Brian Gavin, Victor Canera, or WhiteFlash (Stone + Setting)

[Irving]

Hello everyone,

I'm a first time poster looking for help with my ring project. I'd like my center stone to be a round brilliant diamond cut to the most ideal proportions.

I can't decide amongst the following: Black by Brian Gavin, Victor Canera Ideal Hearts, or WhiteFlash A Cut Above. I want the best of the best in terms of cut. Which of the above vendors is the absolute best for the cut? Cream of the crop top-notch quality is my #1 criteria. Price is also important in the sense that while I'm willing to pay for the best quality, I don't want to senselessly waste my money either.

Other details: I'm looking for a color of E or F (I want it white/colorless and don't want to see a hint of color, maybe F will do?). Clarity of VS1 (I definitely want eye-clean, though maybe VS2 will still do?). Carat is where I'm undecided. While I don't have a super strict budget (I keep changing my mind), maybe something in the 0.75 to 1.50 range, for now? My finger size is 4.75, if that makes any difference in terms of optimal carat to finger size. The carat size I choose is also related to the setting I choose (see below). I'd want a bigger center stone if it's a solitaire; smaller if I go with side baguettes or halo.

This brings me to the setting. My favorite setting is probably from Victor Canera, as I love the Grymera. If anyone knows another vendor who makes something like the Grymera, please let me know. I read that it is best to buy the stone and the setting from the same place for liability reasons down the road (less finger-pointing), so I will probably end up just choosing one vendor for the stone and the setting.

If I don't end up going with Victor Canera's Grymera, I would be perfectly happy with either a halo with pave band or a tapered side baguettes ring. All three of the above vendors carry these styles. I'm torn between uniqueness (e.g., Grymera) vs. something very classic (e.g., side tapered baguettes). I love the intricate work of halo, but I'm not sure if it will "steal the thunder" from the center stone; plus my current e-ring is an edge halo.

Thank you all in advance.

 

[LLJsmom]

I personally would be happy to own stones from any of them. Since you have a favorite setting I would choose the vendor who makes that setting. Victor is great to work with. And I LOVE his wire work. The Grymera is gorgeous. I would be staring at rhat ring all day.

 

[holeydonut]

I had a great experience with Brian Gavin’s team (up until last Friday, but let’s ignore that for now). It was a tough decision between him and Victor, but ultimately Brian had a better selection of diamonds and an in-house ring design that Victor didn’t have.

The Grymera would have been my alternate choice from a super-ideal vendor if my BGD transaction had a misstep. But BGD’s sales team really went the extra mile to help me during the up-front process.

My future fiancé was involved in the process, and BGD’s team helped answer a ton of questions and were very patient with us. They knew how exacting we wanted things to be and the delivered product (initially) blew away expectations. There’s a post about the 810 Black by Brian Gavin halo in the bling forum (not linking it since I think it violates the rules?). Just don’t read it past page one haha.

I’m having a slight hiccup getting past the finish line, but the PS-ers insist BGD will get me across the finish line.

At this point I don’t think you will go wrong with your choice. Whoever you pick, just make sure your expectations are clear and they know where you are setting your bar. Make it clear they’re not going to change the bar on you later. If they can’t hit your standards, you need to find someone who will.

Also, if you choose a Black by Brian Gavin, tell them the annoying guy with the 810 round halo recommended you request a nice wooden box... unless you don’t have any need for a nice box

I suspect Victor is a better export at forging the ring and setting, while Brian Gavin is the better diamond cutter. Maybe they should join forces haha.

Edit: I think a Halo done well augments the center instead of distracts... especially if the halo isn’t just a “collar” around the girdle. But, some people hate airline halos... so it’s all a matter of personal taste .

 

[Irving]

I think I saw your post on the Black by Brian Gavin post. It's the thing about the wooden box from their Signature line vs. the more disposable box you got, right? Haha, I wouldn't mind the the "cheap" box

Yeah, essentially I'm balancing between Brian's cutting and Victor's designs. I guess at least maybe that means WhiteFlash is out? If there are any proponents for WF for any reason, I'd love to hear it.

Would you say there's a difference in discernible difference in cut quality between Victor's Ideal Hearts vs. Black by Brian Gavin? Or am I just driving myself nuts splitting hairs that's not discernable to the naked eye?

I had a great experience with Brian Gavin’s team (up until last Friday, but let’s ignore that for now). It was a tough decision between him and Victor, but ultimately Brian had a better selection of diamonds and an in-house ring design that Victor didn’t have.

