CAROLINE BULLOCK: There's something hideous about Selena Gomez's engagement… and I'm not talking about her fiancé Benny Blanco!

Fans gushed and Taylor Swift has offered to be flower girl – but the truth is, there's something hideous about Selena Gomez's engagement to producer Benny Blanco.

No, I'm not talking about her fiancé's looks – but her giant marquise diamond ring, estimated to be worth $1million.

For like so many rocks toted on Tinseltown's talons, the singer's gaudy gobstopper only deserves the middle finger.

Rock size matters to the A-list. Supersized sparklers seem to have inflated along with their owner's lips, cheeks and derrieres. But the effect is more BaubleBar than Cartier, despite the eye watering price tags – statement pieces that scream: 'We're richer than you!'

Gomez is far from alone. In fact, her ring is dwarfed by some of the stones flaunted by the usual stinking-rich suspects. Naturally, Melania Trump has two diamond engagement rings including a 25-carat showstopper, which most definitely didn't come from her own jewellery line hawked on QVC back in 2010.

Meanwhile, model Hailey Bieber's bony fingers are weighed down by her own pair of diamond oval solitaires – with the second, 'upgraded' dazzler worth a reported $1.5 million.

'[It] is only one carat bigger,' Hailey clarified. 'It's just elongated.'

Phew, now I can sleep better.

In celeb-land, carat-size one upmanship is common practice.

Only last week – with hubbie Jay-Z embroiled in rape allegations involving a teenage girl two decades ago – Beyoncé chose to show off a upgraded version of her $5 million emerald cut ring at the LA premiere of Disney's new Lion King prequel, Mufasa.

With her hand strategically placed against her dress's thigh-high slit for maximum exposure, the bulkier new version - souped up with two more diamonds – had the vibe of dumbbell hex nut rather than a timeless and elegant jewel. But hey, who cares as long the photographers at the back can see it!

Honorary mention must go serial engagee Jennifer Lopez, the patron saint of betrothment. Her stack of stones must be fast approaching Elizabeth Taylor's notorious tally, the 'flash' count rising in line with her fiancés' finances, from waiter Ojani Noa to Ben Affleck via Alex 'A-Rod' Rodriguez.

Of course, beyond showcasing dubious taste, such ostentatious flaunting inevitably attracts attention from criminals, who now have even more to grab hold of.

Kim Kardashian was famously threatened at gunpoint in her Parisian hotel room by thieves who made off with the $4 million engagement ring given to her by then-squeeze Kanye West.

Unfortunately for Kim, she didn't have a spare: her garish $2 million ring from her second husband, basketball star Kris Humphries, was sold at auction in 2013.

That trio of stones – touchingly said to represent the past, present and future – proved to be an optimistic gesture from Humpries. The marriage lasted just 72 days.

Bold rings certainly have their place. But as ever, it's about the detail… and the wearer.

The late Princess Diana – as always – set the benchmark with her iconic blue sapphire. Apparently chosen to match the colour of her eyes, and now worn by Kate Middleton, the timeless jewel still catches the eye but for all the right reasons, being better balanced by the classier attire of the Royal wardrobe rather than acres of exposed flesh.

So, ladies, it's time to ring the changes.

I get that no one wants to have to use reading glasses to appreciate a solitaire – but what about a little decorum and class? Sometimes less really can be more.