Buying engagement ring.

iguana

This is a thread from someone who wants to stay anonymous;

I've done a bit of research and know what I'm looking for, so I'm now ready to buy the ring, hopefully next weekend! The only thing is that the proposal is going to be a surprise, my girlfriend has no idea what I'm up to. I think she half expects me to ask her around the time of her 30th in a few months time, but I'd like to keep them as two separate events to make them both a bit more memorable for her. Obviously this means that I can't bring her shopping with me, and she's mentioned in the past how she doesn't like the whole "cheap proposal ring" idea, so buying one now and shopping for the real ring with her later is a non-runner.

So this leads me to my question, what's an acceptable size diamond? I was working on the assumption of 1 carat as a nice round number (I freely admit I have no idea how big or small that is ), until someone told me the other day that he was told 1 carat was a bit big and that he'd been advised by the jeweller to go for a diamond between 0.5-0.75 carat. So what size diamond should I be looking for so that it doesn't look small and pathetic, but similarly doesn't look oversized and unflattering? My girlfriend's fingers would be fairly long and slender, in case that makes any difference.

ThePiedPiper

Anonymous,
A lot will depend on the sort of style jewelry your OH is into. My wife prefers discreet, not too flashy but elegant jewelery, and as her job involves a lot of outdoor and physical work, there'd be no point in me having bought something too bling. I decided on a .5 carat ring with smaller diamonds in the shoulder. All her jewelery is silver, so I went with a platinum setting. My wife had told me once that she'd want the real ring so I was in the same boat as yourself.

The point about engagement rings is that they will be worn every day, in every situation for the rest of your OHs life. That'll include at work, sports (if that's her thing), changing nappies :eek:, gardening, etc, etc. I think a lot of people forget this and to be honest, someone wearing a 2 carat monster sparkler will look wrong somehow if they're not all dressed up to match. That's my male opinion in any case, maybe the ladies will be different.

Best of luck with the proposal and the ring buying.

feest

Hi OP, congratulations!

As RunForestRun said, it's all about your girlfriend's personal taste and lifestyle. But remember that the size of the stone is only part of the appearance; the setting and shape of stone impact a lot as well. I have fairly long, thin fingers and a 0.75 carat round cut ring and it looks plenty big (to me anyway!). The setting is square, giving the appreance that the diamond is much larger. I was recently at the jewelers to have the ring resized and he guessed the ring to be over 1 carat given the optical illusion of the setting. I'm happy to PM you a picture if you're curious

tinkerbell

OP, did your gf say that she didn't like the idea of you proposing without a ring, or just the part where you buy a cheap ol ring to propose with?

I don't like the idea of buying something cheap just to have something to propose with (I just think it's a waste of money), however I love the idea of going to pick out my own ring. I wouldn't like to be proposed to with a ring. You just never know what style ring suits you until you try it on.

aviendha

tinkerbell wrote: »

I love the idea of going to pick out my own ring. I wouldn't like to be proposed to with a ring. You just never know what style ring suits you until you try it on.

+1
it's so hard to know what suits a hand until you try it on - I was convinced I'd have a solitaire, but tried it on and just looked lost on my hands, and ended up with a trilogy. I've got quite big hands and 1 carat solitaire looked lonesome, however the same ring looks almost obnoxious on more delicate hands - has your OH done any trying on at all for style?

It's just very hard to apply a standard rule of "oh get a 0.5 - 0.75 carat" - one size literally does not fit all..

Best of luck at this exciting time!!