What are the ring trends in your location?

[diamondglee]

I live in southern cali. Here the trend is a huge round soitaite buted up against an equally large eternity band...white gold or plat of course.

 

[Miranda]

Date: 10/10/2006 10:21:07 PM
Author: diamondfan

Date: 10/10/2006 10:09:13 PM
Author: Miranda

Date: 10/10/2006 9:47:39 PM

Author: diamondfan

Date: 10/10/2006 3:23:55 PM

Author: Miranda

I''ve seem lots of PS worthy bling since I moved here 3 mos. ago. There was a ''Sea Fest'' over the weekend and there was a lot of drool worthy bling. Quite a few big (2+ ct.) solitaires with eternity bands, and a couple of halos. My neighbor has a 2 ct. (at least) cushion with a big eternity band that I am dying to get a closer look at

, but, I''m afraid she''ll think I''m crazy! At Wal-Mart a few weeks ago there was a woman with a 3 ct. princess in a pave ering setting and a matching band. I did tell her that her ring was beautiful (which I only sometimes do) and we wound up in a long conversation about diamonds. Hehe. All in all, I see rounds in a matching set. Ladies that have been married for a while and haven''t upgraded seem to have 1 ct. marquise in a yellow gold setting. I''m in coastal south Orange County, CA so maybe that makes a difference. The folks out here seem to have more money than they know what to do with. For example, I got a ''Dog Poop Pick-Up Service'' flyer on my door the other day

. For $50 a week, I''ll do it myself...Or have my 10 and 12 year old do it, rather

!

Miranda, don''t hate me tee hee...I have the poop service, I have a BIG dog and my kids are awful at it and I did it when I was a kid so I thought, the heck with it, I am employing someone...my husband looked at me like I had a second head but now he is fine with it since he can be in the yard and not step in the big piles my kids ''missed'' when they were supposed to be cleaning up!

Oh honey, if I had a 9+ carat ring from Tiffany''s, I wouldn''t deal with dog poop either!!!

LOL My kids can''t miss the piles, yet...The yard is all dirt as we just moved into a new development.

I just envisioned stepping in a mound and thought, I am too old for this, yuck, and while I love my dog, I have been there done that with the doo, and what mattered most to me was a clean yard, even though I think it would be character building to make them do it!!!! And when I walk her I carry those little baggies, so different from my childhood where your dog just went whereever and no one picked their doggie stuff up!!! But even with my bling, I can get down and dirty when need be...

You are very cool Diamondfan!

 

[diamondfan]

Thanks!!! (I''ll take it where I can get it

)

 

[lumpkin]

I live in a suburb of Kansas City on the Kansas side. It depends on what suburb and even which subdivision you''re talking about when it comes to bling. I would say there''s a lot of division in social status here, but often it is a question of lifestyle and values as well as socio-economic. You might have someone in their 20''s with a 1.5 carat princess, but they don''t own a home. You might have someone else in their 20''s with a plain band but they have the house and the boat. They make the same amount of money but they live in different areas and have totally different lifestyles and values. There is a little of everything. Right now in the stores it is mostly white gold or platinum, but 18k yellow gold is coming into fashion slowly. On the street I see everything from tiny heirloom illusion rings to yellow gold 80''s marquise rings to solitaires to 3 stone rounds to plain bands, usually yellow gold. They come in every size, color and quality. Most people do not upgrade unless they lose a ring or it falls apart. Except if they live in areas where bling is king. But honestly, in a mall or store, you can''t tell much about a person by their jewelry. You can tell more by their over all appearance and demeaner.

Sorry, we are just not that trendy, here, LOL!

 

[Larissa]

In London where I currently live:

Most people don't wear rings, but if they do -

- the over 60 crown tends to wear a plain gold band and *maybe* a coloured stone with a halo (a true antique, not the reproductions!) with the center stone being no larger than .5.

- the 35-60 crowd tends to wear plain gold bands or *possibly* a gold band stacked with a half-eternity band with coloured stones, but the stones being no larger than .25 total weight.

