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I know this is kind of out of left field, but what do you bees think the perfect sized diamond is for an engagement ring? I feel like my concept of this is getting blurred since I live in NYC and a lot of girls have 3+ carats!
I think the best size for a diamond is the size that you like the best and what looks best on your finger. I have small hands, so bigger diamonds would not look good on me, in my opinion.
i think it depends on each couple, their style, financial circumstances, and what looks good on the woman's hand. while i would love a 3 carat diamond (conflict-free), we can't afford it and it would look weird on my size 3 finger. so it all depends. i definitely know what you mean about seeing some huge rocks around the streets of nyc, though!
I voted 1-2 b/c I have fat hands...lol. My FI's hands are ginormous compared to my short, fat hands.
I have a 1 carat and think it's the perfect size... for my long fingers and lifestyle.
I wish you had included "whatever you can afford!" (haha but then I guess most of us would have chosen that one. FI and I choose a smaller center stone because we're both in graduate school programs and only wanted to spend what we could afford upfront. I feel very sad for people who are waiting to get engaged until they can afford a $9.000 ring or something. I love my .6 ct center stone and most of all, I love that we don't have another monthly payment coming in! On the other hand, I love diamonds and eventually I would like a larger ring....but that's only once we have that extra money to throw around. I think being responsible is sexy!
@misspug-you have a size 3 ring finger??? That could be the cutest thing I have ever heard!
it's more about what the setting looks like and how it all comes together on the finger to me... i have smaller hands, so i'm ok with about 1 ct.
@MissPug: My ring finger is a size 3.5! It is kind of a good thing because I like the look of "oversized" bling and therefore I don't need a lot of carats to get that look :)
Its only annoying when I go looking for cheap rings and not even Claire's sells my size :p
@babyboo: I bet! I thought my size 5 was small! hahahaha. I am like gigantor compared to you guys!
I voted 3+ carats... is that bad?
Lol. For me it kind o fhas to do with the shape of the diamond. I love love love emerald cuts,a nd EC's tend to look much smaller than the exact same carat weight in a different cut. (i.e. a 2 carat round will look much bigger than a 2 carat EC). Just my 2 cents.
I do agree that engagement ring aspirations have gotten seriously OUT OF CONTROL though with all the celebrity rings lately.
My "if money were no object" perfect size would prob be between 1.5-2cts. 2cts just seems a little too big to me.... but like 1.7-1.8 seems perfect.
I have a 1ct center stone I LOVE that looks fantastic I think... but its not the "wowza thats a huge rock" type look heh.
Meh kinda depends. I have 3.75 carats spread out over an engagement ring and two wedding bands. So for me, 3+ is ideal on my finger =]. It's big but it's not ostenatious by any means. And I certainly won't feel bad about bumping up the solitaire a carat for a big anniversary. I like flashy jewelry. It's just what I dig. And i like having a fingerful of bling on my left hand. I'ts not like i go crazy with a lot of jewelry; i like statement pieces.
Solitaire-stone wise, I think something around a 2.5 would be amazing.
Just to give a visual. Here is a 1 carat EC on hand, and a 1 carat RB on hand. They are almost the exact same carat weight. 
My center stone is a .7 round brilliant. It is practically flawless and we have it set in a filigree pave setting. We looked at larger stones, but I felt like this was the most appropriate for my finger and my life. I do a lot of hands on work with little kids and anything larger would get in the way. That being said, it's easy to get what my FI and I call "shiny on the brain" and want a huge stone... because let's face it... they sparkle and look glamorous and it's hard not to want that. :)
Somewhere along the road 2 cts got put in my head and for some reason that is the size I gauge everything off of now. Apparently I harp on it a bit (oops...) because FI knew to get that size without us ever "officially" talking about it.
@Virginia Marie, don't feel sad for us. Some of us were ok waiting a few more months until our SO's were in more financially stable positions to buy what we wanted, but also what they were more comfortable affording. Not that I wouldn't have accepted something smaller, but DH really wanted to wait until his R&R so he could "spring" for it. It's not like we're all greedy and waiting out an engagement jsut for a big rock cuz we're pathetic or something =]
Of course it depends on the cut, but if money is no object, I also think a 1.5 - 2 carat is pretty perfect. It is big without being gawdy. Some ladies can pull off major bling, but I can't. My FI went with a big sapphire (almost 3 carats) and two big side diamonds (don't know, probably over a carat together) and I had a super hard time finding a wedding band because I already had so much bling. If he had gone smaller, I think I could have done a wedding band that stood out a bit more, which I would have liked. Of course the ring is gorgeous, but more is not always better.
@EJS--thanks for pointing that out girl. I don't mean to offend. I just have many friends who have been with their SO's for like, years and years and are using the excuse that their men want to wait to afford their dream ring! Most of our friends are all 24-25 and in med school or phd programs (aka: not gonna be making good money for quite awhile!). Makes me think that these people may be making "excuses" for putting off an engagement. I just meant that I don't think you should ever postpone marriage for many years just for something material. Nonetheless, who doesn't love a big gorgeous ring?!?! More power to those of you who are at a place in their lives to afford that!!!
