Engagement rings: Europe vs. US vs. Asia?

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#16
This is a very interesting thread. In Asia I believe the size of diamond is way smaller than US, mostly because women have tiny fingers :p and they rather sacrifice the size for the quality of diamond. I also think the US celebrities have encourage people there to get bigger rock as well by showing off their bling bling.
 
#17
Here in Hong Kong I rarely see women wearing both their engagement ring and band. I sometimes see women just wearing a plain band on their ring finger. I have always wondered why HK women aren't into big blings...
 
#18
in asia most woman get one ring and in america they give you an engagement ring and wedding band seperately... :D
but in most asian culture... there's so much given, and not just a ring.
for example... i'm from south korea...
husband: purchases a home, ring, honeymoon, a chest filled with 2-3 different sets of jewels, clothes (custome made), and a few more goodies...
wife: furnishes home, ring, watch, clothes (custom made), gifts for immediate family members (but also others if you want), 1 property of some sort, and a few more goodies...
Not all families follow this... but most do try to... but within their comfort zone... no debt...
i think woman aren't into bigger diamonds because, they'd rather save or use it towards something... and also because, what if u lose it or it's stolen... this is just my opinion...
when i'm back in the states... there's so many woman with beautiful rings! It's fun to see^^
my mother inlaw wasn't too happy that i wanted a large diamond... and a wedding band!
I love being korean-american^^
 
#19
bibble said:
in asia most woman get one ring and in america they give you an engagement ring and wedding band seperately... :D
but in most asian culture... there's so much given, and not just a ring.
for example... i'm from south korea...
husband: purchases a home, ring, honeymoon, a chest filled with 2-3 different sets of jewels, clothes (custome made), and a few more goodies...
wife: furnishes home, ring, watch, clothes (custom made), gifts for immediate family members (but also others if you want), 1 property of some sort, and a few more goodies...
Not all families follow this... but most do try to... but within their comfort zone... no debt...
i think woman aren't into bigger diamonds because, they'd rather save or use it towards something... and also because, what if u lose it or it's stolen... this is just my opinion...
when i'm back in the states... there's so many woman with beautiful rings! It's fun to see^^
my mother inlaw wasn't too happy that i wanted a large diamond... and a wedding band!
I love being korean-american^^
Click to expand...

ditto here. i'm chinese living in the philippines.

not to brag but when i got married i got a townhouse from my parents. jewelry - one of them a ruby ring & earrings set. the ruby in the middle is about 3 or 4 carats then surrounded with marquis diamonds (it's been sitting in the closet and was out only once or twice, and i've been married for almost 20 years). other pieces of jewelry are a 1 carat each solitaire earrings, a pair of pearl earrings, a 3 carat diamond ring (which i've converted into a pendant and now want to convert it back into a ring but haven't done so).

we also have the chest of pieces of cloth (just cloth not outfits so the bride can do whatever she wants with them) and whatnots.

then there's the groom side. we got a sedan and i got simple jewelry (well because my MIL wasn't into jewelry). they also provided the wedding rings. we don't even wear it bec it's too thick. it has 5 diamonds each in a gold band. but lately though they have been coming out with wedding rings with the groom's in plain metals (platinum, gold etc) and the bride's side has stones in them.

and the groom's side pays for the entire wedding including the whole entourage's clothes down to the shoes. the bride pays for the make up service on the wedding day for the whole entourage.

all these are displayed in the new house or room (if the daughter in law will be living at the in law's house) for all the guests to see.

and no, i didn't have an engagement ring.

i also agree on the saving part. personally i think jewelry is just something to make myself pretty. some say it's an investment, but we, as husband and wife just buy small pieces of property then rent it out.
 
#20
Yep, in Asia people prefer to save money for property than to buy big bling, maybe bacause of the unstable of economy and people want to protect their money by investing in property or gold, not jewelry.

I do agree that the groom has to pay a lot for a wedding, not just a e-ring. I myself got one set of jewelry (e-ring, studs, necklace) for my engagement and another set for my wedding from DH, plus a wedding band, of course. The groom also has to pay for the party and other stuff, gift and hotels for his relatives. All I have done to my wedding is to find out the best gown for me and a make-up specialist, which is paid by him too :lawl:
 
#21
Interesting thread. I think in general that people with more money have bigger stones, regardless of the country. I have actually read that the numbers of the middle class and the wealthy are increasing in China and that people are buying rings with bigger diamonds there--bigger than ever before.

I've traveled a bit and have noticed that in many countries women only wear a gold wedding band, not an engagement ring. And in many countries people prefer yellow gold (not white gold, not platinum)
 
#22
I live in HK and the average size depends on who you're marrying..

I've seen everything from 0.3 carats to well over 3 carats. For my friends, I would say the average is 1.5-2.5. Mine is 1.7 and quite often it feels like it's 'too small'...which is ridiculous, I know!
I tend to wear my wedding band (which has 3.5 carats) more often than my e-ring now..

I should mention that all my friends have great quality stones.. They are normally F or above in colour and great clarity and cut.
 
#23
lumkeikei said:
Here in Hong Kong I rarely see women wearing both their engagement ring and band. I sometimes see women just wearing a plain band on their ring finger. I have always wondered why HK women aren't into big blings...
Click to expand...

Where in HK are you? I tend to be around Central area so maybe that's why the 'average' is larger...
 
#25
In the UK it's customary to have a diamond solitaire as an engagement ring and then have a plain band for a wedding band. In mine and DBF's families, all the older ladies only wear their wedding rings - it's not considered odd to just wear the one ring.

Amongst my friends, the size of the diamond is dictated solely by finances at the time of purchase and I'm pretty sure quality was a lesser concern! I think the largest ring is about 0.7cts and the majority are between 0.4 and 0.6, all are worn with wedding ring - shows how times change!

I'm really glad you posted the article, OP, to show that there are differences between cultures as I'd been getting the impression from tPF that anything less than a carat was small and that it was normal for women to upgrade their original rings. Personally, I'd be really happy to receive an eternity band or a solitaire as an e-ring and will wear it with a wedding ring. For me it's all about the sentiment behind the gift and not about how big the diamond is! I don't think I'd ever want to change it later in life as then it wouldn't be my e-ring, it would be a gift :smile1:
 
#27
I think in the US it's really about your social circle and culture.

I live in Southern California and people here will forego owning property to have something beautiful on their finger and a leased Range Rover. It's really just depends on the local culture and economy I think. I was raised in both Coastal and Inland California and can say my friends who are engaged living in Orange County (coastal) definitely have larger (and almost always diamond) center stones than those living in Riverside (inland) where other less expensive and smaller gemstones are typically the center of the setting.
 
#28
It is really a very US thing. Here in Europe, many don't have huge e-rings and it isn't always diamond either. Think the newly(-ish) wedded William & Catherine. Saphire or ruby e-rings are not uncommon.
 
#30
I live in Rhode Island part of the time and in Italy (in a rural place) part of the time. In RI my 1.16 ct is on the small side, but here in the Italian countryside it is a huge rock and sometimes a little over the top. I wear it less here than in the US.

I found your articles and the replies very interesting.
 
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