25th Anniversary - is BB Signature really worth it?

[atoro]

Hi all,

I discovered this forum a bit too late and am now in a bit of a bind, I either get "mauled" (as you guys refer to it), or I just continue to look and loose the opportunity to deliver the ring on our anniversary.

From reading the forums I understand that jewelers or large companies mostly market diamonds purchased from diamond suppliers, so what we''re really taling about is reputation/service. However my question is about the Ben Bridge Signature cut. It''s nice for sure but my gut sense is that it is a bit *boutique-ish* and maybe a novelty, and should go with the standard ideal cut...but again the last time I bought a diamond was 25 years ago and it wasn''t fun for me then either

Has anyone out there purchased one of these for their S.O. and do they absolutely love it?

Does this stone (below) seem way off the mark in terms of cost, in the ball-park (have been researching others on bluediamond-signature ideal and found equivalent ones for cheaper prices but sight unseen I have no idea if they are comparable)?

Specs (as far as I remember)
carrat: 1.51
Cut: Signature 63+ facets
Clarity: VS1
color: H
GIA and laser serial #''s.
cost: retail $17.5K

 

[Todd Gray]

Regardless of brand name, the visual performance of a diamond (brilliance, dispersion, scintillation) will primarily be controlled by the proportions of the diamond and more specifically by the combination of crown and pavilion angle - therefore, I would focus on the proportions of the diamond first and foremost.

The number of facets does not increase visual performance, however it will contribute to the type of light returned by the diamond in terms of whether the sparkle is more white light (brilliance) or colored flashes (dispersion) and the size and number of those pinpoints of light. One thing that I''ve noticed with a lot of the extra facet rounds is that the size of the pinpoints of light is often smaller - this is because the size of the virtual facets is decreased as the facets of the diamond are split into smaller sections to increase the number of facets present. If you are buying a rather large diamond, such as something in the 2.50 - 3.00 carat and larger range, reducing the size of the virtual facets can be beneficial, but in diamonds of a lower carat weight I personally prefer the standard 57/58 facet structure of a traditional ideal cut round. There have been several discussions here on the forum pertaining to virtual facets and several of the vendor web sites contain excellent tutorials on this subject so I won''t hijack your thread beyond bringing the topic up for your consideration

 

[Bliss]

Well, it'll definitely be a knockout stone. But I would rather get a bigger just as killer stone for my money over a branded ring/stone. I'm a believer after DH bought me a Tiffany diamond. It was my first diamond from him and I didn't know better. Don't get me wrong, it's amazing. But I prefer my PS diamonds, though the Tiff stone is killer brilliant. The PS stones are more fiery, which I prefer over just brilliant. It's also fun to tweak your search for the stone/stones that are perfect for the intended recipient. So from now on, I don't let DH buy me diamonds from stores - only vendors from now on!

 

[atoro]

Thanks makes sense. I noticed the diamond *looked* dark and busy to me (consider the source). To your point, the cut was optimized on dispersion rather than brilliance, perhaps on a larger diamond that might be of value.

 

[Todd Gray]

Date: 9/25/2009 1:55:21 PM
Author: atoro
Thanks makes sense. I noticed the diamond *looked* dark and busy to me (consider the source). To your point, the cut was optimized on dispersion rather than brilliance, perhaps on a larger diamond that might be of value.

I''ve noticed that some of the extra faceted rounds look more like a disco ball with smaller pinpoint size flashes of light as opposed to displaying the larger, broad flashes of light that I seem to prefer... I actually didn''t understand why until one of the cutters we work with explained the concept of virtual facets to me

 

[tyty333]

Here is stone you might want to check out at good old gold. $12,500 bank wire transfer

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4833/

Its a heart and arrows and receives an HCA score of 1.9. I dont know anything about a BB diamond (sorry). You can check out its performance in the videos on that page.

If you are interested you can start a thread and get some others opinions on it.

BTW - when is the anniversary? You may be able to get a rush on it but???

