember a pretty lengthy discussion about this just a little while ago.

 

[jewelryjunkie]

I realize that you are right now that I look at where I posted it. But since this is my first post, I actually don't know how to post in the other forum. Did I just login to the wrong forum? Help please.

 

[questionsRus]

Hi. Simply click rocky talky, and in the upper right, click "new topic" and fill in the topic, and subject body. hope that helps. if you already figgured it out, oh well, i tried!

 

[lmurden]

Hi,

I'm 32 years old and I like am getting engaged very soon and I like the way a 3/4 carat looks on me and I thinks that a 1 carat is a little big; however, I have convinced myself that I don't want to regret not having a 1 carat. I think that most women don't wish they had a smaller stone but a larger stone. Try on some rings of different sizes and see what you feel comfortable wearing. I do think a 1.25 carat is very large for everyday wear. Just something to think about.

I hope this helps

 

[Rowan]

I say buy what you want now so you won't wish you had later. Everyone's different. I love my .52ct, not that I wouldn't have wanted a bigger one, but we have to buy a house, so I got what we could afford, which is still an upgrade for me. Go with your gut.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm 34.

 

[jnt]

I bought a 3/4 round. We can afford PLENTY more...but.

1) She is a DR, and we both think it is tastless to be sporting mega-bling in front of patients.
2) She works a lot with homeless people...see above.
3) She is tiny, therefore a 3/4 carat looks huge on her.
4) Ever try to cram a 3 carat under latex gloves...not pretty.

We are spending more on the honeymoon than the diamond...almost double...

Use taste, buy what you want and what you can afford and what she will like that is functional! She will be just as happy with a .75 as a 1.25, its the symbolism that counts!

 

[elepri]

I think the average size really depends on your peer group and geographic location. Here in NYC, the average is pretty skewed. I'm 29, my stone is 1.6c and i think it's pretty average. One of my friends has a 2.5carat rock. Looks pretty huge to me but where she works, it's on the small side as everyone around her is spotting 3+ carats. The national average I think is way under a carat but i don't know how meaningful it really is.

 

[jnt]

It's important that her friends, NOT her, be happy with her diamond!!!! FWIW...case in point...my fiancee sports a 3/4 carat fancy intense yellow diamond with a cert. One of her peers with a big ole honking rock said to her..."I can't believe your boyfriend bought such a yellow diamond, he should have spent more or shopped around more" Her reply was just a smile!~

Yes, I can see how important it is to keep up with your peer group and your geographic location. You should always spend as much as your next door neighbor regardless of your income levels and sanity.

 

[elepri]

JNT,
This is not at all what i was trying to say. What's considered average, (or big, or small) depends on the size of stones around you (thus location, peer group as a reference point). How much you should spend and what you are/should be happy with is a whole different story. Hope i'm making myself clear.

 

[jnt]

Yes, clear...

...but my story is still cute!!!!

 

[Icicles]

----------------
On 7/23/2004 2:28:39 PM elepri wrote:

The national average I think is way under a carat but i don't know how meaningful it really is. ----------------

so a diamond under a carat is not meaningful?

 

[elepri]

Urghh, the average is not meaningful (in that particular context). The diamond, i imagine, doesn't acquire greater meaning in larger carat weight.

 

[reena]

Wow, people are pretty testy today!

Good thing there's a weekend coming up.

The original posted asked for opinions on the average ring size for someone in their 30s. Elepri was just pointing out that the answer to that question is largely dependent on factors such as peer group, geographical region, etc.--which I think is 100% true.

 

[elepri]

Thanks Reena,
That's exactly what i meant.

 

[jaysonsmom]

I'm the same age as you (original poster), so I feel compelled to answer. I live in yuppie Southern California, and where I live 1ct is the probably the average. People in my circle of friends (mostly around my age as well)wear rings between 1 and 2 carats. I don't know anyone who owns a ring larger than 2 carats. My ring size is 5.5 and my e-ring is a 1.25ct princess, and I have another inherited ring that is 1.2 ct round, so I feel comfortable with these sizes since they are within the range that I see around me. I don't think 1.25 is too big for everyday wear, i fact I have 2 small kids, and they never get in the way of me being a mommy. My ideal size though, being that I'm tall, and have skinny long fingers would be a little larger, maybe be closer to 2ct. I think I can pull it off. Buy what you consider affordable, and what you're comfortable wearing. If you can swing a 1 ct. diamond, do so. I personally think there is a magical about the 1 ct. mark.

 

[Icicles]

Sorry Elepri,

i wasn't being mean/testy... just wanted to make sure you didn't mean what it sounded like since the meaningful-ness can either refer to the national average size or the diamond itself.

