1 or 2 carats...really?!? Sort of Venting

Its all about basic economics really. Now I will say the jeweler you went to was not very consultative, almost sounded like a used car salesman.

Buy whatever size you are comfortable with and can afford. Be happy with what you have no matter what it is.

But don't tell me if money were no object you would be looking for a stone that was less than 1 carat.

95% of the time your budget dictates the quality AND size of your stone. The more the budget, the higher the quality and bigger the diamond. Basic economics.

My jeweler asked me first what shape of stone and style of ring I was looking for. She showed me a couple that were big and bad. I told her I want a VVSI, color has to be H or higher and no larger than half a carat. She was blown away by not only knowing exactly what I wanted, but also knowing what quality I wanted. My FH bought me THE most flawless stone in the store and it is just beautiful on my little hand with my no nonsense wedding band.

Edited because adding pic deleted some of my text. Do your homework, you will get the respect and treatment you deserve when making such an important purchase.

I personally don't care about the stone. For example, I am getting a beautiful Cubic Zirconia ring set from Ebay for the wedding and its better than most diamonds that I have seen, it its to match the Tungsten ring that we bought as well.

I am so happy to see someone post this! Mine is 1/2 carat and it is a three stone so the actual diamonds are even smaller than that. They just add up to 1/2 a carat. People are always laughing at me saying it is small and also saying things like "under 2 carats is unacceptable". It makes me so mad because a ring is a symbol of love. It has nothing to do with the size of the diamond. My ring was already $1,000 and people need to understand that not everyone is rich. Also, my hands are super tiny and my ring which is a size 4 is still too big. Something that is over 2 carats would have taken up my whole hand! Everyone is all about materialism and they get so wrapped up in it that they forget about the actual meaning of the ring.

Yet another reason I'm happy we didn't have engagement rings...

Don- Clearly even if I did tell you that, you would not believe me so moving on

Mine is 3/4 and i LOVE it.... I have tiny fingers too... I wear size 4.... and even getting this ring was a PAIN! He bought it, and they sized it, and somehow ruined it because it was so small, so they had to special order another one and have it specially made and it took 4 months for it to come in! So we had been talking about getting engaged and I am sitting here wondering why he hasn't asked me, so he eventually told me the situation, that he was waiting for the ring to come in... because it was so hard to make it that small without risking having the diamond loose or something...so I can't imagine how difficult it would be if it were any bigger! ANYWAY.. I LOVE my ring and I wouldn't want ANYTHING else!

OH and to point out, the reason we got a smaller diamond had nothing to do with our budget He actually was going to buy me a 1.5 ct... but the one I have looks way nicer!

ALSO- random thought, how ugly was Kim K's ring! It looked like something I had seen at Claires!

Oh and when I say they ruined it because it was so small, I mean the ring size, not the diamond... the diamond was too big for the ring size which is what made it so hard to size* Just clarifying!

Read again ladies. I never said budget dictates only size. Budget dictates quality AND size.

Katie, like you said....you got a ring that was smaller but it looks way nicer (quality)

But what if he could afford a larger AND perfectly cut/colored stone. Would you say no?

If so, that is great and you are amongst a small percentage of women that would. Good for you!

My fiance didn't dictate what I got her. She didn't have any input in the process. She was happy with whatever she got and even though it was bigger than she expected, she did not tell me to return it. (I had a 60 day return policy)

Too big for the ring size? What jeweler and setting were you using??

I was the best man at my childhood friend's wedding and they set her rock on her setting just fine. She is a size 4 and her center stone was 3+ carats

I agree! Mine's a 1/2. FH had the choice of a 1 carat with flaws or a nearly perfect 1/2. I have tiny little fingers (3.25 ring size) and anything bigger would have looked huge on me I think.

Don, the OP was about the jeweler immediately regarding the carat size. Not about budget and what Katie would or would not do. She was not saying she wasn't happy with her ring either.

Well I'm not lying about it lol it happened... and like I said, they had it specially made for me and it's fine now... it was just something about sizing it down from a bigger size

Thanks Ashley and if you read my post clearly then you would know that I commented that the jeweler in question was asking like a used car salesman.

The OP did then go on to discuss size:

"I have seen some ugly ass big diamonds that look like they came straight out of a gumball machine, and some gorgeous smaller diamonds that when the sun hits them just right, they practically blind me."

And I was just mentioning that there are also large diamonds that are cut very well and near flawless. That was more for the others stating that size is tacky and quality is more important. While I do not disagree, why not get both if you can?

I'm pretty sure her point was that it didn't need to be big to be nice and just because it's small doesn't mean it's ugly.

If you can get both then sure, but I am one of "those women" who would say no to the huge size. It's unnecessary to me, but to each there own.

Some insites on diamonds. All 4 C's dictate the cost of the diamond. Loose diamonds come shipped in whats called flutes. All it is is folded tussue paper with regular papet together. 1ct diamonds come by itself which makes them more expensive. If you are looking at a one caret diamond look at stones a little less than a caret. The price will be cheaper. Anything less than a caret comes in multiples which makes them a little cheaper. Cut its really important. If you have a good cut of diamond it can up the price. You can get a little less color quality and get a better cut of diamond and you wont even know the color is bad. The better the cut the more it sparkles. Personally I would rather have a smaller diamond which I do with better quality than a larger one with lesser quality.

Good for you Ashley. But size is also all relative too......so whats huge to one is not to another. Or is there an industry standard that states pass this certain size is considered huge?

Totally true! One of the first things I told my FH was that I wanted quality over quantity. My ring is 1.5 (which is awesome I am NOT complaining) and it's D VS1...I couldn't have asked for a more perfect diamond and would have been happy with a .5 carat!!!

Your "fiance's ring" is ridiculously huge to me.