- the under 35 crowd tends to wear plan white metaled bands and I've seen a couple of people with stones. The older of this crowd leans toward coloured stones such as sapphires or rubies, but still no larger than .5 carats, while the younger crown might have a diamond solitare of around .2 to .4 carats.

Stone, in general, are not popular in Europe and the few stones that there are are smaller in size (around .1 - .5).

In Atlanta, where I lived for years:

- the bigger the better, but I never saw them up close. I do social work, but by nature social workers tend to be willing to sacrific pay, lifestyle and large jewellery because they have different priorities in life, lower pay, and it's considered rude to be flashy in front of clients who have very very little in life. Most of my coworkers wore .2-.4 diamond rings with two or three stones wrap style on their wedding bands

 

[KristyDarling]

In San Francisco where I live, ring trends really vary depending on socioeconomic level and age. In the glitzier neighborhoods, it''s very common to see women in their 20''s to 40''s wearing a 2-4 carat diamond, sometimes with side stones. Popular shapes are rounds, cushions, ovals, and I''m starting to see more square cuts. I don''t see very many princesses around here for some reason. The older wealthy ladies wear anything from 1 carat antique looking beauties to 10 carat boulders. In the lower to middle class neighborhoods, it runs the gamut, I''ve seen it all from .5 carat stones to 1.5 carats.

In my circle, my married friends mostly have 1 to 1.75 ct RBs. A few of my girlfriends have 2 to 3ct RBs.

 

[diamondlove]

I''m from Houston and it does vary a lot here. However, in my circle, it''s been primarily 1.5-2.5 carats in size recently. The avg size has gone up as I''ve gotten older. When I first got out of college, the few friends who married ''early'' avged 1 - 1.3 carats but post grad school most of the people getting engaged are definitely sticking around the 2 carat size. I didn''t notice engagement rings as much as I do now that I''ve became engaged.

Style wise, it''s pretty common to have the eternity band solitaire with a round or princess stone but so far it''s only been platinum in my world and no yellow or white gold. There''s been a few halos but not as typical and only a few cushion cuts here and there and one pear shaped so far. Popular designers/brands have been Michael B, Tacori and Tiffany''s (for the few solitaire non eternity band ones).

Noone in my circle has passed the 3 carat mark but I''m waiting for that to happen so I can admire one really up close.

 

[monarch64]

In my suburb of Chicago, I see mainly princess cuts set in platinum, with or without sidestones, with diamond wedding bands. Center stone averages ~.5-1.00 carats. I''m 29 now, and when our friends started to get engaged, we were all about 24-28. Women I know in the 35-40 and beyond age range have 1+ carat centers and mostly plain bands...it seems like the trend around me has been: engaged since 2000=smaller center with diamond sidestones and/or diamond bands, engaged pre-2000=larger center and plain bands. For the record, I have a 1.5 center set in a plain plat. setting, with a plat. WB consisting of 1.4 carats of princess cut stones.

 

[eks6426]

I''m in north central Indiana. It seems women who have been married 10 years + mostly have yellow gold with diamonds around .5 to .75 carats. I see a lot of wrap wedding rings. If it''s not a wrap, it''s most likely a plain gold band or maybe a 5 stone anniversary band. There also seems to be a larger % with marquise shaped diamonds. Most of the cuts I see are nothings special. In fact, when I got married the first time in 1993, I didn''t even want a diamond ring because all of the ones I saw were just pretty dull and ugly to me.

My friends who have married in the last 5 years or so mostly have princess cut stones 1.5 to 2.0 carats set in platinum or white gold. We''re all in our 30s. I do have one friend who got yellow gold "because it looks better on her skin" but she is definitely the exception. Wedding rings in this group vary. Several are plain platinum (on the thicker side). Some eternity bands and a few with gypsy set diamonds scattered on the band.

I have not seen anyone with the pave rings...in fact most stores don''t even carry them. I definitely have never seen a halo ring here. My center stone (rectangular radiant 1.20 carats) is smaller than most of my friends but the Michael B pave adds the extra sparkle and that works for me. I get comments on my rings all the time because they are very different for my area. The most common comment I get is "wow, your rings are sparkly...do those diamonds really go all the way around." People litterally grab my hand to flip it over. It''s kind of funny.