I love my engagement ring. He picked it out by himself and its half a karat. I see huge rings, but mine means so much because HE did the picking out. :)
@Virginia Marie, no you're good, I just mean not all of us have malicious intentions by putting off an engagement for a set # of months =].
I wouldn't have put up with putting it off for many years, yikes! (hello that's what upgrades are for, don't your friends know that?! lol) But really, DH knew what I wanted and refused to propose until he could afford it, which meant after he was halfway through his tour. Some guys have serious egos about buying rings...DH is like that.
Mine is just under 1.25 carats, and for my size finger that is about the largest I would be comfortable with. I would have been completely and 100% happy with something a little under 1 carat, but FI had bigger aspirations. (Basically, as far as I can tell he thought that buying anything under 1 carat made him less of a man... no matter how many times I told him that was ridiculous!)
Just for the record though, I have seen some really gorgeous diamond rings with very low carat weight.
cabana--haha, i don't know if it's "cute" but i appreciate you saying so! yeah, they're mini.
babyboo--yeah no joke! since we don't need big bling, we're very economical!
I think the perfect ring is proportionate to your hand size. I wear a size 6 ring and I am so envious of those ladies with tiny fingers! I love a ring that makes a statement, and it's easier to make a statement when you have smaller hands because we aren't all millionnaires.
I have skinny fingers I have a .75 center stone on an enternity band and totals out to 1.5. Its the perfect amount of bling for me and I love it!
If money were no object at all, my absolute ideal size would be 1.5-1.75 for my center stone. However, given my ideal cut diamond is an emerald cut, and emerald cuts need to be internally flawless and practically colorless because of the step cut, my center stone is just under 1.2. It looks beautiful on my hand as I have small fingers (size 4), and I absolutely adore it, but it's not "wowza, that's a huge rock" as @corgi said.
I think the "perfect size" is dependent on the person. I can totally understand your thoughts on this given that you live in New York, but I can honestly say, 3 carats would be just ridiculous on me. It's what you and your fiance are comfortable with, and what makes you smile when you see it on your finger.
@misspug - you're ring size is 3?! mine is 3.5 and i thought that was small!
I voted for 2-3... My ring is a little over 3 and it is big (my ring size is a 4.75). Don't get me wrong I love it more than anything but it is a lot of ring...
Now lets be totally honest...if FI could have affored a 3 carat ering that would be super sweet!! But on a more realistic level, I would def say I love my ring! It's a 1.25 princess cut center stone with diamonds on the band. The total weight is a little over 2 carats and it's perfect!
I feel like, for my size 6 hand, my 2 carat ring is the "sweet spot." any bigger and I'd be afraid to wear it on the subway! But I've seen so many rings that were breathtaking at all different sizes, so it's hard to really pick one "perfect" size.
I voted in .1-1 but I think the most ideal/best (IMO!) is .5-1.5
cabana..I'm with ya....living in nyc there are so many people i know and that work in my industry that have these ridiculous rings....like the size of my head..I always thought I wanted 3+ carats..but realization set in and I would rather have my fiance with his budget (and he got me the perfect ring) and is the love of my life, than still be with the loser rich guys I have dated just for a bigger ring.
I agree with kjpugs, I think something in the .75-1.5 range is perfect. I wouldn't want anything bigger than 1.5 carats.
I wouldn't want anything bigger than a 1.25, because my fingers are skinny and short. I think anything bigger would look out of place. But I would honestly be happy with anything over 1 carat, meaning I would like at least a carat.
i wouldnt go bigger than like 1.25 either since i have skinny long fingers, my ring is 1.16 center princess, with side stones and stones in the band, with a tcw of about 1.33ish
When I was in high school and college, I always said I wanted a carat because I thought that being able to afford a carat without going into debt would mean that we were old enough and financially responsible enough to get married. That changed over time when I realized how much I'd rather spend the money paying student loans than on a diamond!
Aw Cabanagirl9 - - - the sheer joys of living in NYC and its material environment that makes us question our thoughts opinions and views. This is an interesting poll!!!!!
My bff was born and raised in NYC she is a product of Upper East Side Park Ave old family money….When she got engaged/married at 24 her FI could afford a 2ct cushion cut, and at 24 we thought that was huge - she wanted larger 
He didn’t want to be making payments. She turned 30 on Feb 4th and was gifted a 3.5ct….. I think for every person its different. We all have different stories. We all have different money and ways in which we spend it. Our FI’s know whats important to us.
IMO I think the perfect ct is 1.8ct or higher - - in saying that, its not what I have, HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH
I am too living in NYC and I voted 1.5-2.0. I don't think there's a RIGHT answer to this. The size of the diamond depends on so many factors (budget, quality...) Personally, I have a few friends with engagement rings that are 2.0-3.0 range and it's hard NOT to want the same. But at the end of the day, I am fully aware that our private school MBA loans will not pay themselves and we want to start a family soon after we get married. That being said, I'd be more than happy for whatever my SO buys for my 3.75 hand.
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