What carat makes you think "that''s a big ring!"

[musey]

I've seen lots of older threads on this topic, but I'm curious about the current PSers' take on things

My stone is a just-shy-of-2ct (7x7mm) asscher, which I tend to think of as sort of a "normal" or "average" size (since it's about the same as a 1.2-1.3ct RB) for my area (LA). This past week, though, I had two separate people comment on my ring: one was a "look at that huge rock!" and the other was a "ohh, it's... cute" comment

So then I got to thinking about carat sizes, perceptions, even shrinkage. When I first got my ring, I was glad we hadn't tried to go bigger... it would've been too much! Now I tend to side on the "cute" end of the spectrum when I look at my ring.


So how about you? I know it's often a lot more about the setting, quality of the diamond, etc., but what carat or mm size usually makes your perception cross the line from "normal/average" to "big"? How has that changed over time?

 

[Pandora II]

For diamonds, I consider anything over 1.5ct to be big.

In coloured stones 2.5ct plus depending on the stone.

I''m talking e-rings here for both.


My take is also based on being in the UK where stones are much smaller on the whole.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

For me the bling factor isn't carat weight, it's whether the stone is well cut and kept clean. I've seen lots of small stones make lots of large stones disappear because the smaller ones were well cut and kept clean.
But I digress. Size-wise, I consider anything 5 carats and over to be big.

 

[somethingshiny]

In my area, anything over a carat is considered big, anything over two is considered huge, and we don''t have anything bigger than that. (for diamonds) Colored stones over 2 carats are "too big". (I don''t get it, I just report it.)

Personally, I think it has to do with the size of the hand it''s worn on. My BFF can put my ring on and it looks big (it''s .77 cushion). But, on my "man hand", it looks normal (for our area, which is around .50)

Musey~ Whatever people call it, your ring is one of my favorites!!

 

[TravelingGal]

although not rare in my parts, I consider anything over 2 carats big.

 

[musey]

Date: 12/10/2007 3:48:36 PM
Author: somethingshiny

Musey~ Whatever people call it, your ring is one of my favorites!!

Thanks, SS

"Cute" is starting to grow on me!

haha

 

[Maisie]

I would say anything over 2ct is big. Mine is 1ct and I think its a nice size for where I live (UK).

Apparently the average sized engagement ring diamond here is .25ct.

 

[tberube]

I''d say that 2 ct is my sweet spot. But I''m learning that it really depends on the size of the finger it''s on. I think if I had a 2ct. diamond I''d never think to upgrade again.

Really? Your 2ct. asscher is the size of a 1.3ct round? That''s a BIG difference, and I hardly believe it, your diamond looks very large! I have a friend with a .61ct asscher and I thought maybe it looks like a .5ct round...not THAT much of a difference.

I have a friend with a .90ct round diamond, which is exactly the same weight as my Emerald cut (kind of an asscher) and our diamonds do look pretty comparable, esp. considering my elongated cut. I tend to not believe the total extent of size difference in step cuts....

sorry, I digress...

 

[chrono]

Musey,

I find the calculations of rounds and square cuts very misleading. You cannot compare the diameter of a round directly against the side to side length of a square cut. The most accurate way is to compare the surface area.

Here''s an example:
A 1 carat RB with a diameter of 6.5mm = (3.14 x 6.5 x 6.5) = 33.16 mm square
A 1 carat PC with a side to side of 5.7 mm (it sounds like a WHOLE 1 mm smaller, doesn''t it) = 5.7 x 5.7 = 32.49 mm square

The reality is that they are practically the SAME size!

 

[Mara]

well since i''m a size whore, i don''t even think my own 2.3 is a big ring. but a lot of people seem to...i get a lot of exclamations over it. but for me i''d say it''d have to be like 3c for me to go ''she has a BIG DIAMOND''. hehee. but obviously my perspective is skewed. when i first got engaged i probably thought 1.5c was big. now it''s double. sheesh!

