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Can anyone help me understand this? I ask purely out of curiosity.
I have read on many sites and from many people that carat sizes of engagement rings in the South are genrally bigger. And many southern girls on this site seem to have rings that are much bigger. I can't really understand this...
Is it because expectations are higher there?
Income is higher than other parts of the US?
Diamonds are cheaper in the South?
I've never really heard that the South in general has bigger e-rings. From what I have seen, it's usually perceived that women in big cities have bigger rings because of income levels. I think a lot of it is just perception, though. There are women with huge diamond rings all over the country.
I don't think diamonds are cheaper here, but cost of living is much much cheaper than up north or out west maybe that plays into it?
I've never really noticed this but now i'm going to have to start paying attention haha.
I have no idea.
I would think diamonds would be bigger in large cities with high incomes (i.e. NYC, LA, etc).
Maybe the south has either more large family heirlooms or more family money?
It might also be that incomes in the bigger cities in the south are comparable to other bigger cities, but the cost of living (rent, etc) is lower.
Honestly I have no clue, this is all just guessing.
I also have noticed the diamonds are much bigger in the south. Don't know why.
I notice bigger rings in cities (NYC, Boston, Chicago, LA) not the south.
I've found the opposite actually. I live in the midwest but I went to school in the South. I have a lot of recently married friends throughout the country and I would say that those that live in the south (in my circle) generally have smaller rings.
@LGenz: I agree.
Being a southern girl with a .36ct diamond, I'm gonna say it's more big cities that have bigger diamonds. In Atlanta, yes, they're huge. In the country, no. But that's a real generalization. I'm from the city, I just don't like huge. A lot of it, I think, is having more money to spend and being around people to compare yourself to. Not that if you have a big ring you got it because all your friends had one, but if your friends have bigger diamonds, you're more likely to be used to seeing that.
ETA: my friends are city girls, but younger (mid to low 20s), and we all have around .5ct or smaller. center stones, I mean.
I figured it was the same everywhere, the girls whose fiances have more money get larger rings and not to sound 'negative' towards some but especially the girls who use them as status symbols (high maintenance). On a different note, I tried explaining 'bridals' to someone who is not Southern and she thought it was extremely vain. It'd be interesting to make a list of wedding 'cultural' differences between, East, West, North, and Midwest.
@chouette: i too was confused about what bridals were! Us Canadians dont do that.
I think it's a large city/metro area thing. Don't forget, there are quite a few major top ten cities in the south. Texas alone has 3 of the 10.
But even with that, I only know two or so people that have a stone larger than 1 ct. Most of my friends got married with stones in the .3 to .6 range (not including the setting).
@chouette: and @eagle: what are "bridals"? the portraits, you mean?
I've never heard of this. I thought it was generally the big cities too - LA, NYC, Boston, etc
I am from the NJ/NY area but have lived in the south for the last 5 years. I have seen the complete opposite. Sure there will be anomalies, but overall my friends that are still in the north talk about the size of their diamond or what they want (no less than two carats), while my friends in the south are generally happy to be getting a ring at all. Overall, I think it has a lot to do with the culture youre immersed in and less the location though, as other bees have said.
Yeah, I wouldn't say that. I notice lots of the BIG city ladies have huge rings, but I think that has to do with cost of living and income more than anything. Because down here out in the country, a 1 carat ring is pretty huge. Most people I know have less than that, or if they have big ones, it wasn't their original but an upgrade at a later time. But consider too, even in the "expensive" areas of places like Texas (which I know because I live there) but then also much of the midwest, a million dollar house is a minimum of 4-5 bedriooms with a formal living room, formal dining room, a "game room" a den, a large kitchen, a pool, ect. In big cities a million dollar house may be an apartment in a good locaiton with a couple of bedrooms. So it makes sense, at least to me, that when one makes the money to afford to live in places with such a high cost of living, it is easier (maybe not the right word) to afford a big ring, and it is more socially exspected.
Of course there is also a differnce in the Southern "gentry" class (who have family money, big businesses, and lots of exspensive heirlooms) and the rest of us average middle class.
Well compared to my friends who live in AZ & TX, their cost of living is way less than in New England. You can spend $200k and get a great big, new construction house with pool etc, while in my area $200k buys you a fixer upper. Fi's company has a branch in TX and they pay is the same, but costs of living is a lot less. I think it just leaves southerners more money at their disposal. We have a mortgages totaling over $3k/month, in addition to student loans and car payments, etc. so for us a ring under $10k just made sense.
hmmm maybe i'm just imagining this...
but i'm sure that i had read lots of gals from texas on this board saying they had pretty large rings and also saying, something along the lines of, i'm from the south, so it's more commonplace. maybe i'm imagining things, lol.
@cardus: yeah its like a photo session of you in your dress, usually a month or two before the wedding. Nothing to do with the groom at all. Just you in your dress, looking pretty. Often times the photos are displayed at the wedding reception, I think.
I've never really noticed or heard of this. My parents are wealthy and from the South (we live in GA) and my mom's ring is a half carat center stone with a wrap. In her circle of friends (as this would be the wealthier southern ladies you guys are referring to) rings aren't huge. Most are probably around 1 carat. And these are "country club ladies." Now, houses and SUVs? Yeah, they're huge. Lol. But .75-1 carat-ish is pretty standard. I've never seen a huge rock out of all of them.
