What size diamond is considered "big" for a solitaire engagement ring?

[motownmama]

Lots of 2ctw diamonds around here. I’d say larger than 2.5. I love any size though. I have my mom’s 2.5 now in BGD 3-stone. LOVE! But, my 1ctw solitaire is more practical for typical day. A lot of working with my hands with 4 kids, multiple pets and a big ole 1905 house that needs care.

 

[AGBF]

It all depends. We are abnormal and asking us is like asking the church choir whether or not hymns should be considered good music. We cannot even grasp what the real world is like.

I could tell you anecdotes about my family (tiny diamonds and no diamonds going back a generation or so) and about my diamond shrinkage syndrome (which is exactly like that of every other Pricescope woman). But where I ended up is in this totally weird world where we all own a lot of fabulous jewels and contemplate buying more of them and bigger ones all the time! Ask us anything as long as you know it doesn't reflect any objective reality anywhere on earth.

Deb

 

[stracci2000]

I am in the Southwest, and I rarely see diamonds over 1 ct.

 

[dk168]

IMHO, it depends on location, culture, and social circle, etc. etc...

In the UK, 0.5ct for the main stone is the norm.

I do not wear my 1.19ct EC that is my RHR on a daily basis as it is too blingy. So I had another ring made with a near half carat EC for daily wear instead.

DK

 

[dkata]

That’s funny! I’m in Europe, and engagement rings are still not the standard. If people buy engagement rings, they often buy synthetics, Swarovski etc.
Basically you can buy any size diamond here also, and some people really do it, but they are the wealthier people, not average. If they buy a diamond ring, it’s around 0.5 ct up to 1 carat. Settings are more chunky, no halos, no vintage styles.
My husband wanted to treat me, and he liked the idea of an engagement ring, so I’ve got a beautiful half carat ring 8 years ago. Than a year later to my 30th birthday a one carat ring. A few years later I’ve got 1.7 ct in a halo, and a year ago I have bought myself a 2.86 ct OEC. I still have all this rings, so they were no upgrades.
So if you ask me, what is big, I would say above 3 carat, but if you ask someone else, she/he would maybe say everything above 1 carat.
And that you have an idea, what I’m talkin about, here a screenshot of their app:
And this is called the Royal collection.

 

[GliderPoss]

I’m in rural Oz and I’d say anything over 1ct would be considered large, anything over 2cts and you’d be getting very curious looks!

“Do you think she is famous or something...?”

 

[MamaBee]

We move around a lot so notice that depending on the area it makes a big difference in what would be considered big. When we lived in northern NJ..everyone seemed to have 2 carats and up..I saw a lot of 3+. We moved to Missouri and most women had a half carat..I live in Pa now...I have the biggest diamond at 2.03..One friend has about a carat and the others are about .25..They are not into jewelry so I find myself being a little embarrassed because they always comment that I’m blinding them with my ring...lol I wear my jewelry for me..so I tend to tone down what I wear when out with my besties. I get my fix on here!

 

[missy]

I have big hands (think man hands) and long fingers so what one might consider a big diamond on them if there ring size is a 4 would be lost on me. Personally on me anything 10mm and up looks normal size and anything less looks small (IMO on me). And of course one shouldn't forget about shrinkage...



No no not that kind the kind where you get used to wearing a certain size diamond and suddenly after wearing it for a bit BAM it starts looking smaller...what's up with that?

The cure of course is simply removing your ring for a few days and then putting it back on and voila. Size appropriate again.

And no matter the size beautiful diamonds always rock. Big, small and in between. IMO there is no wrong size when it comes to gorgeous diamonds.

 

[MamaBee]

Lots of 2ctw diamonds around here. I’d say larger than 2.5. I love any size though. I have my mom’s 2.5 now in BGD 3-stone. LOVE! But, my 1ctw solitaire is more practical for typical day. A lot of working with my hands with 4 kids, multiple pets and a big ole 1905 house that needs care.

