Is .5 carat diamond too small for engagement ring?

Question

I am in the market for a engagement ring. I am going with loose diamonds and then pick the setting that i think my gf will like. My question is this:

Is a .52 carat loose diamond too small ? This is the actual weight of that diamond and not what is referred by some marketing gimmick as "total weight or tcw (total carat weight)"


The other numbers are very good for the diamond such as,
Color: E
Clarity: VVS1
Cut: Very Good

I have no idea if half carat diamond will be too small. Obviously I would like to get a 1 carat but they are pretty expensive and even though i could afford it I just think that they are too much for a stone.

any advice ? oh yes, i would like to get answers from guys & gals. I know most of the girls would say its not enough because for most there is a psychological barrier of diamonds below 1 carat (or so i heard) so i would like to hear from guys too !!

Answer 1

Surprisingly, the Carat is the last number that should be considered when purchasing a diamond. The first thing that you should look at is the Cut. After all, the Cut determines if you get the most out of the diamond that you can get. 'Ideal' or 'very good' is exactly where you should be. Next is Color. D-F is colorless, G-I is near colorless, etc. Anything in the D-F range should be perfect. Then comes Clarity, IF is absolutely flawless (good luck finding these below $10,000) and VVS1, VVS2 follow that. Since it is VVS1, I'd say that you're doing great. LAST comes Carat. If you have all the other specifications that you listed earlier, I would say that you are getting a FANTASTIC diamond.

A lot of women say that they will not take less than 1.00 carat and others say that anything over 1.00 carat is gaudy. I would say that a .52 carat diamond that is as close to perfect as you can get without blowing the bank is worth WAY more than a larger stone that is brownish with a bad cut and even worse clarity. If your girl knows anything about diamonds, she'll agree.

She'll love the stone you picked out.

Answer 2

5 Carat Diamond Engagement Ring

Answer 3

http://www.ajediam.com/Sizes-of-Diamonds.html

There's a link so you can visually see how big it'll be. A half carat diamond is a pretty good size. That's actually the national average. However it also depends on the girl. I know for me, I'm rather skinny, so an average diamond looks exceptionally big on me. On a bigger person, an average diamond may look like a speck of glitter. That's up to your judgement. Personally, I think a half carat diamond is a good size. Of course I can tell that you did your research on diamonds, and I can tell that you're smart because you're buying the diamond separate. Most people aren't smart enough to figure out that it costs way less to buy the ring and the setting separately! A diamond with E color and VVS1 clarity is a really really great diamond too. But, I hope I'm not reiterating your research, but D and E color is almost colorless. You could easily get a G or H diamond that would be bigger for the same price (it would only cost less because the color is a little less on the scale). Trust me, I have a diamond in that range and I've compared it to others and it looks exactly the same. The only difference is under the microscope whereas the diamond size can be seen by everyone. The same goes with the clarity. VVS1 is really great, but a VS1 looks almost the same! I just though I'd give you that advice if you haven't heard it already. But, in my opinion, a half carat is great!!! She'll be so pleased, and I know I was when I got my engagement ring!!! Good luck!

Answer 4

5 Carat Engagement Ring

Answer 5

Like everyone says it depends on the girl. However you can also get a round cut with more surface area. mine has a flatter top and therefore looks bigger than it is. My mother has had a .6 carat for 30 yrs and loves it. If you get a solitare and nothing with accents on the side, you can get a wrap later on for an anniversary. Not to mention she can get diamonds on the wedding band if she wants it to sparkle more too.

I have a friend who is a vet. She needed a smaller ring b/c it had to fit into the latex gloves and a bigger ring might tear through the gloves.

How big is the rest of her jewelry? I know I would love a gorgeous diamond. Quality over quantity. However my sister would much rather have a much larger stone--and lower the clarity and color. You can get a J stone and get over a carat for the same price. However, I would much rather have the one you picked out.

In my husbands family, after the wedding--they don't wear the engagement ring at all. It's only from the engagement til the marriage. I couldn't bare it--so I wear them both. But they pick small stones--often not even diamonds--since it will be worn less than a year.

