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A recent post on a 4.6 ct aquamarine ring made me think of asking this question.
How many carats is too big for an everyday ring. I'm not just talking diamonds, but any stone. And not just E-rings, but right hand rings too!
I wear a 3 ct cushion cut aquamarine with a halo of diamonds daily, and think nothing of it - I LOVE it. But I know alot of people think that is too big for daily wear.
What do you bee's think? (share pics if you have 'em! Can't get enough of ring pics!)
I wear gloves at work (in a lab) and my e-ring has destroyed quite a few gloves, it's also pretty uncomfortable under there but I've gotten used to it.
So for me, anything bigger than 1.1ct would be too big for everyday wear :)
I think it really depends on the person and is more of a personal preference. A larger ring is not going to look right on everyone since we all come in different shapes and sizes.
I personally did not want anything larger than about 1ct total. I have a halo ring and I just thought anything larger would look silly on me.
I lead a very active lifestyle and new I wanted a "smaller" diamond and lower setting and I still have to take it off when I teach in the cadaver lab because it rips through gloves and I would hate to get pieces of human tissue in my ring - eeewwwww
So I told my FI that I didn't want over a .5 carat center stone!
@future mr.s martin - ummm so that's pretty much one of the grossest things I've ever heard! lol
(Just a note - my e-ring is a three stone, with diamonds down the sides of the band and it's 1ct total weight - the aquamarine is my right hand ring that I got for our 10 year - date-aversary)
@Lilagrace: Do you have pics of your aqua? I would love to see it!
I marked 4+ carats in the poll for two reasons: I have size 7 fingers (and they are long) and I LOVE wearing jewelry!
I alternate my right hand rings everyday and go from a 1 carat aqua to a 1.5 diamond ring up to a 3 carat lemon citrine ring...I like to change it up!
I think it depends on personal preference, and also the size of your hands. I have small hands and really short fingers, so anything too big would look silly on me. My engagement ring is 0.80 carats and it's perfect for my finger. I had to get a super-thin wedding ring so that my rings didn't take up half my hand!
There needs to be another category - "There is no such thing as too big for daily wear"
I voted for 2+, but it's totally a personal thing .. my 1 ct is the perfect size for my short, small fingers
I think it all depends on the size of your hand. My 12 year old neice has bigger hands than I do! I'm also 5'2" though and a size 5 ring fits a little on the loose side. I think anything over half a carat would be too big for my tiny hands. However if you're taller, I'm sure you're hands are proporionately bigger and thus a bigger ring wouldn't look so gigantic on you.
Secondly, I think it's about taste too, if you're into the big rings, more power to you!
But mainly, i think it should about the size of your hands! lol..
I've got to disagree with all of those who said 1+ is too big for daily wear. Mine is 1.13 center plus another .4 in side stones, and I've worn it every day since I got it. I haven't scratched/pierced anything (though I don't work in a hospital), and I see lots of rings that are bigger than mine.
My setting, including the center stone and not including the wedding band, measures just under 1.75 carats, with the center stone being 1.06 or something and I think it is perfect. it sits up pretty high but i havent had a problem. I voted for anything over 3 carats
I have tiny fingers - size 4 3/4 and I have an 11 carat amethyst (inherited) and I don't think its too big to wear.
Hmm, my e-ring is 2 carats and my band is 1/2 a carat, and it seems to not get in the way much. Any bigger, though, and I'd be banging it on everything. I would say no more than 3 carats.
I have skinny fingers, I'm left handed, and I write/type a LOT. The problem with my garnet ring is that it's a pretty high setting and has four prongs, so I tend to bang it around and loosen the setting. The size doesn't matter to me so much as a lower setting with more prongs! I'd probably wear up to 3 or 4 cts otherwise.
P.S. I haven't tried to wear the amethyst on a daily basis (its set in yellow gold and that isn't my favorite). But from a size perspective, I don't think its too huge to wear daily.
Ha, I'm gonna go ahead with texasmeredith and say there's no such thing as too big for daily wear! 
Well i have 3.75 carats of diamonds on my left hand and a 4+ carat topaz on my right hand. Bigger is better unless it's just not your style. But i go for chunky earrings, bracelets, rings, anything big, sparkly, and pretty, I'm all about it.
I didn't vote b/c there are too many factors. I'm 5'11" and i feel like i can pull off a lotta bling if i want to. Cuz I got it from my momma, lol
Also HIGHLY dependent on what you do for a living.
I put 2+ but really 1.5+, it is okay if its just a little over one, but not too much. I've never been a fan of wearing rings with stones that went too far out. Although I'm sure its better on my left hand than right.
My ring is a size 3 and it is a 1 carat solitaire, it looks perfectly proportional on my small hand. It's set kind of high and it does snag on my tights sometimes. I voted for 2+.
