Advice please, Leon Mege Cushions or August Vintage?

[hybiscus]

Hi everyone!

I have been obsessing over chunky vintage stones for almost a year now and have an August Vintage in my possession that is beautiful, but I feel a bit small for my preference. I was thinking about having a halo, but on a 1 carat I thought maybe it would overwhelm the main stone; yet if I have it as a solitaire, it looks a smidgen smaller than I wanted.

Anyways, I started exploring other options as GOG doesn't have any other stones that are within my specs. I contacted Perry at Leon Mege and he sent over several options that seem great. He hasn't sent any photos/videos yet and from my understanding they don't have the ASET images and such that GOG gives (which gives me such comfort when I'm purchasing online).

My question is, does anyone know how Leon Mege's antique cushion cut stones compare to the AVC? I love the AVCs because they're so bright, but I've also heard good things about LM's stones. Has anyone seen both before? I know cushions vary anyways, but any insight to help me make a decision would be great, thank you!

 

[arkieb1]

If you are specifically after an AVC Victors stones are more similar than Leon's stones;

http://www.victorcanera.com/diamonds

Diamonds By Lauren might be another option, search under Old Mine Cushions at DBL cut by Yoram;

http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/

Good Old Gold also have a fantastic buy back/trade up policy so it might be worth your while to ask if they can cut a stone specifically for you and trade your current one in, unless you are viewing it for the first time, in which case it might still be worth asking them if they are cutting more soon.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

AVC's are cut to have ideal light performance. The ones sold by LM are not to the level of cut quality as AVC's. Some people like them, but it is a little risky since they won't provide the images to show how much leakage there is. That may or may not bother you. I would rather have an AVC, personally, and I think a delicate halo would be beautiful on a one carat stone. I know people here who have bought an AVC from GOG who had Steven Kirsch do their settings.

As Arkie said, Victor's stones are also better than the ones sold by LM as they are also cut to ideal light performance. And of course, he does fabulous quality settings.

 

[arkieb1]

If you don't mind that the diamond doesn't come with ASET images and you are trying to get a larger stone for your money another option would be to buy a well cut nice looking genuine Vintage Cushion from Erica (Love Affair Diamonds), Grace (Jewels by Grace) or Adam (Old World Diamonds). All three have excellent customer service and some very pretty stones for sale. If you are after a perfect cut then an AVC or a Canera Vintage Cushion would be my recommendation.

 

[bgray]

August Vintage hands down. LM stones are a risk. His attitude is, we know what looks good and don't ask too many questions. Ie , no ASET etc. You have to remember Leon cares more about the setting and his part of the project than the stone. Which makes sense. Its the one thing I appreciate about him. On the other hand, he got into the stone part of the business to make money and on two parts of the process instead of just one and he doesnt understand that people who care about quality care about it with the stone as well as the setting. I couldn't even get a commitment in writing as to the color and clarity of stones for a project I inquired about. So I walked.

August Vintage are designed to have that old look so many of us want with superior performance and specs. I am in the process of purchasing a pair of their AVCs. I have no experience with Victor so he may be a good option as well.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

August Vintage hands down. LM stones are a risk. His attitude is, we know what looks good and don't ask too many questions. Ie , no ASET etc. You have to remember Leon cares more about the setting and his part of the project than the stone. Which makes sense. Its the one thing I appreciate about him. On the other hand, he got into the stone part of the business to make money and on two parts of the process instead of just one and he doesnt understand that people who care about quality care about it with the stone as well as the setting. I couldn't even get a commitment in writing as to the color and clarity of stones for a project I inquired about. So I walked.

August Vintage are designed to have that old look so many of us want with superior performance and specs. I am in the process of purchasing a pair of their AVCs. I have no experience with Victor so he may be a good option as well.

Ohhh, how exciting!!! Are you making earrings or something else???

 

[bgray]

August Vintage hands down. LM stones are a risk. His attitude is, we know what looks good and don't ask too many questions. Ie , no ASET etc. You have to remember Leon cares more about the setting and his part of the project than the stone. Which makes sense. Its the one thing I appreciate about him. On the other hand, he got into the stone part of the business to make money and on two parts of the process instead of just one and he doesnt understand that people who care about quality care about it with the stone as well as the setting. I couldn't even get a commitment in writing as to the color and clarity of stones for a project I inquired about. So I walked.

August Vintage are designed to have that old look so many of us want with superior performance and specs. I am in the process of purchasing a pair of their AVCs. I have no experience with Victor so he may be a good option as well.

Ohhh, how exciting!!! Are you making earrings or something else???

Earrings but its a tricky project. I have a pair of cushion cut earrings. Look for my post -pair of cushions so I dont highjack this thread.

 

[hybiscus]

Thanks for your advice! In that case, what do you think of the performance between these two stones:

http://www.victorcanera.com/diamonds/6pjy6h
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11151/

I currently have the gog one but was thinking to send back as I wanted it a bit bigger.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!