 

[Haven]

When I see a 3+ ct round I think WHOA! THAT''S BIG!

HOWEVER, whenever I see a beautiful fancy (like yours, Musey) with a great cut and gorgeous setting, I generally have to stop and stare a little. Size doesn''t matter so much to me when it''s a well-cut fancy!

 

[Ellen]

With a round, 2 cts. and up.

Too many variables with fancies to say. Depends.

 

[WTNLVR]

For my area 7mm is big, 8mm is huge. Just not that many around here. People are more into the big houses and fancy cars.

 

[february2003bride]

I think 1 carat is a nice look for any finger size, but I think "Who, that''s big!" around 1.25+.

I ordered a 1.33 round, so we''ll see if I love it, or am uncomfortable wearing it...

 

[ang3199]

I lust for a 1.5 princess, radiant, or RB. DSS has set in HORRIBLY for me. But I won't see that 1.5 for lots and lots of years. Darn....

Honestly, around where I live, anything around .5 is common.

Although you see big ones (2ct and bigger) around here, they are often fakes. Meaning no disrespect, but I saw a lady working at McDonalds wearing like a 4 carater.....

 

[musey]

Date: 12/10/2007 4:15:22 PM
Author: Chrono
Musey,

I find the calculations of rounds and square cuts very misleading. You cannot compare the diameter of a round directly against the side to side length of a square cut. The most accurate way is to compare the surface area.

Here's an example:

A 1 carat RB with a diameter of 6.5mm = (3.14 x 6.5 x 6.5) = 33.16 mm square

A 1 carat PC with a side to side of 5.7 mm (it sounds like a WHOLE 1 mm smaller, doesn't it) = 5.7 x 5.7 = 32.49 mm square

The reality is that they are practically the SAME size!

True, but I'm actually just comparing to my friend's 1.1ct RB

Hers looks to be just a titch smaller than mine, so I generalize at 1.2-1.3. That lines up with that Amazon diamond size chart we always toss around, where you can average out their estimation for a 6.5mm (1ct) and 7.4mm (1.5ct) to about 6.95 for a 1.25ct RB.

I've seen my stone next to a 2ct RB, and there is certainly a WORLD of difference in size!

Not that I mind, but the difference is certainly there

 

[HollyS]

Mine is just shy of a 1ct, and it''s a larger than usual stone for where I live. I have a small hand, and it has a pave halo around it, so it does get its share of "it''s a rock" comments from others; but I think I could be comfortable up to 2cts. I think, beyond that, I would feel like the ring was too much for me.

It depends on the size of the hand wearing it, but 3ct and over look freakin'' huge to me! I like them . . . I just think they''re BIG! Even if money were no object, I still would probably not consider anything for myself above 2ct for the center stone; I''d just buy the most perfect 2ct out there!

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Date: 12/10/2007 3:40:26 PM
Author:musey
what carat or mm size usually makes your perception cross the line from 'normal/average' to 'big'? How has that changed over time?

Anything bigger than what I wear!

Many years ago [like 15] I used to think 5 carats was big [now, not so much].

 

[kcoursolle]

Here in LA I see a ton of large stones, especially if I go out to lunch in brentwood or beverly hills or some other nice neighborhood. However, I''m a midwesterner at heart and there you practically never see anything over 2 carats. My mother has a .50 and others in my family have less than that. Back home I have one single friend that has a "big stone". It''s a 3 carat oval, but it''s not well cut and I would estimate the color at an M or N. Everyone who sees that thinks it''s gigantic.

To me anything over 1.5 carats in a round is a *big* stone. In fancies, I think over 2 carats is very large. Somehow fancies sit on the hand differently and don''t look as large to me. But honestly musey, your 2 carat asscher is facing up waaaay larger than a 1.3 round. It''s probably facing up more like a 1.7 carat round and from your pictures it looks quite big to me!!!