Also there is always the option of accenting it with other stones. My friend has sapphires--her birthstone--on each side of her ring. It was cheaper than accent diamonds.

As far as the physical barrier--yes there is a barrier at 1carat. However, that barrier is cost. The cost of a .95 and a 1.00 carat is a huge difference in cost. 1 carat jumps the price a lot.

There really is no mandatory expression of love. It's not like you love her more if you buy a 2 carat. I've seen numerous women saying they'd much rather their man save that money for the house than spend it on a rock to sit in a jewelry box.

Besides--the engagement ring and the wedding are minor things. No one gets divorced b/c the wedding wasn't big enough. What matters is the love you express and similar views in life--morally, financially, (look on Amazon for Questions Before you marry, tons of books on this topic)--the big things in life...where you want to live, what if you can't have children, religious values, does one of you want to be a Stay-at-home parent....if you have discussed this, you share beliefs and values, you have compromised on the other issues and you have trust and honesty....a mere gift that symbolizes all that is merely a minor symbol of a greater thing.

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Is .5 carat diamond too small for engagement ring?
I am in the market for a engagement ring. I am going with loose diamonds and then pick the setting that i think my gf will like. My question is this:

Is a .52 carat loose diamond too small ? This is the actual weight of that diamond and not what is referred by some marketing gimmick as...

Answer 7

That's a very good quality diamond, and I'd rather have that than a so-so one that's bigger. Your girlfriend may have a different opinion though. If she is petite, a .52 carat round diamond will be a good enough size. If she's larger, it may look dinky. Round (brilliant cut) diamonds are always cheaper because they can be cut by a computer. All other shapes must be cut by hand, which means more waste, and a higher price. There is a really good calculator at www.bluenile.com that helps you see what you can get for a certain price. I wouldn't suggest buying from them, as I would want to see the diamond in person before purchase.

Answer 8

I think mine is a .6 carat. When my husband asked me what size and cut I liked, I told him "Large enough that you can see it without a microscope, but small enough that I can still fit my hand into my pants pocket without snagging, and I prefer round cuts." The rest was up to him.

Take a look at how it looks in a setting - that should give you a better idea of the overall proportion. If you get a huge setting that overwhelms it, then yeah, it's too small. If you go with a simple 6-prong setting, it may be okay.

I think any woman who would get more hung up on the "under 1 carat" thing when a man was asking her to spend his life with him isn't worth the man's time. If the size of the diamond is more important than the meaning behind it, then she's not worth it, IMHO.

Answer 9

My diamond is .33 carats (actual) weight, I picked it out myself and designed my engagement ring with my husband. It is not too small, it is perfect (big diamonds look fake to me anyway).

I find this whole idea of "how big it is" in regards to diamonds and engagement rings to be ridiculous. I wanted something tasteful and beautiful that followed the tradition of having an engagement ring without having my husband-to-be go broke over it (meaning I'd be broke too since we were getting married). Who wants to wear a car or a house downpayment on my hand everyday! There are better things to spend your money on.

I think that an engagement ring should be something that is given from the heart and it's value should not be measured in carats but in the commitment that comes with it. If it's true love, I think your fiance will be thrilled by whatever ring you give her since it came from you.

Answer 10

Color, cut, and clarity are much more important. A small rock that really sparkles will be much more impressive than a big rock that's cloudy, has visible inclusions, and is yellow (unless your fiancee-to-be is so materialistic that size of the ring matters).
I spent loads of money on a really nice, custom-made platinum setting, and a high quality .72 carat rock. She wasn't complaining about the size.
I don't know where you grew up, but most women I know have no "psychological barrier" of diamonds, especially if a nice, 1-2,000 stone is what you can afford now on your budget (most girls would rather have a guy who doesn't start their marriage in debt over the ring!)

(To be honest, if she loves you, she'll take a candy ring...)

(P.S. "crzy" is CRAZY. Go to a jewelry store and look at the difference between an idea or very good cut stone, E-G color, VVS or VS1 and compare it to a "good" cut stone (the light doesn't reflect as well and it's not sparkly(), J color (it's yellow, ESPECIALLY if you put it in white gold or platinum) or SI (the stone may be murky, cloudy, or just not that refractive).