I always perceived that people in bigger cities had bigger rings (i.e. NYC, LA) and based on the Bee I'd say the same thing.
ETA: When I say my parents are wealthy, I mean their combined income is way over the region average. However, they would make pennies compared a dual income family in northern or western cities. I'll just give an estimate - their dual income is between 140 and 170 per year. It's a lot for WHERE WE ARE. Not a lot of other cities, as you can see when there are polls around here about where you live and how much you make. Ya know?
Oh, and since I didn't actually answer your questions OP! haha.
Is it because expectations are higher there? Maybe in some circles, but I really don't think they are any higher here than anywhere else. These same circles exist everywhere.
Income is higher than other parts of the US? Lol. Nah. Income is lower here than most other places in most fields. Yes, housing is cheaper...but so are salaries.
Diamonds are cheaper in the South? I hadn't heard of this. I thought diamond prices were pretty universal. If not, why wouldn't people travel to the South to get their diamond rings?
I'm with @LGenz:
I've also heard that rings seem to be bigger in big cities. never heard anything about the south.
I don't have much experience in the south, but I can tell you that where I grew up, farming country of the midwest, my friends and sisters were thrilled for anything over 1/3 ct. my family had never seen a ring over 1 ct. until my sister got hers (we are of the lowish-middle class farming community and she is living in chicago) I thought it was huge until I started meeting friends from elseware. I am curently living in bush alaska and many local women don't even have rings here, if they do its a plain band, the outside women who have moved here have all different sizes.
When we went ring shopping in SanDeigo (where he is stationed) Some of the ladies seemed slightly appauled that I was considering a ring under 1ct. (The jeweler is a good friend of my FI and knows his income etc. she eventually ended up talking me in to a 1.4 ct cushion AND asking if I wanted a halo setting to make it appear larger. Needless to say we did not go with that as I don't know if I would be able to lift my finger. I think it is more of a city/status thing than a geo location thing.
(If I had to guess after living here for a year) Rings are bigger in the South primarily because of the wealth distribution. Unlike other parts of the country, if you have money in the South you have a ton of it. If you don't, you have very very little. With the rich being richer and very small middle class, if you have a diamond worth noticiing its going to be large.
I don't think that a survey of this board is an accurate depiction based on the fact that these boards represente a miniscule percentage of Brides-To-Be! It could just be that the women on this board happen to have big rings and are from the south, but it isn't fair to assume the same of the rest (majority) of the population!
None of my friends back home (SC) have big rings. In fact, they all have rings under 1ct.
I'm from GA and I haven't noticed this with a lot of people my age. I do have an aunt and uncle who are wealthy and she has a 2 ct. solitaire (she didn't get engaged with that ring, it's an upgrade after being married several years). My grandmothers do not wear rings, my mom and another aunt have small clusters, and my friends that are married/engaged have smaller rings.
People in the South get married at a younger age, so diamonds are typically smaller. I will add that I'm from a very small down, so that could have something to do with it as well?
I don't even know if that's true, but I can say that when I watch those real estate shows I am blown away by the low prices of real estate. Perhaps because they are not paying as much for their homes, they have a lot of other disposable income?
Again, this may totally be wrong but it is the perception that I have!
I haven't found that to be true. When I lived in NYC 3 carat rings were quite the norm, even among the 22 year old girls I worked with... Are they larger than that in the South? This could be totally incorrect, but I always assumed that Southern gals tend to get married younger, which would lead me to assume their rings would generally be smaller not larger. I could be completely off-base with that, its just based on my very unscientific and completely not statistically accurate observations.
I've never noticed large rings in the South-- in fact, I have a 1 ct moissanite and have been realizing that it looks kind of big compared to those of people I work with, etc., and wondering if I should have asked for smaller! BUT... FI is from a large southern city, so I think his idea of an "acceptable" size of stone is different. My guess is that it's a city/non-city thing.
It may also be a traditional outlook thing, maybe northern culture in some places is less hard-line that the ring has to be as big as possible? I can see that being the case in big southern cities, possibly.
I don't think they are bigger in the south... then again its all I have ever really known so my small may be other peoples big.
@totheislnds: I feel like 'bridals' is just what everyone in my parents' generation did. The bride would have a formal bridal portrait taken sometime usually before the wedding. We tend to do boudoir sessions, engagement shoots, day-after location shoots, and trash/rock the dress shoots instead these days, probably because formal wedding portraits have made way for photojournalist-style photos in general.
I live in the south and i havent really noticed that the diamonds are bigger. But it is true that cost of living is a lot less then up north. So maybe thats why??
I suppose in larger cities within the South might have a higher carat average but I certainly wouldn't expect big rocks in rural areas. So I would say it has more to do with the city size and income levels rather than just the region.
@lilsweetie: I think everything is bigger in the south...big rings, big hair, big ass, big cars and big houses. I love it and the low cost of living!
I always just thought 'big city, big ring' like NYC, Miami, LA, etc. I never really noticed or thought rings were bigger in the south.
@Minutiae: LOL that's really funny! Good ole Texas.
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