The Grymera would have been my alternate choice from a super-ideal vendor if my BGD transaction had a misstep. But BGD’s sales team really went the extra mile to help me during the up-front process.

My future fiancé was involved in the process, and BGD’s team helped answer a ton of questions and were very patient with us. They knew how exacting we wanted things to be and the delivered product (initially) blew away expectations. There’s a post about the 810 Black by Brian Gavin halo in the bling forum (not linking it since I think it violates the rules?). Just don’t read it past page one haha.

I’m having a slight hiccup getting past the finish line, but the PS-ers insist BGD will get me across the finish line.

At this point I don’t think you will go wrong with your choice. Whoever you pick, just make sure your expectations are clear and they know where you are setting your bar. Make it clear they’re not going to change the bar on you later. If they can’t hit your standards, you need to find someone who will.

Also, if you choose a Black by Brian Gavin, tell them the annoying guy with the 810 round halo recommended you request a nice wooden box... unless you don’t have any need for a nice box

I suspect Victor is a better export at forging the ring and setting, while Brian Gavin is the better diamond cutter. Maybe they should join forces haha.

Edit: I think a Halo done well augments the center instead of distracts... especially if the halo isn’t just a “collar” around the girdle. But, some people hate airline halos... so it’s all a matter of personal taste .

 

[yssie]

This is an easy one: if there's a specific setting by VC that you love, go with VC.

The upgrades of

(A) Having your top choice setting rather than "settling for something similar", and
(B) The quality of VC's workmanship on this setting​

Are very tangible guarantees that potential nuances of perfection between these vendors' premier diamonds simply cannot compete with.

Edit - if precision of diamond cut is your top priority look at Crafted by Infinity as well:
http://www.craftedbyinfinity.com
Wink, owner of High Performance Diamonds, is exclusively a CBI vendor and a regular tradeperson presence here on PS.

 

[holeydonut]

@odina , no there’s a separate sub-forum to post Bling and examples of rings and settings. Look in there to see a couple of us with recent works produced by Brian Gavin. The halo ring in my avatar pic is shown in more detail there. He also just did a custom emerald cut halo.

Both BGD and VC should do great work... I’ll vouch that I believe the Gavin 810 platinum was better in person than Harry Winston The One, Cartier, and Tiffany Soleste that I’ve checked out (if you ignore my melee thing). I’m no ring expert, but my mind was blown haha.

I don’t think the average human being or even diamond experts can tell the difference between super ideals if viewing them with their eyes. The table size, angles, etc (Good HCA) probably give you more discernible attributes. But a clean set of charts will set the mind at ease.

But if you’re a mathematical nut job, you will see Brian Gavin’s cuts are just... really damn good on the ASET, ideascope, and symmetry. I mean, we’re talking about micron levels of better. But once I got on the super-ideal bandwagon I sought out to find the HCA 1.0 cut that had the most amaze-balls charts. BGD’s Black cuts have absolutely no little wiggles in the H&A or any mini-leakages in the ASET.

I wrote some simple code to average the size deviations of the hearts haha. Ugh... much regret.

But, anyway... all that cut brilliance means nothing if the melee looks like it fell out

I don’t think Brian Gavin has low standards at all. I just think you should have the talk about his vision and art vs engineering before you buy from him, not while you’re trying to get your setting fixed.

 

[HappyNewLife]

You’ll find tons of threads here about people loving their WF ACA (including mine!), CBI and BGD. If your heart sings from the Grymera, go with VC though. VC has many happy customers.

 

[Irving]

I briefly spoke to someone at VC. Seems like for the Grymera they recommend a carat size of at least 2 carats (if not 3, since the model on their site is 3). Even if budget permitting (I’d want a VC Ideal Hearts because I don’t want to sacrifice cut for carat), I don’t think I could wear something so “large” as an everyday ring to my work. I had inquired about another VC ring, the round center stone with pear sides and was also told that something around 2 carats for the center would be great since the side pears are 0.60 total. Sigh....

Ah, I did find the post on the BGD Black with the melee and 810 platinum. Beautiful exquisite ring! You did so much research!

 

[holeydonut]

I briefly spoke to someone at VC. Seems like for the Grymera they recommend a carat size of at least 2 carats (if not 3, since the model on their site is 3). Even if budget permitting (I’d want a VC Ideal Hearts because I don’t want to sacrifice cut for carat), I don’t think I could wear something so “large” as an everyday ring to my work. I had inquired about another VC ring, the round center stone with pear sides and was also told that something around 2 carats for the center would be great since the side pears are 0.60 total. Sigh....

