Does The Size Of Your Engagement Ring Really Matter?

It’s an age-old question. Is bigger really better? No, we’re not talking about that! Get this is a jewelry blog not Dr. Ruth’s website. We’re talking about engagement rings. Does the size of your diamond (or whatever stone you choose – last week we gave you X reasons why you might want to choose a colored stone engagement ring), really represent how much your future spouse loves you? Does it ensure that you’ll have a solid marriage and stay together forever? And if you have a “tiny” ring, should you upgrade later? All great questions and addressed in the backlash of a Facebook post that went viral a few weeks ago.

Is Bigger Really Better?

Rachel Pedersen and her husband eloped in 2013. Shortly after that, well-meaning friends and family began with the questions and rude comments asking about her engagement ring’s size and inquiring if she planned on upgrading it? Some even went so far as to suggest that she may want to wear a different ring altogether in professional settings, so that people would refrain from thinking her unsuccessful.

She penned the post in defense of her ring and the response was amazing and even a little frightening. It would it appear that her comments hit a tender spot with women around the world – she had more than 189,000 likes, 48,000 shares and 16,000 comments. Huffington Post caught wind and reached out to their readers and Facebook followers, asking them to speak out about why they love their engagement rings, no matter the cost or size. They then posted replies from 17 women out of thousands.

But not all of the comments Rachel received were positive and supportive. Some women with larger rings took offense. She later wrote a second post, assuring women with big diamonds that she’s not a hater and that the size of their ring doesn’t mean it’s any more or any less important to them. She actually points out that her original question was, “Wait a minute…. Since when did the size of someone’s ring become an indication of success?!” We think that’s a valid question, no matter whether a ring is big or small.

Having had a fairly large diamond with my first marriage (for those of you new to the page, the first time was a disaster. I got it right the second time around) and having a gorgeous historical stone now that is bigger than the first, I can tell you first-hand that in both cases, the ring did not make (or break) the marriage nor was it a sign either time of how loved or successful I was or we were. So, what do you think? Do you have a big ring? Small ring? No ring? Do you think it matters? Tell us in the comments!

And if you want to go read the HuffPost article, you can find it here. And you can find Rachel’s rebuttal to all of the backlash here.