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

Don - not sure why you're being so snarky?

Stacia

You are dead on. Pricing is factored by a chart which calculates price per carat. So if you can find something cut well just under 1 carat (hard to find), or just under 1,5, 2, 2.5, 3 etc you will get the best value.

Cut and color are most important when discussing performance of a diamond. Even if its a GIA excellent cut, don't trust that it is perfect.....there is still a large room for error here. Make sure you are getting light performance test on the diamond which will show how much light leakage your diamond allows.

To sum it up, buying a diamond solely off of size is ridiculous. Size, cut and color are all important. What order of importance are all dependent on the woman's eye.

I don't even know how many carats my ring is (well, I know it's less than one). And the center jewel is an emerald not diamond! I love it and it's perfect. If it's what you love, who cares if the jeweler thinks it should be bigger?

Thanks for your input Ashley. Aren't you the one that wore a 1 carat CZ? So is that the industry standard? Base everything against my fiance's ring and anything that size or bigger is ridiculous and anything smaller is "ok"

Got it. Coding the website now. I will make millions off of your idea.

Alina - How am I being snarky?

Yes I did. And you are being an ass. It's unnecessary.

Funny how you can make snide remarks in all of your post towards me but the minute I return the favor I am the one that is out of line.

Don, you might think you're making a harmless generalization by saying that, if people could afford "better, then they would, but that's definitely not always the case. Believe it or not, there are people in the world who have money for things but DON'T buy them. It's called saving. Or being responsible. Or just plain simple they-don't-want-a-huge-rock.

My comment wasn't snide. I was being serious. I think her ring is ridiculously huge - you asked, I told.

Kathleen

Thanks for the financial advice. By afford I mean disposable income. After all investments, retirement, IRAs, 529s, mortgage (if you have one) etc are met.

I did acknowledge there is a percentage of people (less than 10% probably) that can afford much more but choose not to. The rest spend within their means or more than their means. Or maybe I found the jackpot of uber rich conservative people in the weddingwire!!!!

And I was being serious and factual as well. I ask did you not wear a 1 carat (considered large to some) CZ?

You have proven my point. What is considered large to some is not to others.

I didn't ask for your opinions on my fiance's ring. Thanks for the input though.

I asked if there were an INDUSTRY standard for what was considered a large stone.

And by stone I mean diamond, not CZ

I am also in that 10%. I could have money coming out of my ass but to me anything bigger is just not practical. It already gets snagged on my pockets! Yay for being a minority

@Don N.:

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

I certainly would (although I'd substitute "she" for "he" in that sentence). I had a very expensive engagement ring, with a 2.75 caret stone, with my first wedding. (I had inherited a ring from my grandmother, and we had it reset to make my engagement ring.) That thing made me nervous for the whole 20 years I wore it, and I still have nightmares about it. I don't want to be wearing anything valuable enough so that someone might kill or injure me to get it. Long before I met NotFroofy, I had decided that if I ever remarried, I did not want an engagement ring at all.

Bigger is not always better--in diamonds, as in other things. ;-)

I know what you asked - and I did answer you.

But "So is that the industry standard? Base everything against my fiance's ring and anything that size or bigger is ridiculous and anything smaller is "ok"

Got it. Coding the website now. I will make millions off of your idea." was absolutely unnecessary and asinine.

I also agree with 2d Bride. Don't want something that screams "cut off my finger/rob me" lol

I know what you meant by stone. Not really sure why you felt the need to point that out.

You certainly give alot of opinions about things that people don't ask about, but it's not okay when someone does it to you?

@2d: My engagement ring is something I intend to wear every day for the rest of my life. I don't want something huge that I'm going to be afraid of losing, damaging, etc. We seriously almost considered just going with wedding bands, but FH really wanted to buy me a ring I want a practical ring. Not a monstrosity.

I totally understand! When we started ring shopping, we went to a big name place that "specializes" in engagement rings, and the experience was really good, but the push to get a 2 carat ring was ridiculous. I knew that I wanted a princess cut solitair, and that we wanted it as close to a carat as we could get it, but still have decent color, cut, clarity, etc. My ring ended up being .91CT SI2/I color. Which is exactly what FH wanted. And we ended up being way under budget (like, $1,000 under budget).

Ashley, I have no problems with opinions. I thanked you for it didn't I?

You need to find whatever it is you are mad about in life and fix it. Good luck to you.

I used to work for a diamond jewelry manufacture. Its funny that women want something and the guys want to go bigger. When my FH was ring shopping he was nervous about the ring. Its because I worked at a jewerly manufature and I used to be engaged. My first ring was a 1ct hearts on fire diamond (perfectly cut diamond). Now my ring has maybe a half ct stone in the center with diamonds. It isn't about the size its about what you're comfortable in. Plus you can always upgrade the center stone later in life.

My cousin just got engaged back in December and her ring is really pretty but it almost looks fake because the diamond is probably a good 1 1/2 maybe a little bigger...but thats just my opinion I think some diamonds look fake once they get to a cretin carat. I love mine it was my grandmothers when my grandfather ask her to marry him