My house was built in 1905! Holy cow..the house always needs something. My basement has a dirt floor and I swear there are bodies down there..really creepy! I really love it though..

 

[LLJsmom]

In my social circle, anything over 2 is considered big. In the area, I do see 3+, but not too frequently. For example, going shopping in one afternoon I would see 2-3 women with 3+ carat stones. I consider Anything bigger than 2.5 to be big.

 

[Babyblue033]

I'm 32, from Long Island (but the normal part, not the wealthy part)

I giggled a little reading this

I too live in the "normal part" of Long Island and work in the city. I would say 2+ is considered large in my area, but more like 1-1.5 at work where age group is young professional Millenials and I see more "moderate" sized diamonds.

I never used to wear much jewelry at work then got my 2.88 OEC during my maternity leave. I'm going back to work in 4 weeks so it should be interesting to see if it gets noticed much.

 

[Acinom]

Greetings from the Netherlands. Engagement rings are not a theme here. But we see it more often for the younger generation. One friend of mine has an engagement band with two tiny diamonds and 3 emeralds.

Women do wear solitaire rings which is often a gift from their parents, a present from their husband etc.

Two of my friends have 2ct rings which is considered big. I wear a 5.3 ct ring which is also considered big.

The love for jewelry is groing which translates more into shiny gold and big rings with colored stones. So more ‘Italian style’ but not diamonds perse.

Most ladies wear small rings they have received over the years and stack them.

 

[soxfan]

Central MA here. Probably anything over 1.5-2 ct is considered big here.....

 

[MamaBee]

I have big hands (think man hands) and long fingers so what one might consider a big diamond on them if there ring size is a 4 would be lost on me. Personally on me anything 10mm and up looks normal size and anything less looks small (IMO on me). And of course one shouldn't forget about shrinkage...



No no not that kind the kind where you get used to wearing a certain size diamond and suddenly after wearing it for a bit BAM it starts looking smaller...what's up with that?

The cure of course is simply removing your ring for a few days and then putting it back on and voila. Size appropriate again.

And no matter the size beautiful diamonds always rock. Big, small and in between. IMO there is no wrong size when it comes to gorgeous diamonds.

I know what you mean about shrinkage! My diamond was originally set in a cathedral setting. I wore it like that for fifteen years. It would jut up really high and be top heavy and flip over when it was cold out and my fingers would shrink. It just looked weird to me..so I had the setting remade in a lower profile with slim baguettes on the side. It looks so much smaller to me now! I feel like it shrunk a half carat..I love my new setting and I won’t be replacing this one..but I keep thinking..hmmmmm...just a little bigger would be fine. I never thought I would say that..Of course I only say it to myself and here!

 

[foxinsox]

I’m in NZ and anything over 1ct is big - but then so many people halo their centre stones that it’s actually quite difficult to know what size they’re usually wearing!

 

[Johnbt]

Big, large, huge, enormous & gigantic. Ginormous? Stupendous?
Big must be around 1 carat or 1.5, so I voted 1.5.

So how big is Elizabethtaylorous? She had a 69 carat pear-shaped diamond.

"...that Burton purchased at auction for over $1 million. It was originally set in a ring. "But even for me it was too big," Taylor said." "

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

In my area wearing anything over 1.5 will get your hand grabbed (Ooooohhhh let me see) from one end of the state to the other.

 

[peacechick]

In Singapore here, and it very much depends on your generation and economic status. A lot of people here don’t get engagement rings, they just get gold wedding rings. They like diamond jewelry though and 18k and 20k gold in general, so mall jewellers abound.

Among white collar workers though, diamond solitaires are the norm. 1 ct would be big. People here seem to value colour and clarity as much as size so I don’t think I would ever see a J coloured stone here. They also value brand names e.g. Tiffany, Cartier, Hearts on Fire, etc.

What’s nice is that I do see an increasing number of coloured stones, both as e-rings and others. I may have set a precedent in my social group by getting a blue sapphire e-ring. My sister went on to get a pink sapphire and my bff got a 2 ct plus tsavorite e-ring. Other friends skipped the e-ring and spent the money on the mortgage.