EDIT - another option is just to present her with the stone in a cheap temp setting (by your
anniversary) then let her pick out its permanent setting. This may buy you some added time.


Oh, AND Congratulations on your 25th Anniversary!!!

 

[atoro]

Thanks for the quick info. Your diamond looks great! I finally got the specs on the two I was looking at.

here''s the signature one:
7.42-7.47 x 4.56mm
symetery: very good
polish: good
florencence: none
color: H
clarity: VS2
carrat: 1.51
table: 56%
Depth: 61.2%
retail: 17.3K

looks like the one you found is of better quality at $12.8K

The other is from an AGS document

7.3-7.36 x 4.58
cut grade: ideal 0
color: G
clarity: VVS2
carrat: 1.51
table: 53.6%
crown Depth: 16.3%
pavillon depth:42.7%
crown <:35.1
pavillon <:40.5
retail: 23.5K

Thanks for the well wishes, the anniversary on 9/29. We''re going away to celebrate a couple of weeks after so I still have another opportunity to spring it but not ideal

thanks again!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/26/2009 1:02:44 AM
Author: atoro
Thanks for the quick info. Your diamond looks great! I finally got the specs on the two I was looking at.

here's the signature one:
7.42-7.47 x 4.56mm
symetery: very good
polish: good
florencence: none
color: H
clarity: VS2
carrat: 1.51
table: 56%
Depth: 61.2%
retail: 17.3K

looks like the one you found is of better quality at $12.8K

The other is from an AGS document

7.3-7.36 x 4.58
cut grade: ideal 0
color: G
clarity: VVS2
carrat: 1.51
table: 53.6%
crown Depth: 16.3%
pavillon depth:42.7%
crown <:35.1
pavillon <:40.5
retail: 23.5K

Thanks for the well wishes, the anniversary on 9/29. We're going away to celebrate a couple of weeks after so I still have another opportunity to spring it but not ideal

thanks again!

Need the crown and pavilion angles for the first diamond please. The second AGS diamond looks promising, can you get any images for that one such as Idealscope or ASET?

If you could also post the star and lower girdle facets for both too please that would be helpful.

 

[Stone Hunter]

I don''t think you should go with the maul stone because you can get a better stone for less money thru the PS vendors. I''d even say that to my husband. I wouldn''t mind waiting a few weeks to get a better or cheaper quality stone.

But do let us know how this works out!! I think it''s wonderful that you want to buy her a diamond for your anniversary!

 

[luv2sparkle]

I have seen the Ben Bridge signature cut diamond and they are nice. Ben Bridge is a bit above what I think of as a ''mall'' store. I do think that you can get a
better deal from and on-line vendor and get a much better stone. I stop into Ben Bridge whenever I pass by them. I have bought some lovely pieces from them.
I have compared my last two stones, one from Whiteflash and the next from Brian Gavin, and mine has always looked much sparklier to my eyes. Plus
I paid a lot less, which always makes me happy.

Sometimes, you can find a lovely piece from them, but for a large diamond, I would stick with the vendors here. Good luck!

 

[atoro]

Thanks for the post! On the second stone (I have now discounted the BB signature), here is the info I have form the AGS report, sorry, I don''t have any pictures and the AGS report copy is poor otherwise I would scan and post it.

AGS# 0008778010

light performance: 0
proportion Factors: 0
Finish :0
polish :ideal
symetry :ideal
shape & style:Round Brilliant
Florecence: negligible

Measurements: 7.30 - 7.36 x 4.58 mm
cut grade: AGS Ideal 0
Color Grade: AGS 1.5 (G)
Clarity grade: AGS 2 (VVS2)
Carat Weight: 1.510 cts

I''d just like to know if I''m in the right ball park with quality. From what I have been researching, a diamond of this quality is in the 20K +/- 3K range.

I like the comment someone made about BB, they are a good company and I also have to look at overall service, etc.

thanks all for the help...