 

[pearcrazy]

Most rings in my area are still pretty small and understated for the most part. Princess cuts are very popular, especially the three stone princess cut rings. I still see mostly RB solitaires in white gold or platinum, usually about .5 to 1 carat. Halo rings haven't caught on here yet.

 

[Girlrocks]

I live in Maryland, not far from DC. I''ve been married 9 years and most of my friends who got married around the same time have RB .5-.75ct in yellow gold with usually a wrap, plain YG band or a small anniversary style band. I''m a stay at home mom in a upper middle class neighborhood and most of the other moms in their mid 30''s (like me!) have upgraded to 1.25-1.75ct in white metal with eternity bands. Usually rounds but I do have 1 friend with a 3 stone emerald cut and 1 with a 1ct marquise. A few have gone up to 2-2.5 cts but I can only think of 2 people off the top of my head with stones that large.

 

[Fancy605]

Date: 10/11/2006 1:35:44 PM
Author: Larissa

In Atlanta, where I lived for years:

- the bigger the better, but I never saw them up close. I do social work, but by nature social workers tend to be willing to sacrific pay, lifestyle and large jewellery because they have different priorities in life, lower pay, and it''s considered rude to be flashy in front of clients who have very very little in life. Most of my coworkers wore .2-.4 diamond rings with two or three stones wrap style on their wedding bands

I agree--in ATL, size does seem to be a pretty big status symbol

I live outside of Atlanta, and it seems like everyone my age (20something college kids/recent graduates) is really into square cuts, namely princess in WG, though I do have a friend with Emerald in YG. Most of them have .5ish stones because they are dating college/recent graduate guys. The majority of my friends don''t even know anything about diamonds except they want a beyond shapes and size, so a lot of them have mall store stuff.

As far as NICE stuff goes, I do have a friend with a lovely 1.2 round brilliant solitaire . I also have one with a GORGEOUS radiant, set in a halo with a 1/2 eternity pave band. It is really the prettiest halo I have ever seen (and one of the only few I have even seen in my area). It is so delicate, and the radiant shape really caters well to it.

 

[reader]

I live in MD, 2.5 hours west of DC and Balt, 2 hours south of Pittsburgh. The trend here is yellow gold. The stones are smaller, under a carat generally. It is a status symbol to have a ring designed just for you, or to have a family heirloom to wear on the right hand. Older ladies especially have older diamond rings on the right hand that were inherited from inlaws or their own mothers/grandmothers.

Just wandering around and watching people, you would mostly see RB stones, (mostly badly cut) and a plain band, if you are married a bit, there would be an anniversary band too.
Out of the friends I grew up with, I''m typical, my first e-ring was a ruby. Best friends had a garnet, and a strand of pearls on the finger ( this friend is allergic to all metals)
Most of my co-workers do not wear their diamonds. One girl has her mother''s swirly 60s diamond ring with a half eternity band from her husband, one has a .75 RB in white gold with a thick band, one has a .35 ct on a YG mock Tiffany setting with a cigar band ring, one has a 1.0 ct princess in a wrap (YG). My marquise is not thought of as real, only 2 people that I work with know that it is.

 

[tdiddy]

What an interesting thread....

In Cincinnati, most of the stores carry a lot of what we are seeing trend-wise (i.e. pave, halos, etc) but very few people wear them. Almost everyone has 1 carat or smaller. I would say most girls that wait until their late 20''s/early 30''s get about a carat. Girls that marry younger seem to have mostly 0.5-0.75. I''ve seen some Michael B type rings with a 1.5 or maybe a well-cut 1.25 RB in the most affluent neighborhoods. I did see one HUGE radiant or princess on a woman''s hand in a nice restaurant - looked like 4 or 5 carats at least - she was in her late 40''s.