In colored stones it really takes a lot for me to think it''s huge. I see so many fake rings and huge cocktail rings that maybe it takes about 10 carats or more for me to think "that''s a big stone".

 

[strmrdr]

Around here 1ct is considered big by most people.
Some of the younger crowd it might be 1.5ct.
Around here 1ct is usually a 10 or 20 year anniversary upgrade.

 

[lyra]

Before joining PS, I honestly thought 1ct was "big"! Now, I only see 3ct''s and up as honking big.

 

[musey]

Date: 12/10/2007 4:43:21 PM
Author: ang3199

Although you see big ones (2ct and bigger) around here, they are often fakes. Meaning no disrespect, but I saw a lady working at McDonalds wearing like a 4 carater.....

DI-TTO. I think the pressure to have a "big" stone in LA is a bit too great, because I can't even count how many cashiers, retail salespeople, waitresses etc. I've seen wearing 3+ carats. Cost of living being what it is here, I'm always a little taken aback!

I think I do a double-take for anything around 2cts+. Though I find that the less time I've been spending on PS, the less I notice ANY stones!!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

In Dallas, we have an odd mixture of high-end cities, and average cities, and the not-so-average cities.

When I was living in Irving and Euless (mid-cities generally), my eyes would bug out when I would see a round brilliant of 1 ct. or more. Now that I live in Plano, and work in Addison, I would say that I consider anything over 2 ct. to be big.

 

[iwannaprettyone]

Mine is 1.5 ct and looked big to me when I got it and looks huge on other people

ie my best friend tried it on, fits great looked huge! gorgeous ! sparkly!

...Damn the DSS....heheh.

Really 1.5ct RB and up looks big to me.

 

[iwannaprettyone]

Date: 12/10/2007 5:05:58 PM
Author: strmrdr
Around here 1ct is considered big by most people.
Some of the younger crowd it might be 1.5ct.
Around here 1ct is usually a 10 or 20 year anniversary upgrade.

did you mean months? heheh Just kidding.

 

[iheartscience]

I''d say anything over 2 carats looks kind of big to me...anything over 3 carats starts looking really big to me. (I have a 1.5 carat radiant in a halo and it only looks big to me if I really compare it to the rings I see daily.)

I was working at a clothing store once and a customer came in with a 5+ carat RB. This was before PS but it had to be at least that big, if not bigger. She was kind of weird about it and had it flipped around to the palm side of her hand. (And I wasn''t staring, either! We used to get a lot of loaded customers with great jewelry so I wasn''t too surprised by it.) I wanted to be like "If you feel uncomfortable wearing that ring, let me!"

But really, why have a big ol'' ring if you feel uncomfortable with it, even at a high end clothing store? I mean, I get it if you''re in a sketchy part of town.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 12/10/2007 6:00:17 PM
Author: iwannaprettyone
Mine is 1.5 ct and looked big to me when I got it and looks huge on other people

ie my best friend tried it on, fits great looked huge! gorgeous ! sparkly!

...Damn the DSS....heheh.


Really 1.5ct RB and up looks big to me.

Just don''t wear it for a few months! That is the perfect cure to DSS. I had mine off for 4 months and now it looks HUGE to me. I am sure I''ll get used to it again.

I think 3+ is huge.

 

[hlmr]

Two carats and higher (and that''s an ideal cut 2 carats of course

) make me think ''big ring''.

 

[gwendolyn]

I think it''s all about finger coverage for me (I still can''t guess the size because I can''t tell people''s finger sizes just by looking). I think when a rock takes up about half the width of a finger, it''s the perfect size. So if it''s definitely taking up more than half the width of the finger, then I''d probably say it''s whoa-big!

 

[lumpkin]

Anything over 2 carats in a round, marquise, pear, emerald is huge. Cushions and asschers can be bigger, maybe 2.5+. That''s pretty huge around here, and even where the jewelry is considerably bigger, that would probably be average. In that case, 3+ carats would be huge.