Like RubberSoul was talking about, I've always been on the smaller end of the diamond spectrum... I have really tiny hands, and anything bigger than 3/4 carat looks like a mountain on me.

I actually wear my former engagement ring every day, with my ex-fiance's blessing. (I do wear it on my right hand though, not my left!) It's a gold band with 12 very small diamonds channel set. Not a traditional engagement ring so much, but it's pretty, looks nice on me, and was the best he could afford at the time, which was fine by me.

In the future though.... I want either a 1/2 or 3/4 carat diamond on a gold band...either a solitare with the 6 prong Tiffany set or with the two smaller side diamonds. But really, I'll be happy with whatever I get. I guess I need to get a boyfriend first though, hm? :D

I always do get a lot of suprised remarks when people find out what the meaning behind my ring is :)

We had a pretty unusual situation though - my parents actually knew him before I was born...they used to babysit him (eek!) and we've been friends since we both were in diapers (well, I'm guessing he was out by the time I was born...he is 6 years older than me, LOL) We got engaged in large part because our families pressured us into it, but both realized we really were better off just being very close friends.

He's still my best friend on earth...we went through a few years of awkwardness, during which time I did give him the ring back, but he gave it back to me again and asked me to wear it as a symbol of our friendship. Awww :)

My bestfriend just got engaged and she showed me her ring on Saturday. Her diamond is 1.57 carats and it is beautiful. I guess it really pays off to work in a jewelry store :)

for engagement rings, i would pick the center diamond at least with G/H in color, VS2/SI1 in clarity, and Very Good as the Cut, and i think that's usually the min standard for most shoppers when they pick the center diamond. then buy as big diamond as possible according to your budget.

Agreed, but I'd be much happier with a smaller diamond as I don't like it catching on anything.

I don't really care how big the diamond is. I have small hands so smaller is probably better. Clarity is also something that is not important. It's not like I will have a microscope up to check anyway.
When my boyfriend proposes, I will just be glad it is him. Granted we already talked about rings and I think he has already bought it, but he won't be proposing for another year. Yay for talks to the father.:rolleyes:

My wife and I agree that diamonds are extremely overrated. They are not rare, the value in them is created by a manipulated market and the impact of diamond mining in Africa has been horrific. We absolutely don't do diamonds.

I got her a tsavorite engagement ring. Tsavorite is a deep-green garnet, much rarer than diamonds, actually, but not nearly as expensive. She got a remarkable ring out of the deal for not a lot of money.

Unfortunately, she just lost the stone off of the ring, (another good reason not to spend too much money on jewelry) so we're having a hell of a time with the jeweler trying to find a new stone.

Stealth marketers are bad people.

I agree! I have a friend that would not accept a ring that was less than 1.5 carats. He ring is gorgeous, but it didn't make her marriage work out! Another friend wanted at least 2 carats, and while she is happily still married, I don't think her marriage is any better than mine because she has a big rock on her hand.

Then again, I'm not really much of a jewelry person. The few pieces of nice jewlery that I have I love because of who they came from, not because of how big they are, or how much they are worth. I no longer equate love with expensive jewelry!

I'm more of a white gold girl then yellow gold.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k7...armo/ring1.jpg

I have a 1/2 carat center stone and 7 stones on each side that total up to .25 for a total of .75 of a carat on the engagement ring. My wedding band matches the band on the engtagement ring for a total of 1 carat over all. Plus I agree with KSUViolet, I'm 5'2" and a huge ring would look strange on my small fingers.

Down Payment on a House > Obnoxious Engagement Ring

This is how my husband and I thought about it too. Plus, my Mom never had an engagement ring (it was furniture or a ring? for them and Mom was too practical to not see the obvious choice) so I didn't grow up coveting her big sparkler or anything. My husband had already given me some gorgeous diamond earrings for a Valentine's day gift, that's enough diamond for me. He bought me a very meaningful ring (for us) when we got engaged and then we picked out equally meaningful bands. I do not get some women's obsession with engagement rings and assigning so much meaning and spending so much money on an accessory. The wedding band is your bond. But that's just me.