Most of my g-friends have the big trend here which is 3 stone in white metal. My sister''s friends that are 2 or 3 years older predominantly have solitaires in yellow gold. I''ve seen mostly RB, a handful of marquise, 2 asscher (oddly enogh that has gotten here), and 1 pear. 5 years ago, the trend was wrap bridal sets in yg. We do have a T&Co. in town and I think the big "dream" in Cincy is to get a ring from there. But I don''t know anyone that has one from there. And the stones in their displays are a lot smaller than those I saw in T&Co. SF or Chicago.

Bands typically are plain or match the 3 stone baguette design. Haven''t seen any eternities yet - but the stores do have them.

The most beautiful ring I have seen here belonged to a girl I knew from college who was dating a guy that was 50ish. She was 24. He gave her a 3.5 carat deep yellow canary diamond with two smaller matching radiant cuts on each side that were a carat each. It was stunning. They never got married but she got to keep the ring. Sold it eventually for a downpayment on a small house. I don''t think I could have parted with it....at minimum it would have been a fabulous RHR. And she said she didn''t get even half of it''s appraised value when it was sold.

 

[sistagrl2004]

I live in IL.. about 2 1/2 hours from Chicago. I think most of the rings I see among my over 40 coworkers are 3/4 ct set in yellow gold. Either plain solitaires or ones w/ a little embellishment. They could DEFINATELY afford to upgrade, just dont. Not a SINGLE one in white gold. The younger 20& 30 somethings are 90% platinum/WG and I haven''t seen one with UNDER a carat, but most are RIGHT at a carat... radiants, princesses, and rounds. All have a diamond band and sidestones. People comment on my bling, a 2.75 cttw princess three stone and 1 ct band and 1cttw diamond earrings. In the future I plan to wear my 1.25ct pear as a right hand ring, a diamond solitaire necklace, a tennis bracelet and a small eternity band with the pear...maybe not all at once, but I will have to see, once I finish my collection!

 

[woobug02]

Wooo Dayton, Oh very similar to Cincinnati. Almost everyone I know or run into has a yellow gold set. Often a solitare with a guard or wrap. Also, see several wide gold bands with solitare (round never larger than 1.0 ct. Normally .50-.75 center). These would be people married over 4 years... Newer engagement ring are normally in white gold with a princess cut. Since coming to Pricescope I notice color and cut immediately...... Very few nice ones. All from mall matchy sets

 

[Christa]

Date: 10/10/2006 11:35:24 PM
Author: Miranda

Date: 10/10/2006 10:21:07 PM
Author: diamondfan

Date: 10/10/2006 10:09:13 PM
Author: Miranda

Date: 10/10/2006 9:47:39 PM

Author: diamondfan

Date: 10/10/2006 3:23:55 PM

Author: Miranda

I''ve seem lots of PS worthy bling since I moved here 3 mos. ago. There was a ''Sea Fest'' over the weekend and there was a lot of drool worthy bling. Quite a few big (2+ ct.) solitaires with eternity bands, and a couple of halos. My neighbor has a 2 ct. (at least) cushion with a big eternity band that I am dying to get a closer look at

, but, I''m afraid she''ll think I''m crazy! At Wal-Mart a few weeks ago there was a woman with a 3 ct. princess in a pave ering setting and a matching band. I did tell her that her ring was beautiful (which I only sometimes do) and we wound up in a long conversation about diamonds. Hehe. All in all, I see rounds in a matching set. Ladies that have been married for a while and haven''t upgraded seem to have 1 ct. marquise in a yellow gold setting. I''m in coastal south Orange County, CA so maybe that makes a difference. The folks out here seem to have more money than they know what to do with. For example, I got a ''Dog Poop Pick-Up Service'' flyer on my door the other day

. For $50 a week, I''ll do it myself...Or have my 10 and 12 year old do it, rather

!

Miranda, don''t hate me tee hee...I have the poop service, I have a BIG dog and my kids are awful at it and I did it when I was a kid so I thought, the heck with it, I am employing someone...my husband looked at me like I had a second head but now he is fine with it since he can be in the yard and not step in the big piles my kids ''missed'' when they were supposed to be cleaning up!