 

[Andelain]

If it was me, I'd either keep the AVR or have Jon get you a larger one. He really hit it out of the park with the August vintages.

 

[bgray]

Thanks for your advice! In that case, what do you think of the performance between these two stones:

http://www.victorcanera.com/diamonds/6pjy6h
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11151/

I currently have the gog one but was thinking to send back as I wanted it a bit bigger.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!

I prefer the corners and the shape of the GOG stone. The Canera stone almost looks like a fat oval to me

 

[RockyRacoon]

Thanks for your advice! In that case, what do you think of the performance between these two stones:

http://www.victorcanera.com/diamonds/6pjy6h
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11151/

I currently have the gog one but was thinking to send back as I wanted it a bit bigger.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!

I would go with the GOG option, between these two stones.

 

[arkieb1]

Do you like a square cushion or a more elongated cushion shape? I'd pick the VC one, the light performance is Ideal over GOGs very good, the VC stone is larger by an amount you will notice. The bigger these stones are the prettier they are IMHO. Do you have to get an E, it seems like colour overkill with this type of stone.

 

[hybiscus]

Yes, I do prefer a slightly elongated stone (love the puffy looking ones), and yes, it is definitely bigger (and almost twice as expensive).

It's interesting that you said that an E color is overkill do you really think so? I wasn't sure what color to go down to. Of course I've seen stones in shops but not as a vintage and I feel like the spotlights in those shops are really misleading.

My fiance really likes how bright and icy the stone looks as an E, is it much different if its an F or G?

Thank you!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

In an antique cushion, I would definitely to to G-H-I color and get the largest well-cut stone within my budget. I like whiter stones in modern round brilliants, but I do not see high color as advantageous in an antique cushion. Of course, these stones are limited in number at any point in time, and neither vendor may have a stone with the particular specs one wants. If that is the case, I would just wait.

 

[arkieb1]

I think you would be getting a nice white stone at an F or a G, if you like icy white then I would not go below that. An F should be O.K. We had this discussion about the colour of AVCs in another thread and it's purely subjective, there are no right and wrong answers. A lot of people think they look better in I,J, K and lower colours because this makes them look like genuine Antique diamonds (a large number of true Antique stones are lower colours) but a number of people are simply not used to seeing lower or mid coloured diamonds, so if you are not used to them and your eyes aren't educated in that respect then I would stick to what you know is going to make you happy.

I currently own a small AVC I make the observation that the bigger they are, the more you notice the cut pattern and I think they are cooler visually as they increase in size, ie the larger they are the better looking they are - so I personally would sacrifice an E colour in this cut of stone to get a larger diamond, but it is really up to you only you can decide what colour and size for that matter within your budget that you will be happy to live with.

 

[bgray]

Yes, I do prefer a slightly elongated stone (love the puffy looking ones), and yes, it is definitely bigger (and almost twice as expensive).

It's interesting that you said that an E color is overkill do you really think so? I wasn't sure what color to go down to. Of course I've seen stones in shops but not as a vintage and I feel like the spotlights in those shops are really misleading.

My fiance really likes how bright and icy the stone looks as an E, is it much different if its an F or G?

Thank you!

Stone color is very personal. I love white white stones...I dont think a DEF is ever overkill. I see gorgeous lower color stones all the time and they are stunning on others but on my hand it bothers me.

 

[geoffreysnow]

My personal opinion is that if you're questioning your stone now (before it is set) then you will always questing getting a larger one. This isn't going to get better after you have had it set, and it sounds like you're looking at custom settings if you bring up Leon.

I would email/call Jon at GoG and tell him what you're looking for. He can custom cut a stone if they don't have anything in their inventory. I would give him a shot first to find what you're looking for since his stones use a recipe for light performance.

Have you checked out ERD's stones?
http://www.engagementringsdirect.co...brilliant-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-169944.html

 

[luvsdmb]

Thanks for your advice! In that case, what do you think of the performance between these two stones:

http://www.victorcanera.com/diamonds/6pjy6h
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11151/

I currently have the gog one but was thinking to send back as I wanted it a bit bigger.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Personally out of these two, I like the VC better. It's more cushion and pillow like to me.
The other one seems much more square.(still very pretty)

 

[hybiscus]

That's a lovely one you picked out! That little spot near the center I think would bother me though...perhaps it's not noticeable in person?

I will be sending back the avc and holding out for a larger one...perry at LM has sent me a few that seem lovely but again, I'm not sure how they are in person in comparison to an avc. Avcs are just so pricey in comparison (though I can see why, the cut is amazing).

First world problems: picking out which diamond to buy! Haha...

 

[arkieb1]

If you like the look of Leon's cushions and you want to save money then contact ERD their Chandelier Cushions are similar to Leon's cushions. And I think from memory either Victor or GOG did a ASET comparison of theirs and the ERD ones and theirs had much better light performance. All the stones named are pretty again it is subjective much like colour it is what your prefer visually.

