Average engagement ring / diamond in NYC?

J

janboy

Member
Jul 30, 2007
5
0
#1
Hi, I'm a guy looking at engagement rings in New York City.

I've often heard that the average engagement ring in New York City has a ~2 carat diamond. Is this really true? I've lived here for several months now, and find this very hard to believe. I see plenty of women in their 20's and 30's marrying (or married to) lawyers, investment bankers, or doctors that have diamonds much closer to 1.25-1.5 carats. After diamond researching for over a year, I've gotten pretty good at judging carat weight.

Am I just hanging around the an unrepresentative crowd? Do people just not commonly know how big a 2 carat diamond looks? Or, are people referring to the total carat weight of the ring, rather than that of the center stone?
 
#2
Well, a lot of people choose color, cut and clarity over carat size.

But I would think that in NYC an average engagement ring would be around 1.5-2.5 carats.

Most of my friends have that size range for their engagement rings, but I live in AZ so I'm not of much help LOL
 
#3
You should post this question on Pricescope. I read that the average diamond in New York is 1.5 ct. but that the average diamond in the rest of the U.S. is MUCH less. I think that DeBeers published a chart by zone.
 
#4
^ Would love to see that chart.

I am sure in big cities the avg size is larger, but I think many people do not take into account the 4 C's... and I would MUCH prefer ideal/excellent color, clarity, cut than size :yes:
 
#7
Go for the other 3 c's before carat weight! Something with higher clarity and colour and a better quality of cut will always look better than something bigger with inclusions and lower colour.
 
#10
Actually i've seen a good number in the 1.0 to 1.5 range for the center stone in the this area. I've seen a flawless 6.0 carat ring on a former boss (she was much older and her DH was a gazillionaire) that looked exquisite on her but I've seen 2.5 carat rings that look tacky on an associate. My dental hygenist used to have a 5 carat ring and the color and clarity were awful..you can see the imperfections from afar. Definitely go for the other 3 c's first.
 
#12
Thanks for all the responses. I wasn't planning on sacrificing quality for size; I was just curious about what size of diamond is truly typical in Manhattan, particularly amongst lawyers, bankers, and doctors (or their spouses).

My impression is that people drastically over-estimate carat weight. Many believe a diamond to be about 2 carats when they are more like 1.3-1.5.
 
#13
^Hmm well diamonds can look bigger on small hands, for example.

It also depends on if you re talking about the solitary stone or the total weight of the band, etc.

I would say that at least 2 carats would be my estimate for an average engagement ring in that income bracket.
 
#15
Good points about center stone weight vs. total carat weight and mode vs. mean.

2 carats for the entire ring seems a lot more plausible in professional circles. I certainly have noticed that women in Manhattan are less shy about having flashier rings--a ring without pave seems to be a rare exception.

I bet the mean is a little misleading. There are a disproportionate number of ridiculously wealthy individual people in New York City. Bankers and lawyers just don't compare, although they too are certainly wealthy by most standards.

Working in a major law firm in the city, my guess is that the center stone of a typical engagement ring worn by a mid-to-senior associate (or one's spouse) is much closer to 1.5 carats than 2 carats. Of course, people like to glamorize city life and thus frequently over-estimate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back