@texasmeredith - you are my kind of girl! Any pics? My ring is also set in yellow, which I am not a huge fan of, but it's a vintage ring, and it's from the hubs, so I wear it :-) (I'm not complaining - I love the stone)
@MrsK2be - I don't have a picture of it actually - just a crappy cell phone pic that is super fuzzy. But now you've got me thinking that I could probably get some really fab shots with a good camera :-)
My E ring is a 1 ct, because I wanted to be able to leave it on most of the time. Anything bigger I'd have to take off whenever I'm working with the horses, because it could easily get caught on something.
I think 2 ct would be perfect for me.. of course my e ring isn't a solitaire or at all traditional in any way.. I don't even know the total carat weight of it..
I think that if you feel safe wearing it out and about, overseas and downtown in a large city, I say you go for whatever size you can afford! That being said, I'm 5' 9" and wear (I think) a 7.5, so I could handle whatever bling you throw at me.
However, anything bigger than 2 cts would personally make me uncomfortable. I would have monetary ethical issues with it and I end up areas of cities that I probably shouldn't end up in on purpose (lots of private design centers are in warehouse areas), on accident when I get lost or sometimes on purpose depending on volunteer situations. At some point we'll end up living in a city with public transportation, which I SO look forward to so I don't have to drive anymore, but I'd want to be able to wear my ring without drawing alot of attention to myself.
"Not paranoid, just smart" as my mom says. She wears 3 1 ct stones on her left hand but has a fake for when they're in the city/ on vacation- I want to wear the real thing all the time!
I think that all sizes are good. My bff's mom had a 5 carat ring and she wore it every day. No problems either with her.
Mine will be above 2 carats (solitaire) and I'm ok with wearing that around. My former solitaire was also above 2 carats and I had no problems wearing that for 8 years. not one problem. Although I wouldn't go snorkeling or diving in it.
I think we need to realize tastes are different and that there are brides here with all size stones.
As for us, again, we're older and professional and can afford a bit more. But what is important is not the size of the stone nor what stone it is. What does matter is the love given with the promise.
Shoot in my dream world the bigger the better!!! I love me some bling, lol! Either way, at the end of the day it's all about who gave it to you, right? :)
For my work, I needed smaller and low set... I think it really depends on who you are and what you do!
@LilaGrayce: Speaking of pictures...I recently went to my insurance agent and got a special policy to cover all my jewelry. My agent had me take really detailed pictures of all my jewelry to put in the policy along with the appraisals. He highly recommended me doing this. So I sat down one day and took pics of my entire jewelry box (everything from Tiffany silver jewelry to precious gem stones) - it's all catalogued on film. I have a copy and he has a copy. I just wanted to recommend that you get at least one good picture of it on a camera with a macro setting.
i guess it depends on the person. most stones over 2 carats looks kind of garish on my hands anyway so i won't be getting anything too big. never mind that i'm a bit of a klutz so the smaller the better.
I too wear gloves all day (I work in a lab), and I have a tear drop cut diamond with a prong setting so I would end up ripping right through a lot of gloves.
I just wanted to share a tip with other glove wearing ladies... I've found that I don't rip the glove if I turn my ring upside down, so that the diamond is on the palm of my hand. 
ok, so I know this is a terrible picture. It's very fuzzy and the colours are really off (the aqua doesn't even look like an aqua and my hand is weird pale and fat looking) but it's from my cell phone. I just wanted to be able to give an idea of the size of the stone on my hand (btw - I wear a 5 1/2 ring size which I think is about average)
P.S. the ring is SOOOOO much nicer looking than this pic but I don't have a good camera!
It all depends on the person. I have 1ct and I am left handed...so needless to say I smash/catch/nic/scrape my ring on everything. I hit it daily on something. I cant imagine having something larger.
I'd never wear more than 1 carat - but that's just me. I wanted ring under 1 carat because my fingers are super slender and I am NOT at all a dress-up-and-throw-on-jewelry kind of gal. Whenever I tried on something big & sparkly, it just looked awkward on me, like something I'd never wear. I'm way too granola for it, haha.
I don't really think there's such a thing as too big - whatever size people are comfortable with, if they can rock it, they can rock it!
If it doesn't interfere with work/gloves, etc. I say nothing is "TOO" big. A friend's g'mother is this little petite woman and sports a 4+ carat diamond. I LOVE looking at it on her little hand. It always makes me smile.
My engagement ring is a 4.5 carat mystic topaz - but it also REALLY depends on the setting. It's first setting was this http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/10k-White-Gold-Mystic-Fire-Topaz-Ring/2614135/product.html which was MUCH more flush on my finger, and little less out there. But that band snapped, and the new setting is a more classic engagement ring style and the stone looks SO BIG on my finger now!!
There really isn't a size that's "too big".. It all depends on your personal style.
For me, a center stone around 1.5cts is just perfect! In total weight (with side stones & wedding band stones) I don't think you could ever have too much! lol
I don't think the size would bother me as much as the setting when it comes to do everyday tasks. My last ring was a 1.1 carat solitaire, but it was set so high that I hit it on something - my desk mainly - like every 5 minutes.
I don't think (for my profession) there's such a thing as too big! i wouldn't have let my DH buy anything bigger than two carat (and mine is perfect for me...1ct total wt), but if the only factor is "daily wear", the sky's the limit!
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