 

[Dancing Fire]

When the diamond covers your whole finger. In my case probably like a 9ct.

 

[Bron357]

I’m in rural Oz and I’d say anything over 1ct would be considered large, anything over 2cts and you’d be getting very curious looks!

“Do you think she is famous or something...?”

My favourite (not really) comment from the supermarket cashier.
Oh, I love your ring.
Thank you
Where did you buy it?
I had it made, the centre was from an Art Deco setting.
How much did it cost (yeah, no shame)
A lot.
Really, you shouldn’t have had to get it made, you know you can buy really nice rings on eBay for like $100.
These are diamonds.
NO WAY, REAL DIAMONDS DONT COME THAT BIG!
Er, yes, they do.

 

[tkyasx78]

My favourite (not really) comment from the supermarket cashier.
Oh, I love your ring.
Thank you
Where did you buy it?
I had it made, the centre was from an Art Deco setting.
How much did it cost (yeah, no shame)
A lot.
Really, you shouldn’t have had to get it made, you know you can buy really nice rings on eBay for like $100.
These are diamonds.
NO WAY, REAL DIAMONDS DONT COME THAT BIG!
Er, yes, they do.

Rotf! But I am sorry the lady was so rude! I bet you were steaming! Some people! I am sure your ring looks much better than any cz knock off that is on ebay.

A few years back I was wearing a large ctw custom ring I had made as I shopped in Kohl's.
I was looking in the perfume section for my favorite cool water perfume and was beyond startled when out of no where a strange lady literally grabbed my hand and very loudly said oh my xxx , is that thing real?

I was quite embarrassed by the noise and taken back as I pulled my hand away from her face.
It was the first person who ever grabbed my hand and looked at my ring as close as they could. Some people have 0 shame! It was uncomfortable for sure.

At least the lady didnt ask how much it cost though! How crazy is that! Come to think of it, I dont think I have ever met someone rude enough to ask the cost of a diamond I had. Ykes! I dont know how i would answer that one!

 

[Bron357]

Rotf! But I am sorry the lady was so rude! I bet you were steaming! Some people! I am sure your ring looks much better than any cz knock off that is on ebay.

A few years back I was wearing a large ctw custom ring I had made as I shopped in Kohl's.
I was looking in the perfume section for my favorite cool water perfume and was beyond startled when out of no where a strange lady literally grabbed my hand and very loudly said oh my xxx , is that thing real?

I was quite embarrassed by the noise and taken back as I pulled my hand away from her face.
It was the first person who ever grabbed my hand and looked at my ring as close as they could. Some people have 0 shame! It was uncomfortable for sure.

At least the lady didnt ask how much it cost though! How crazy is that! Come to think of it, I dont think I have ever met someone rude enough to ask the cost of a diamond I had. Ykes! I dont know how i would answer that one!

I sometimes think it’s an Aussie thing for people ask how much it costs. No shame!
Here everyone is obsessed with houses and if you buy or sell, even complete strangers will ask you “how much did you pay /get” and then they’ll give you their opinion (unrequested) on whether it was too much or not enough AND then you’ll get the story about their aunt or cousin who did this / got that/ was told this - all from a complete random stranger!

 

[Matthews1127]

I sometimes think it’s an Aussie thing for people ask how much it costs. No shame!
Here everyone is obsessed with houses and if you buy or sell, even complete strangers will ask you “how much did you pay /get” and then they’ll give you their opinion (unrequested) on whether it was too much or not enough AND then you’ll get the story about their aunt or cousin who did this / got that/ was told this - all from a complete random stranger!

I’ve had people flip out over my EC, ask me questions about size, but never about cost. The most unusual question I have been asked, so far, is: “How long have you had it?”
A patient asked me this, just this week. I kinda had to think about that one, even though I know it will be 2 years in October....lol!! I didn’t realize she was making a comparison between my EC, and HERS! She showed me her ring, and there it was! A very nicely cut EC; bright & flashy just like mine...very close in spread, too. She’s had her EC for over 50 years. Where ever her DH found that EC knew diamonds; it’s very beautiful. I had to wrap my head around that; she’s had her diamond ring longer than I’ve been alive....lol!!

