I thought this would be interesting as I have been noticing that is varies so much! You can also post where you're from if you'd like.
When I moved to Chicago, everyone's standard seemed to be 1 carat or more. That was pretty shocking to me.
Large would have to be over 2, I work in midtown manhattan and I see even 3 carat rings pretty regularly.
I work at a restaurant in a really wealthy part of town and I see some big ol' rocks every day!
I would say that 80% of the customer whose rings I see have over 2 carats. Crazy, right?
I live in a city of about 100,000, and mine is pretty large (1.5 carats.) I spent a week in NYC over the summer, and my ring seemed much, much smaller there! I think it is so interesting as well!
Where I live .50, even like .40 is considered a really decent size.
When someone has 1 carat people are like, "DID YOU SEE HER RING, IT'S MASSIVE!!"
I don't think I have ever seen a ring that was 2+ carats.
But I am going to NYC over the summer so maybe I will check out people's hands then haha
Where I live? I think of it more in terms of different cultures I'm part of:
In academia, there are a lot of people walking around without rings at all.
In NYC, you see a lot of bling. Same with LA. In parts of Queens, you see CRAZY bling (although you're not sure if you're looking at a diamond, CZ, or Claire's)
Among the art-GOING crowd, lots of bling. Among the artists themselves, not so much bling.
Among school teachers, I see mostly between .5-1 ct. and the settings tend to be traditional.
Among doctors and dentists (I have a lot of friends in the field), not a lot of bling, or at least that they wear because they're using their hands all the time.
Among scientists (lots of friends in that field), I noticed that a few have rings that are moreso related to their fields, rather than traditional gemstones--one has alexandrite because of its optical properties; another has meteorite.
(NOTE: this is so NOT meant to be a blanket statement about ALL New YOrkers or ALL scientists at all. It's just fun recounting things I've noticed in different circles).
I lived in Southern California (just recently moved to Northern CA), and 1 - 2 carats is standard.
can I throw in my two cents that in my group of friends/where I live, we don't even know what that means? lol, just food for thought. ;)
I'll ask a really dumb question about whether gem stones that aren't diamond actually have a 'carat'? Maybe that's why I don't know
@cutexkitty: I am from socal (working in hawaii) and i've never seen a stone over 1c from anyone in my group of friends.. or facebook pages.
I think over a 1c in socal is pretty uncommon.
Maybe it's just the industry I work in - Arts/Non-Profit - but most of my friends have rings that are .5 carats or less. Also, not very many of them spent more than $2000 on their engagement rings - mine will probably clock in at no more than $1000.
We actually had a discussion at work recently about how sometimes it can look quite distasteful to have a giant rock when you fundraise for a living. Some of my senior colleagues who were married later in life and had substantial family stones or larger diamonds would actually not wear them to meetings with donors; subbing in a plain band or more modest ring.
Maybe it's just the industry I work in - Arts/Non-Profit - but most of my friends have rings that are .5 carats or less. Also, not very many of them spent more than $2000 on their engagement rings - mine will probably clock in at no more than $1000.
We actually had a discussion at work recently about how sometimes it can look quite distasteful to have a giant rock when you fundraise for a living. Some of my senior colleagues who were married later in life and had substantial family stones or larger diamonds would actually not wear them to meetings with donors; subbing in a plain band or more modest ring.
His Lil SantosGirl Opps. I guess I can't speak for everyone from So. Cal. 
I say it's standard because that's what I see on the hands of the girls in my office, the price/size the guy friends/coworkers are getting for their fiancee and family friends.
I live in NYC and agree with what the NYC girls (Lgenz and Hilysy) said! Def over 2 carats!
I live in NJ (central/shore) 1.5-2 is pretty average, anything over 2ct. is bigger than average around here.
@cutexkitty: No worries. Honestly socal has SO many demographics its hard to pin point a ring size according to what societies accepts.
@His Lil SantosGirl: i would have to agree. being from san diego, average is a 1 and anything greater like a 1.5+ would be large...unless you're talking about the ritzy areas then i would say those areas i usually see average 1.5
I'm from Alberta, Canada and among my friends/aquaintances .5-1.0 ctw is about average. 1 carat is actually considered large! I have NEVER seen over one carat (in a solitaire) from anyone in my circle of friends!
i dont think anyone has chimed in from Ohio yet. I'm one of the first of my friends to get married so its hard to say exactly what is common here... but it seems to me that like .75 is probably the average. i'd say something about 1.5 or larger would seem big around here.
Most other gemstones are heavier than diamonds, therefore, they're carat weight is a little different from diamonds.
For example, sapphires are somewhat heavier than diamonds by about 10%, therefore, a 1 carat sapphire is approx. equal to .90 carats of a diamond. The center stone of my yellow sapphire e-ring is 2 carats which would be equal to 1.8 carats of a diamond.
I'm in Northern California (bay area) and 1 ct. is considered big in my social/family circle. It's the size that lots of people "upgrade" to. Standard size would be .5 to .75, but there's lots of ladies who forgo the engagment diamond, and go for an alternate stone, or just a plain wedding band.
I would say in colorado springs, my one carat center diamond is average or possibly even a little above...
Ha! Yes. That describes us here. I'm in academia, so unless people come from money, I don't see many diamonds at all. And none of us know what 1 carat looks like.
I'd have to say, average here (Atlanta) is probably about 1 to 1.5 with 1.5+ being LARGE. In my social group, anywhere from .5 to 1 is average and 1.5+ would be BIG. Some of the more "ritzy" areas I'm sure are much more than 1/1.5+, but who knows. It depends, as it does anywhere.
I live in south Alabama. 0.25 to 0.50 ct. rings are what I see on a day-to-day basis. I also see a lot of women who just wear their wedding bands. 1ct is considered large among my group of friends because they're mostly recent college graduates working their first "real" jobs.
I voted for 2+ because I see quite a few 1-1.5 ct rings in the area when out in public. Just think that 2+ is LARGE. However, i do see some under 1's, too. I have a 1.2 ct and mine seems to be the largest in my social circle.
It definitely looks like rings are bigger in america:)
I live in London and all my colleauges/friends thought that my ring was huge - in fact it is a 1.3 carat (1.6 with shoulder stones), so not so big by american standards i guess...
I'm from New England and I think anything over 1.5 carats (for a single diamond) would get noticed but nothing would get a major reaction unless it were over 2 carats.
In Ireland where I live it's much less - 1 carat seems to be most noticeable size for a larger single stone - smaller than that doesn't seem to get much notice but larger does...
I'm in Missouri - 1/3 c - .5 c is pretty standard for the middle of the state, but near St. Louis or Kansas City it rises (just like the cost of living) to around 1 - 1.5 cs. Then you get some of the baseball players wives, who have ridiculous rocks. It's just a matter of where you live and the cost of living, as well as the demographic :)
@YSQueen: thanks for the info!
@Beluga: hey, I'm in academia too, maybe that's why!
In Saint Louis, I'd say 1 carat is probably "big"--it's what a lot of women upgrade to. There are some wealthy older women running around here with some boulders, though! It's not very often I see a 1.5 or 2 carat sparkler.
The midwest is relatively "modest" by all standards. I don't see a lot of high end designer items, either.
I live and work in DC and I think anything ranging from 1-2cts is the norm and anything over that as large (not so large if you're a member on the Hill).
I work in academics so I think anything over a half carat looks big.
Mine is a half carat and a few people have commented on how big it is!
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