Ah, I did find the post on the BGD Black with the melee and 810 platinum. Beautiful exquisite ring! You did so much research!

By the way, BGD’s 810 setting originally was meant for an 8 carat haha.

But since it was his own CAD... they were able to size proportionally downward to accommodate a less than ideal 1.8 carat center.

I think since VC hand forges everything, which means they have less leeway to alter the designs.

I know people criticize CAD work for being less strong than forged, but I think CAD casts allow for unique specificity and design changes to really tailor to customer needs.

CAD isn’t so good for filagree and fine details like millgrain though.

 

[tuckie]

What spoke to you about the Grymera setting? The collars? The 6 prong? The swoop under the basket?
This might help the very knowledgeable folks here help direct you to a vendor for stone and setting (maybe different ones!) to help you get something you really love.

Also, have you seen precision cut diamonds in person? A lot of folks are very happy with their F and G colored stones when the cut is top notch.

 

[holeydonut]

What spoke to you about the Grymera setting? The collars? The 6 prong? The swoop under the basket?
This might help the very knowledgeable folks here help direct you to a vendor for stone and setting (maybe different ones!) to help you get something you really love.

Also, have you seen precision cut diamonds in person? A lot of folks are very happy with their F and G colored stones when the cut is top notch.

Agreed, if it's possible to distill what you like in the top view, gallery, shoulders, etc... we help look for something that suits your taste.

Just for ease in this thread, I'll include VC's photos of the Grymera here.

 

[lovedogs]

I'm sorry that the VC setting you love is for a larger stone

Did you ask if they could customize it to fit something smaller?

I think if VC is "out" because of the suggested center stone sizes, I would recommend going with HP diamonds. Many people here are thrilled with their CBI stones, and Wink does some incredible setting work. He can pretty much create anything for you (either custom, or finding a stock setting you love). Their customer service is outstanding.

 

[msop04]

I'm sorry that the VC setting you love is for a larger stone

Did you ask if they could customize it to fit something smaller?

I think if VC is "out" because of the suggested center stone sizes, I would recommend going with HP diamonds. Many people here are thrilled with their CBI stones, and Wink does some incredible setting work. He can pretty much create anything for you (either custom, or finding a stock setting you love). Their customer service is outstanding.

I don’t see why VC couldn’t come up with a similar setting to the Grymera that would be complimentary to a 1.5 ct stone. You should at least inquire about it. It would also be really cool if you had “the first” of that setting as well.

Another option would be to choose a superideal from any of those mentioned above... then figure out which design elements of the setting you love, and ask Caysie Van Bebber to create a bespoke setting showcasing those aspects.

 

[lovedogs]

I don’t see why VC couldn’t come up with a similar setting to the Grymera that would be complimentary to a 1.5 ct stone. You should at least inquire about it. It would also be really cool if you had “the first” of that setting as well.

Another option would be to choose a superideal from any of those mentioned above... then figure out which design elements of the setting you love, and ask Caysie Van Bebber to create a bespoke setting showcasing those aspects.

Totally agree--I suspect it's possible to alter it a bit to accommodate a smaller stone. And yes OP, it's super cool to know you have the "first" version of anything.

 

[carbonfan]

I don’t see why VC couldn’t come up with a similar setting to the Grymera that would be complimentary to a 1.5 ct stone. You should at least inquire about it. It would also be really cool if you had “the first” of that setting as well.

Totally agree--I suspect it's possible to alter it a bit to accommodate a smaller stone. And yes OP, it's super cool to know you have the "first" version of anything.

I second all of this! You should definitely ask Victor if he could come up with a modification for the size of stone you have in mind, or if he could come up with another design entirely. His aesthetic sense is spot on and he is incredibly good at visualizing design elements that would best showcase your stone. I think you should make an inquiry and see what he recommends prior to making a decision. Each and every VC creation is a work of art!

 

[Irving]

Hi all, thank you for all the very helpful replies here so far. And thank you @holeydonut for pasting the pics of the Grymera here.