Today''s status is, I was able to get thier price down $3.5K, so now the discussion is more interesting. I also talked with other jewelers and calibrated about the same for what I wanted.



on right side of diamond schema:
1.63% facet to top
1.4% to 3.7% facetted

on left side of diamond schema:
35.1 degrees facet to top
40.5 degrees facet to bottom
62.4% overall dimention

Table: 53.6%

42.7% facet to bottom
1.4% to 3.7

 

[atoro]

oh one more piece of data...

there''s a 48 on the top in one of the facets, not sure if that''s the crown angle you wanted
there''s a 75 on the bottom in one of the facets, not sure if that''s the pavilion you wanted

 

[stone-cold11]

AGS stone looks promising to me from the numbers.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/26/2009 1:02:44 AM
Author: atoro
Thanks for the quick info. Your diamond looks great! I finally got the specs on the two I was looking at.

here''s the signature one:
7.42-7.47 x 4.56mm
symetery: very good
polish: good
florencence: none
color: H
clarity: VS2
carrat: 1.51
table: 56%
Depth: 61.2%
retail: 17.3K

looks like the one you found is of better quality at $12.8K

The other is from an AGS document

7.3-7.36 x 4.58
cut grade: ideal 0
color: G
clarity: VVS2
carrat: 1.51
table: 53.6%
crown Depth: 16.3%
pavillon depth:42.7%
crown <:35.1
pavillon <:40.5
retail: 23.5K

Thanks for the well wishes, the anniversary on 9/29. We''re going away to celebrate a couple of weeks after so I still have another opportunity to spring it but not ideal

thanks again!

Yes this one has potential but I would like to see an Idealscope or ASET image for this diamond.

 

[atoro]

Here you go....

 

[atoro]

This started out talking about signature cut diamonds by Ben Bridge. In the end for me it was about sticking with a standard cut rather than a botique kind of cut. It was a really beautiful diamond, but almost too beatiful to be real. It''s all about your specific tastes. Whether or not it was *worth* the price led me down the rabbit hole of crown angles and table percentages. So I decided to share my layman''s top 10 on diamond buying...er top 12.

1. Do you homework on pricescope. Study the four c''s, ASET, and idealscope provided on this and other threads
2. Pick the minimum size you want first
3. Go for the best cut you can, color and clarity are negitiables. If you have a well cut diamond you can go down color grades without comprising on brilliance
4. If the diamond doesn''t have an AGS or GIA certificate, look somewhere else and don''t waste your time
5. If the dealer will not produce the cert, let you examine the diamond under a scope, view ASET etc, then move on and don''t waste your time
6. Prices for reputable Mall stores (and there are some) and local jewelers are very competitively priced (eg: it’s a pretty well regulated industry)
7. A good rule of thumb is around $3000 per quality bump on any dimension(eg: H to G, or VS1, SI1, etc)
8. Don''t buy a diamond sight unseen, the cert gets you in the ball-park for searching but not all diamonds are equal even with the same cert.
9. Look at the diamonds under a microscope, be sure you are pointed out all of the flaws and are okay with it
10. Look at the diamond through ASET and H&A to calibrate what you are getting
11. If you deciding about where to buy it and are within range of a couple of choice, don’t necessarily go for the lowest price, think about the service, the reputation of the company jeweler, and other kinds of warranty services.
12. If you are buying for a significant other, don’t stress about it, she’ll love whatever you get her.

As far as how it went yesterday...lets just say I done good She was totally surprised, awestruck, crying, and couldn''t take her eyes off of it the rest of the evening.

Thanks all on this thread for your advice and good wishes!

 

[stone-cold11]

Congrats.

No ring pics?

 

[atoro]

The picture doesn''t really do it justice, taken with my phone camera. I took a few other pictures but the stone is so clear all the picture shows is the ring frame.

 

[stone-cold11]

Nice.

 

[tyty333]

Wow, it looks beautiful! More pics when you get a chance!