 

[TreeScientist]

I sometimes think it’s an Aussie thing for people ask how much it costs. No shame!
Here everyone is obsessed with houses and if you buy or sell, even complete strangers will ask you “how much did you pay /get” and then they’ll give you their opinion (unrequested) on whether it was too much or not enough AND then you’ll get the story about their aunt or cousin who did this / got that/ was told this - all from a complete random stranger!

Not necessarily rude. I guess it just depends on the culture the person was raised in. In Asia (most of my experience is in Vietnam), it's very common to talk about how much things cost, how much you make, etc. When you meet someone, it's not uncommon to casually talk about salary right after the "what do you do?" question, and asking about the cost of pretty much any item a person owns/is wearing is considered just making casual conversation and not rude at all. I was taken aback the first few times someone asked me "How much do you make?" or "How much does that cost?" while I was there, as that is completely out of bounds in America and I thought it was just because I was a foreigner. But I've had several friends confirm that it's not taboo at all there, and common topics of conversation amongst friends/acquaintances.

Anyway, to answer the question, here in Scandinavia I would say .3-.5 carat is pretty average for E-rings in the younger generation, and anything over 1 carat would be considered "big." Where I'm from in America, a city on the middle east coast (not DC), I would say .7-1 carat would be the average, and anything over 1.5 carat would be getting into the "big" range, although I think 2+ carats is the range where you would start getting random glances/stares.

 

[SpikeIt]

Just depends on perspective. My high school friends in Jacksonville Florida think standard is .8-1.2 and huge is 2. Many of my friends in Dallas/Highland Park TX would kind of be embarrassed with something in the 1 carat range. Here standard is 2-3, big is 3+, and huge is 5+. It's It's not uncommon to go out and and see 7+ rings at restaurants in Highland Park Village. There is always a larger diamond or a bigger yacht.

 

[CareBear]

On someone else's hand 2ct looks big, but not on my hands. Why do diamonds always look bigger on other people.

 

[lagirlie]

I live in LA and most rings around my office are 3ct +
I would hate being a guy here because I think the pressure to get a "large" stone is insane.

It's all very phony and fake in LA. Most people who look like they have alot of money are just neck high in debt. Almost everyone drives at least a BMW 3 series in my building (and alot of them only make $600 bucks/ week). No one would ever assume someone is wearing a non-diamond, so it would probably be easy to buy a CZ or something and pass it off as a diamond (especially if you are wearing a real 5-10K purse)... so I wonder if any of the girls are doing this? I wouldn't know the difference in stone.

I have a friend that has a BEAUTIFUL 1 ct ring and she's ashamed to wear it because of size and just says she doesn't like wearing a ring. LA = Shitty fake place

 

[msop04]

My ring size is 4.75... I used to consider a 10 mm round my "holy grail" -- until I got my most recent upgrade at 9.8 mm. Now, I'm convinced that I could easily (and very happily) rock an 11 mm round.

 

[Dancing Fire]

It's all very phony and fake in LA. Most people who look like they have alot of money are just neck high in debt. Almost everyone drives at least a BMW 3 series in my building (and alot of them only make $600 bucks/ week). No one would ever assume someone is wearing a non-diamond, so it would probably be easy to buy a CZ or something and pass it off as a diamond (especially if you are wearing a real 5-10K purse)... so I wonder if any of the girls are doing this? I wouldn't know the difference in stone.

What's their secret? . Yes, a CZ would be a lot cheaper. . Maybe their $10K purse is a fake.

 

[Bron357]

On someone else's hand 2ct looks big, but not on my hands. Why do diamonds always look bigger on other people.

I share your pain (size 8 fingers) AND I’ve got meaty earlobes. Everything looks minuscule on me.