If it were me I would either spend the money and get a perfect stone from GOG or Victor OR if I was saving money and wanted a decent looking cushion I'd go for a genuine Antique one, from Jewels by Grace Love Affair Diamonds, Old World Diamonds or GOG can find you one, Perry can find you one and if you asked Victor would probably also find you one.

http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/royal-t-antique-cushion-diamonds/

Yoram cuts AVCs that is why I also suggested above looking at what Diamonds by Lauren has because he cuts stones for them as well, they get some very cool looking stones in from time to time too. James Allen get some nice looking Antique cushions in from time to time as well!!!

 

[hybiscus]

If you like the look of Leon's cushions and you want to save money then contact ERD their Chandelier Cushions are similar to Leon's cushions. And I think from memory either Victor or GOG did a ASET comparison of theirs and the ERD ones and theirs had much better light performance. All the stones named are pretty again it is subjective much like colour it is what your prefer visually.

If it were me I would either spend the money and get a perfect stone from GOG or Victor OR if I was saving money and wanted a decent looking cushion I'd go for a genuine Antique one, from Jewels by Grace Love Affair Diamonds, Old World Diamonds or GOG can find you one, Perry can find you one and if you asked Victor would probably also find you one.

http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/royal-t-antique-cushion-diamonds/

Yoram cuts AVCs that is why I also suggested above looking at what Diamonds by Lauren has because he cuts stones for them as well, they get some very cool looking stones in from time to time too. James Allen get some nice looking Antique cushions in from time to time as well!!!

I'm learning how to reply to specific posts now haha.

Thanks for the input, I am just so overwhled with shopping for a stone purely online so all your advice has been really helpful! I guess at this point I need to decide what I want to sacrifice: size or cut. I would automatically say cut based on all my research on this forum, but it's like...how much better is the avc cut vs the ones sourced by very good vendors like LM, erd, etc., right (I'm just thinking outloud at this point, I know avcs are the best but most expensive which is why I'm so torn!)? Is the avc premium price worth that much extra cost to size or is it marginal? If it was the differnece of a couple thousand dollars it wouldn't be so bad, but I would say that it would cost at least an extra 35% to buy an avc stone of similar spec than the ones I've seen from Perry and erd. And actually the finger coverage is better from the stones I've seen from those other sources, curiously enough.

Anyways, I guess I have some contemplating to do!

 

[arkieb1]

Where in the US are you? Some of the members might be able to suggest jewellers or antique dealers to go and look at and indeed try on some Antique cushions, you have seen an AVC already that way you can decide for yourself what is and isn't worth it to you. I think that you can learn a lot by the more diamonds you see including what your own colour and size, shape and other preferences are likely to be.

 

[Acinom]

I would definitely follow the advice of Arkieb and the others!
In the meantime this could give you a fun read: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/missydebbys-review-perry-cushion-vs-gog-avc-w-pics.147506/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/missydebbys-review-perry-cushion-vs-gog-avc-w-pics.147506/[/URL]

MissyDebby has a ring with a Perry sourced stone AND AVC studs.

 

[hybiscus]

Where in the US are you? Some of the members might be able to suggest jewellers or antique dealers to go and look at and indeed try on some Antique cushions, you have seen an AVC already that way you can decide for yourself what is and isn't worth it to you. I think that you can learn a lot by the more diamonds you see including what your own colour and size, shape and other preferences are likely to be.

I'm actually in Hong Kong now! Seems really limited on vintage style stones here...

 

[hybiscus]

I would definitely follow the advice of Arkieb and the others!
In the meantime this could give you a fun read: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/missydebbys-review-perry-cushion-vs-gog-avc-w-pics.147506/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/missydebbys-review-perry-cushion-vs-gog-avc-w-pics.147506/[/URL]

MissyDebby has a ring with a Perry sourced stone AND AVC studs.

Thanks! I definitely read that thread and everything I could find haha

 

[arkieb1]

Are you friends with any jewellers? I was going to go to this (it is trade only but my family are in the trade) but my son has been really ill they think with Type A influenza so I am not going now;

http://exhibitions.jewellerynetasia.com/9JG/

I think MissKittyCat from Australia is going.

 

[Sunstorm]

OP your stone is lovely. I love chunky, vintage cushions and I know what You mean, cushions really look the best in larger sizes though a 1 carater is definitely not a small stone. In an ideal world I would wear a vintage cushion over 2 carats but we often have to compromise, alternatively if You halo-d it I do think it would look amazing. I have done that and elevated the center stone a bit, just make sure not to use large melee, if done right it should emphasize, not overpower the center stone. Also use very high quality melee. In my opinion an E is not an overkill in larger stones I often prefer them, under 40 pointer F is fine but my eyes are very color sensitive. E-s just stand out to me with their icy crispness. That said in vintage stones I have seen and loved warm colors as well, I recently saw a 2 carat vintage round with an amazing cut that was also halo-d in the above way, the stone was an R and truly outstanding, I would also be proud to own such a stone. Perhaps look at several stones, a lower color would allow You to own a larger stone. Keep us posted either way. Great choice!