Oh honey, if I had a 9+ carat ring from Tiffany''s, I wouldn''t deal with dog poop either!!!

LOL My kids can''t miss the piles, yet...The yard is all dirt as we just moved into a new development.

I just envisioned stepping in a mound and thought, I am too old for this, yuck, and while I love my dog, I have been there done that with the doo, and what mattered most to me was a clean yard, even though I think it would be character building to make them do it!!!! And when I walk her I carry those little baggies, so different from my childhood where your dog just went whereever and no one picked their doggie stuff up!!! But even with my bling, I can get down and dirty when need be...

You are very cool Diamondfan!

I''m a little late to the dog poop threadjack, but I just had to tell you my solution.

I pay my kids 10 cents per pile (my kids are broke and deprived--some people might have to make it a quarter to get the kids interested), and when my 11-year-old gets short on cash she fights the 8-year-old for "poop patrol" duty. Yay for child labor!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 10/13/2006 10:17:52 AM
Author: tdiddy
What an interesting thread....


In Cincinnati

I was just in cincy two weekends ago. I went to couple of jewelry stores while I was there to see Ritani's in person since no one in near me in TN carries the line but I agree with you completely about what the ladies are wearing there.

 

[Miranda]

Date: 10/13/2006 12:43:57 PM
Author: Christa

Date: 10/10/2006 11:35:24 PM
Author: Miranda

Date: 10/10/2006 10:21:07 PM
Author: diamondfan

Date: 10/10/2006 10:09:13 PM
Author: Miranda

Date: 10/10/2006 9:47:39 PM

Author: diamondfan

Date: 10/10/2006 3:23:55 PM

Author: Miranda

I''ve seem lots of PS worthy bling since I moved here 3 mos. ago. There was a ''Sea Fest'' over the weekend and there was a lot of drool worthy bling. Quite a few big (2+ ct.) solitaires with eternity bands, and a couple of halos. My neighbor has a 2 ct. (at least) cushion with a big eternity band that I am dying to get a closer look at

, but, I''m afraid she''ll think I''m crazy! At Wal-Mart a few weeks ago there was a woman with a 3 ct. princess in a pave ering setting and a matching band. I did tell her that her ring was beautiful (which I only sometimes do) and we wound up in a long conversation about diamonds. Hehe. All in all, I see rounds in a matching set. Ladies that have been married for a while and haven''t upgraded seem to have 1 ct. marquise in a yellow gold setting. I''m in coastal south Orange County, CA so maybe that makes a difference. The folks out here seem to have more money than they know what to do with. For example, I got a ''Dog Poop Pick-Up Service'' flyer on my door the other day

. For $50 a week, I''ll do it myself...Or have my 10 and 12 year old do it, rather

!

Miranda, don''t hate me tee hee...I have the poop service, I have a BIG dog and my kids are awful at it and I did it when I was a kid so I thought, the heck with it, I am employing someone...my husband looked at me like I had a second head but now he is fine with it since he can be in the yard and not step in the big piles my kids ''missed'' when they were supposed to be cleaning up!

Oh honey, if I had a 9+ carat ring from Tiffany''s, I wouldn''t deal with dog poop either!!!

LOL My kids can''t miss the piles, yet...The yard is all dirt as we just moved into a new development.

I just envisioned stepping in a mound and thought, I am too old for this, yuck, and while I love my dog, I have been there done that with the doo, and what mattered most to me was a clean yard, even though I think it would be character building to make them do it!!!! And when I walk her I carry those little baggies, so different from my childhood where your dog just went whereever and no one picked their doggie stuff up!!! But even with my bling, I can get down and dirty when need be...

You are very cool Diamondfan!

I''m a little late to the dog poop threadjack, but I just had to tell you my solution.

I pay my kids 10 cents per pile (my kids are broke and deprived--some people might have to make it a quarter to get the kids interested), and when my 11-year-old gets short on cash she fights the 8-year-old for ''poop patrol'' duty. Yay for child labor!

Good idea Christa! Mine have to do it just because I say so which usually results in a lot of complaining.