Others were just offended:

“This is a big rock. A huge rock. A very expensive, obnoxious, stupid fucking rock…When you wear a diamond that big, you’re essentially announcing to everyone that A) You have no sense of subtlety when it comes to flaunting your wealth and B) You enjoy blinding small children…It’s just a shitty way of trying to have your love upstage the love of other, poorer human beings. And it looks stupid.”–Gawker

Au contraire Gawker, a big diamond is just a way to show someone you really love her:

“Buying a half-a-million-dollar diamond definitely shows someone how much you love them. I’m sure she’s happy,” said [jewelry designer] Peter Meksian [who had nothing to do with designing this actual ring].–Celebuzz.

“She’s no longer ‘poor Jen.’ The rock is huge; it takes up half her finger, and screams, at least in gossip mag circles, ‘In your face, Angelina.’”–Herald Sun

Validation through diamonds!

A massive engagement ring is also a great way to win a pissing contest with your fiance’s former lover. Especially if that former lover is Brad Pitt.

“Jennifer Aniston’s engagement ring doesn’t look as delicate or as “pretty” as her first one, the one from ex, Brad Pitt, but there is no question that it is bigger. Evidently in Hollywood, bigger is better.”–Examiner. (there is a euphemism for penis size somewhere in here).

“It has the “wow” factor that it needed to have given the recipient and her history in the spotlight – especially concerning her personal life…That puts a ton of pressure on a guy and we completely sympathize with the predicament he must have faced. In some ways the ring is exactly what it had to be – over the top, not comparable to anything else, and worthy of the attention it would inevitably get.”–Daily Mail

“We just can’t help but compare her newest bauble from fiancé Justin Theroux to the one she received from ex-husband Brad Pitt in 1999…Brad Pitt’s choice was no snoozer either. Designed by Italian jeweler Silvia Damiani, it was estimated to cost around $500,000.”–International Business Times

One thing seems certain, however: Aniston’s current engagement ring is bigger than the one Pitt gave her before they married in 2000. –Celebuzz

Of course, as is true of anything Jennifer Aniston-related, all roads lead back, inevitably, to Angelina Jolie.