E-rings: big versus proportional?

[shanam]

I guess I never really thought about things with a dichotomy like that. While this may be evading the question, I like what I like. Sometimes that includes really big diamonds, but really big diamonds in other settings or on other rings I don't like. So I cannot really classify things as big v. proportional - some big stones look more proportional by virtue of their setting, while others look overdone or ostentatious. I have found myself in love with rings with 1/4 ct stones or with 3 ct stones. So I guess I would vote proportional.

Just how I feel, too. I love my ring and I can carry it off. I don't wear it to "show off" cause I could care less if people think it is real or not. I know it is.
It's like the bracelet I just received. I could have had something a whole lot more bling but as soon as I saw it I
knew it was EXACTLY what I wanted.

 

[musicscrip]

Proportional. My ring size is 6 and I have kindda chobby fingers so anything less than a carat would look funny on my hand so I went with 1.07. I even think 1.5 carat - 2 would still look proportional on my hand. On the other hand, my friend who's a size 3.75, one carat looks big on her.

 

[Mimster]

Given same quality, I would pick proportional since it is an E-ring and I will be wearing it everyday.

 

[bangooroar]

My ring isn't small, but my fingers are very and I'm petite.
I see people write that a 2-3+ carat would just look weird on their hands, so I wonder how "weird" I must look to people?
I think everyone just gets used to what their's is and that becomes their own person norm.
Mine looks proportionate to me I get a gasp every now and then and jewelers always seem to appreciate it, but it doesn't look weird to me.

SwankyMamaOfThree, would love to see a pic of your ring on your hand. I'm sorta concerned that mine looks "odd" too

 

[Hekate]

"Proportional" and "big" are relative, too: I live in NY, and around here my 1.5 carat ring is pretty middle of the road. I just spent three months in London, though, and out there? It definitely felt disproportionate.

So! I'm going to say that I want the biggest ring possible *that* fits my lifestyle. This is also hypothetically in-the-engagement-period, since I don't see myself ever trading in/up (though, hey, anniversary rings are awesome). Quite like how Black Jade put it ....

 

[Stophle]

My ring isn't small, but my fingers are very and I'm petite.
I see people write that a 2-3+ carat would just look weird on their hands, so I wonder how "weird" I must look to people?
I think everyone just gets used to what their's is and that becomes their own person norm.
Mine looks proportionate to me I get a gasp every now and then and jewelers always seem to appreciate it, but it doesn't look weird to me.

I don't think 2-3 carats is too big for an engagement ring. I think most of us are talking enormous honker rings. *LOL* I've seen some that are practically knuckle to knuckle (when you consider the center stone + a setting with a ton going on), which to me seems like too much.

That being said, there are some women who have very slender fingers but they're long, so a larger stone looks more proportional than it would on a woman with shorter fingers and there are some women with short and slender fingers who can pull off a big ring very gracefully. Every woman is different.

 

[afsweet]

proportional. some people think diamonds can never be tacky, but IMO it is definitely possible to overdose on diamonds. i think e-rings can reach a point where they look gawdy because they're so massive.

 

[Swanky]

^^no, I actually read comments on here pretty often where people say things like "if I went any bigger than this 1 crt it would just look silly on me!" or "my friend has 3 carats and it looks ridiculous on my finger"
I think it's because they aren't used to seeing that size on them, so it looks odd to them {?}

 

[Contessa]

My ring isn't small, but my fingers are very and I'm petite.
I see people write that a 2-3+ carat would just look weird on their hands, so I wonder how "weird" I must look to people?
I think everyone just gets used to what their's is and that becomes their own person norm.
Mine looks proportionate to me I get a gasp every now and then and jewelers always seem to appreciate it, but it doesn't look weird to me.

You know why? Because you probably exude confidence & wearing it is no big deal.

