Do the English, Europeans and Scandinavians find bling vulgar?

[bunnymother]

Here's a nice, tasteful question for you...

I saw the other thread asking about the value of people's wedding, engagement and eternity rings, and it got me thinking that quite often I notice big diamonds on American and, to a lesser extent, Australian women, but not so much on English, European and Scandinavian women. The people I am thinking of are all high earners (or married to), so its not to do with money. I am assuming its to do with taste/preference?

Clarity can be judged by the naked eye in poor clarity diamonds. And colour (certainly yellow) is not good unless its of enough strength and uniformity to be judged a 'special'.

I love diamonds and have a nice sized one on my wedding finger surrounded by little pink diamonds on the band and I'm not British. I fit well into your assumption!

I understood Kim K's diamond was meant to be white, and it was yellowish to the naked eye. Not canary yellow, just off-white (especially compared to the side diamonds) - I was quite suprised. It is possible to see flaws in diamonds with the naked eye, too (I've seen some), and, obviously, some require the lens.

Cross post w Wembley

Great (informed) minds, bunny.

Am chuckling as I type. I really need to do something more productive than speculate on Kim K's diamond!!

I think Kim kardasian had a champagne diamond. It's supposed to be that colour. They are more expensive than a regular diamond.

I'm not a fan on bling. I'd much rather a chunky piece of silver. Dhs Aussie family are dripping in very old fashioned showey jewlery.

'Champagne' diamonds can also be a lot cheaper than white diamonds. It just depends on the total quality. Some that are marketed as such are basically just murky coloured diamonds. Also it depends on if they've been treated or are natural. There's so many variables in a stone.

I'm Australian and definitely don't like bling.

Looking in the jewellery catalogues delivered today (I'm in Perth) I'd say there's a definite trend towards the blingy. Not so much giant solitaires but 19 or 20 little diamonds all clustered around a larger diamond in two or three tiers. Often square cut, too.

I don't like square cut stones. Or bling. Or tiered stones.

Lucky I'm not hunting for an engagement ring

Bling is definitely considered vulgar in Paris. Discretion is all-important here. Austere Catholic tastes are still preponderant.

Well I doubt any of us would get close enough to KK to be able to judge the clarity of her ring [ sounds wrong ].

Hardly think it was bought in Samuels though.

It was from Lorraine Schwartz. I think she provides a bit of kardashian jewellery? [why oh why do I even know that?!?!].

Right, off to the school run, still can't believe I am talking about the kardashians [shaking my head at myself]

I am Swedish and don't like bling.

Most married Swedes I know have one engagement ring and one wedding ring each (both husband and wife). Usually both are plain wedding bands, but sometimes the wedding band has smaller diamonds.

A blingy ring on a woman makes me think of a traditional American housewife. For me personally, it is very important to be seen as my own person rather than someone's wife, so I would avoid it for that reason. I'm not saying you can't be your own person if you live in a traditional marriage, but it's definitely not the life I want and I'm sure that's at least in part because of where I'm from.

And also I would be terrified of losing it.

I could do a big rock of an engagement ring without too much effort if anyone wanted to try me. Most of my friends have fairly significant jewellery, especially those who were married in their 30's. Generally 1-2.5 carat engagement rings, diamond wedding band, diamond studs of around 0.75 - 1ct each and a nice watch cartier / ebel / rolex / omega. They all dress pretty low key Gap / primark / top shop / new look so it doesn't look flashy or over the top at all.

mrsbennett at the rate she's going, its only a matter of time til she posts a selfie of her ring so that people can see the clarity for themselves

Id love a mahoosive diamond, maybe that makes me a bit trashy

From what i have seen from my husband's family the northern Albanians love the bling. I am surprised they can move ... think dinner plate watches, rope necklaces, big engagement and wedding rings all yellow gold. In fact his mum had a go at hubby for being cheap ... no i really wanted subtle white gold. But i think it is seen as some kind of dowry as the groom to be presents to bride to be (both families present) her wedding jewels - usually rings, watch, necklace, bracelet and earrings. The groom usually gets a watch and ring. They are constantly saving for weddings and funerals.

Oh and as an English woman i do find my fellow English countrymen vulgar with this amount of jewelry but i keep lips tightly shut when it comes to dh's family as they are a different culture. Interestingly we can't find a translation of the word vulgar into Albanian.

I think it's a combination of Lutheran/puritan ethic which is strong in this country and the post war austerity which shapes much of the UK's mistrust of bling. Younger people who are less influenced by those values seem to subscribe more to bling than older people.
Alternatively it may be that older people have other things to do with their money!

I work in London but travel to our midtown NY office frequently. Overwhelmingly, women in NY go for bigger is better, and will prefer a huge rock of lesser quality, even if the flaws are visible to the naked eye. In London I see smaller diamonds although I work in the City so they still tend to be sizeable.

I didn't want to sound worthy, just portray the mindset back home. We have a long tradition in it, churches were painted white during Reformation to cover up sinful bling, and there are lots of proverbs to remind that only the ugly need embellishments.

Even if you spend a fortune on designer clothes, they should be as sleek and simple as possible, think Acne or Jil Sander or the Antwerp group. But something you found from the racks of the recycling center is cooler still, even among fashionistas

Curiously, here in Rome, I also see a lot of stylish restraint. If your wealth is very recent, you flaunt it. If you've been around for a while, you are extremely conservative and disciplined. Everything is handmade from highest grade materials, but there is no bling.

I'm south Asian so non one would blink an eye if I went around dripping in gold. However, I prefer diamonds and wear around 6-7 carats daily in rings, pendant and stud earrings. Only my engagement ring has a largeish diamond (though DH definitely didn't spend 3 months' pay or other marketing ploy rubbish) I have never gotten anything but positive comments, but even if I didn't, i don't dress based on other people's opinions so nothing would change. Mostly, people don't really care very much about jewellery. I dress modestly and wear glasses and no makeup and draw little attention overall.

My American friends tend to have bigger diamonds and they are all of excellent quality. The European ones prefer smaller ones. There is more variation within the countries than between them actually.

Yes, I find it vulgar. Although I'm Scottish not English or Scandinavian

Your third paragraph about the 'new money' seems to be the story the world over, frugal.