 

[Gale]

I think the geography/peer group thing is spot on. Where I come from, anything over half a carat for the centre stone is considered gauche. It is considered obscene to spend as much for a diamond ring as you would for a new (or even used) economy sized car. Also, I know of no women who has even thought about upgrading their original engagement ring. Having said that, no one is opposed to receiving eternity bands and other gifts bearing diamonds.

From looking at other women's engagement rings, around here they seem to be from 0.25 to 0.4 carat centre stones. This may even be a generous estimate, and I have seen many engagement rings with a single 0.1 ct stone. This group includes women of varying ages and occupations, and even pricy professionals.

I had a very nice 2 ct ring I used to wear all of the time when I lived in California. I made the mistake of wearing out once when I moved back to Canada, and ended up selling it 'cause I sure couldn't wear it around here. This 2 ct stone was replaced by a very show offy .58 carat "honker", as my friends call it. It's a very pretty stone and I am indeed considered to be tacky for it. However, I do feel it gets lost on my sausage like fingers (size 9) after having worn the 2 ct stone for a number of years.

So, the social thing does play a part to some degree.

 

[Daniela]

----------------
On 7/23/2004 10:03:29 PM Gale wrote:

I think the geography/peer group thing is spot on. Where I come from, anything over half a carat for the centre stone is considered gauche. It is considered obscene to spend as much for a diamond ring as you would for a new (or even used) economy sized car. Also, I know of no women who has even thought about upgrading their original engagement ring. Having said that, no one is opposed to receiving eternity bands and other gifts bearing diamonds.


From looking at other women's engagement rings, around here they seem to be from 0.25 to 0.4 carat centre stones. This may even be a generous estimate, and I have seen many engagement rings with a single 0.1 ct stone. This group includes women of varying ages and occupations, and even pricy professionals.


I had a very nice 2 ct ring I used to wear all of the time when I lived in California. I made the mistake of wearing out once when I moved back to Canada, and ended up selling it 'cause I sure couldn't wear it around here. This 2 ct stone was replaced by a very show offy .58 carat 'honker', as my friends call it. It's a very pretty stone and I am indeed considered to be tacky for it. However, I do feel it gets lost on my sausage like fingers (size 9) after having worn the 2 ct stone for a number of years.


So, the social thing does play a part to some degree.----------------

Oh my God, where in Canada do you live? I mean, I know stones are generally smaller up here, but I don't think the are THAT small on average. I have a one carat, which is considered big, but certainly not gaudy. Every once in a blue moon I see a stone that looks to be about as big as mine (not all that often, though), mostly I think I'm seeing half a carat as an average, with some people sporting something bigger. My friend and I have decided that truly gaudy doesn't start (for the average Canadian) until about a 1.3-1.5 carats. Anything under that, for us, is just pleasantly large (as long as it's not ugly).

 

[Gale]

Very rural, very small. Cape Breton Island.

 

[Daniela]

----------------
On 7/25/2004 10:58:20 AM Gale wrote:

Very rural, very small. Cape Breton Island.----------------

Fair enough. I can see that.

 

[Gale]

It's certainly different in Halifax, where younger couples (25-30ish) seem to be in the 3/4 to 1 ct range.

 

[valeria101]

Hm... sounds familiar !

I think Win could testify (after her visit to Romania and my hometown

) that there are no diamonds to be seen around here. I can definitely understand what it feels like to get blasted for showing off

 

[Gale]

Hey Valeria. I work with 2 guys from Romania. Fabulous problem solvers they are. I rely on them quite a bit. I have been to Prague, but never Bucharest. Maybe someday.

 

[Gale]

Sorry Valeria, what I should have said was that Prague was the closest I have been to your home town....

 

[redhead]

As long as both of you are happy with your e-ring, size or cost doesn't matter. The second time around for me was a 1.41 PC FI1 with a matching wedding band. The color is so good, and the cut hides any of the I1 inclusions that it wows most of the people who see it...and has always tickled me to death!

 

[innerkitten]

Depends on what you like, and as everyone else mentioned where you live etc. I live in a biggish city, San Francisco, and I take public transportation and walk through all types of neighborhoods safe and unsafe. My ring is a .65 center stone with .35 side stones, which is on the smaller side but big enough to admire and it feels safe to walk around town with it. I have so many different types of friends and don't tend to hang out with one social group so my friends rings really vary. I have a couple of friends with 2 carat plus stones, two friends with opals ( sort of a weird coincidence ) one friend that only got a very simple wedding band, and a few with .50 to .75 stones.

 

[innerkitten]

Forgot to mention my age. I'm 33.

 

[VAgal13]

My vote is to go with what you want. If anyone makes you feel bad for sporting a bigger rock than them, just make sure you use your left hand even more to really make them angry. LOL

Seriously though, if a bigger diamond is what you want, get it! Its the little details in life that can make us happy. You want to forever look down at your hand and smile. You don't want to look down and regret your decision.

Whatever you choose, wear it proudly!

-Sarah