I did ask VC about putting a smaller than 2 carat stone in the Grymera. In fact, that was my initial inquiry, I had put down that I was interested in 1-1.5 carat stones (don’t remember the exact numbers but I had said less than 2 carats). The reply I received was that the model Grymera image on the website is a 3 carat, that the wires really can’t be scaled to much thinner than 2 carats, and that for anything stone under 2 carats, the metal to stone proportion would be off (too much metal for too little stone). To be honest, I’m a bit put off by VC at this point. I’ve inquired about 2 settings up to this point, both the Grymera and a round center stone with 2 pear sides a little while back. Each time I was told that I should aim for no smaller than 2 carats, and their notion is that bigger looks better (seems to be their script). While I can understand that certain settings simply may not work with a smaller stone, I don’t agree that bigger is invariably better looking. They also did not suggest making the side pears smaller to work better with a better center stone. They also didn’t suggest what settings would work for a 1.5 or less stone. They seemed to suggest to change the other criteria (lower the clarity, color) in order to get a bigger stone.

What I like about the Grymera? Everything! I especially love the melee wraps around the sides of the shank, the tri wire shank, the claws for prongs. I find the whole design to be simple, elegant, yet with a unique twist.

 

[KirstLWA]

Hi @odina

I have recently experienced less than acceptable customer service with VC (well staff, not VC himself) as well, which is disappointing given the amount of praise he gets here.

I had a fantastic experience with BGD and my stone is truly amazing. I think if your top priority is wanting the best of the best in terms of the stone, then go with that first and foremost. You can then find someone who can make the ring of your dreams. I am sure many people can take the individual design elements you like in the VC ring and create something truly unique for you. I have seen some amazing rings being made by different vendors around here and I am sure they are up to the task.

Before you take the plunge, talk to people, invest the time and perhaps a little cash in getting CADs to make sure they can do what you want and take it from there. Yes it might be easier to get the stone and ring from the same vendor but you might need to compromise either the stone or the design in order to take that path. Putting in a bit of work might mean getting the stone and ring with no compromise.

Good luck.

 

[holeydonut]

Hmmm, I guess as tri-wire goes with some wraps on the shoulders, this was the only ring that I recall which fits that design theme. Everything seems a bit scaled down relative to the Grymera, but this setting also loses some of the flow between the tri-wire and prongs.

Chloe by CVB
https://www.etsy.com/listing/233980426/the-cvb-id-chloe-style-solitaire-diamond

 

[holeydonut]

Moving away from the tri-wire and focusing on the flow of the prongs into the shank, the Sholdt/Jeane design that Brian Gavin provides starts to do the layout; and is meant for up to 2 carats.

Assuming BGD has the CAD access to this, maybe they can use this as a canvas for you to try some shoulder wraps and the tri-wire shank? I'm sure they can do a claw-prong instead of this T1000 molten steel motif they have going on.

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/jeane-18k-white-gold-5962w18-406



I swear I'm not a BGD shill... but they did some really nice work for me.

 

[Irving]

Love the ideas! Thank you! Hope BGD has better customer service? I’ll find out when they get back from their holidays. I had originally emailed VC to find out the price of the Grymera setting and after all the back and forth I still don’t know the price! They said the price tied to the stone.

Btw, BGD told me they can cut a diamond to my specification if I don’t see a certain diamond I want on their website (e.g., I asked if they have any Black by Brian Gavin available in a 0.90 carat which I don’t see on their site). Anyone have experience with BGD custom cutting? I wanted something from their Black line (their specs are top notch, that’s what piqued my interest), I don’t have any other specs in mind other than carat size. Maybe that’s what they were asking me, and weren’t really asking me to list all the percentages and angles and such? I replied to ask but they’re on holiday until Wednesday.

 

[yssie]

@odina - what is your budget for the setting?

 

[Double E]

Love the ideas! Thank you! Hope BGD has better customer service? I’ll find out when they get back from their holidays. I had originally emailed VC to find out the price of the Grymera setting and after all the back and forth I still don’t know the price! They said the price tied to the stone.

Btw, BGD told me they can cut a diamond to my specification if I don’t see a certain diamond I want on their website (e.g., I asked if they have any Black by Brian Gavin available in a 0.90 carat which I don’t see on their site). Anyone have experience with BGD custom cutting? I wanted something from their Black line (their specs are top notch, that’s what piqued my interest), I don’t have any other specs in mind other than carat size. Maybe that’s what they were asking me, and weren’t really asking me to list all the percentages and angles and such? I replied to ask but they’re on holiday until Wednesday.