I have a 5.5 ct Antique Cushion given to me by my husband's Grandmother- it's been in the family for a long time. While I enjoy wearing it (and I don't feel weird), I tend to wear it out only on special occasions, or when we go to Palm Beach- it seems to suit the lifestyle there!

I don't think you have to be a celebrity to have and enjoy beautiful things....including oversized diamonds! After all.....size is relative!!! It's more about how you feel, or as Swanky has said.....what feels normal.

 

[Swanky]

Your's is beautiful BTW! Are you newly engaged?

 

[Contessa]

Your's is beautiful BTW! Are you newly engaged?

Thanks!

Nope. Married to the same great guy for over 12 years !

Just newly upgraded ring!!!

 

[HauteMama]

^^no, I actually read comments on here pretty often where people say things like "if I went any bigger than this 1 crt it would just look silly on me!" or "my friend has 3 carats and it looks ridiculous on my finger"
I think it's because they aren't used to seeing that size on them, so it looks odd to them {?}

Agreed. Culture plays into this a lot. In some areas of the country, 2-3 ct is "normal", while in others many women wear 1/3 ct. In the area I live, most older women do not wear a diamond at all, just a wedding band. And I still say that the style and setting of the ring means a lot, too. A 1.5 ct in a very high setting can appear more ostentatious than a 3 ct in a lower setting. Everyone has their own preferences and everyone has a picture in their head that they are accustomed to seeing. It differs for each person, and what one person sees as "huge" is perfectly proportional to another. There is no universal standard for "proportional". I've seen the pics of your ring, Swanky, and it is perfect.

 

[Stophle]

^^no, I actually read comments on here pretty often where people say things like "if I went any bigger than this 1 crt it would just look silly on me!" or "my friend has 3 carats and it looks ridiculous on my finger"
I think it's because they aren't used to seeing that size on them, so it looks odd to them {?}

Very true and of course ridiculous is also in the eye of the beholder. *LOL* So what may look ridiculous to one person looks perfect to someone else.

I was thinking about this thread earlier and I noticed that I'm wearing a blue topaz ring today that has a pretty nice sized stone, probably presents at 2-2.5 or 3 carats and it looks gorgeous on me. If I were to have a diamond of that size I would totally wear it. (While my fiance and I lived in our box under the freeway because we would have to sell everything we own and then take out a loan to afford it. *LOL*)

I wonder, does cut play a big part in how a certain sized stone looks on as well? My engagement ring is an asscher and the blue topaz I'm wearing today is more of a radiant or oblong (rectangular) cushion shape, which I like more in larger stones than I do a round brilliant.

 

[Stophle]

I have a 5.5 ct Antique Cushion given to me by my husband's Grandmother- it's been in the family for a long time.

You MUST post pictures of this, I require it. *LOL* It sounds heavenly!

 

[Stophle]

Agreed. Culture plays into this a lot. In some areas of the country, 2-3 ct is "normal", while in others many women wear 1/3 ct. In the area I live, most older women do not wear a diamond at all, just a wedding band.

That's a good point. I think my engagement ring is actually kind of on the smallish side compared to many women in Houston and certainly where I work, but when my fiance's mother saw it she evidently commented to my future sister-in-law that it was "too big". She wears what must be a .15 or .20 stone on a thick gold band with a matching wedding band that she got at a pawnshop years ago.

Of course my future mother-in-law also had comments about how much my ring ended up costing, even though we didn't go into debt at all over it (fiance and I were both adamant about that, we didn't want to use credit so made sure it was within the budget of the amount fiance saved). Her comments were hurtful considering up until we told her we finally got the ring, she'd been bugging my fiance to hurry up and get a ring on my finger everytime she spoke with him. When he finally did she was negative about it.

People will always be judgemental over one thing or another when it comes to "the ring", so as long as the one wearing it is happy and thinks it looks good nothing else really matters.

***edit***

Oh and Swanky, do you have a picture of your ring you could post? I've ready descriptions you've given of it before and it sounds gorgeous, I'd love to see it.