My opinion, the stone is the focal point of the ring, while the whole outcome (Stone + the setting) should come as a whole complimenting each other so that it's resulted in a complete unique piece. Undoubtedly the VC setting is beautiful and sings to you, however, for the big picture, it disappointingly may not be an ideal option if you have to drop the high color and carity that you desired much. That said, I suggest you to further explore with other vendors, be it BGD (more hassle free as one-stop shopping) or others as mentioned above (who also create great settings), to see who is most compatible to your ring concepts.
In regards to the BGD custom cut, I believe they would like you to provide your preferred Cs but not the exact proportions (e.g. numbers / %) as they are already cutting their stones in a very narrow proportion range, in which it would be extemely hard to request for specific numbers within these already slim ranges. Not to mention that, depending on the shape, inclusions etc., I believe not every single available rough could be cut into a particular set of proportions we like. My advice for going the custom route is relax and trust this cutter / diamond provider as I don't think you will go wrong having BGD custom Black.
Lastly, do you have any time limit? It will take time to look for the suitable rough for custom cut, and .90ct in E/F VS are naturally limited. This would be equally important for your consideration.
Just FYI, I primarily went with a BGD custom cut .85ct+ and finally confirmed on a .93ct, and above was my experience. I hope it helps.

 

[KKJohnson]

Love the ideas! Thank you! Hope BGD has better customer service? I’ll find out when they get back from their holidays. I had originally emailed VC to find out the price of the Grymera setting and after all the back and forth I still don’t know the price! They said the price tied to the stone.

I just looked on the VC website and the reason they can’t tell you the price is because it looks like you receive a 10% discount of total cost.

 

[Irving]

@odina - what is your budget for the setting?

I would say probably $5K would be my max.

 

[Irving]

My opinion, the stone is the focal point of the ring, while the whole outcome (Stone + the setting) should come as a whole complimenting each other so that it's resulted in a complete unique piece. Undoubtedly the VC setting is beautiful and sings to you, however, for the big picture, it disappointingly may not be an ideal option if you have to drop the high color and carity that you desired much. That said, I suggest you to further explore with other vendors, be it BGD (more hassle free as one-stop shopping) or others as mentioned above (who also create great settings), to see who is most compatible to your ring concepts.
In regards to the BGD custom cut, I believe they would like you to provide your preferred Cs but not the exact proportions (e.g. numbers / %) as they are already cutting their stones in a very narrow proportion range, in which it would be extemely hard to request for specific numbers within these already slim ranges. Not to mention that, depending on the shape, inclusions etc., I believe not every single available rough could be cut into a particular set of proportions we like. My advice for going the custom route is relax and trust this cutter / diamond provider as I don't think you will go wrong having BGD custom Black.
Lastly, do you have any time limit? It will take time to look for the suitable rough for custom cut, and .90ct in E/F VS are naturally limited. This would be equally important for your consideration.
Just FYI, I primarily went with a BGD custom cut .85ct+ and finally confirmed on a .93ct, and above was my experience. I hope it helps.

Very interesting, thanks for this. I'm new so I didn't even know there was such a thing as a custom cut. I'm pretty set on BGD so in all likelihood I'd go with them, including the setting; I'm not sure I'd be comfortable doing a separate stone vs setting vendor (I've been reading about the other vendors mentioned here though, just to see). Yeah, I was confused by BGD's initial email which asked me to provide the "full criteria with a min and max in all categories," and I was like, "you mean all of the angles and depth % and all that? I thought you're the master of the cuts, why are you asking me?" You're right though that they're just asking for the 4Cs. Silly me!

So for custom cuts, do you know if they're cutting from the rough? Or are they cutting from a bigger stone (maybe a return or an upgrade)? Or are they just trying to source a Brian Gavin Black caliber stone from elsewhere (other vendors)?

I don't have a time limit. This is a ring project, so no big proposal waiting on the ring to happen, haha! I can wait several months (or longer). How long did it take you? And what did you end up setting the .93 custom cut in?

 

[Double E]

Very interesting, thanks for this. I'm new so I didn't even know there was such a thing as a custom cut. I'm pretty set on BGD so in all likelihood I'd go with them, including the setting; I'm not sure I'd be comfortable doing a separate stone vs setting vendor (I've been reading about the other vendors mentioned here though, just to see). Yeah, I was confused by BGD's initial email which asked me to provide the "full criteria with a min and max in all categories," and I was like, "you mean all of the angles and depth % and all that? I thought you're the master of the cuts, why are you asking me?" You're right though that they're just asking for the 4Cs. Silly me!

So for custom cuts, do you know if they're cutting from the rough? Or are they cutting from a bigger stone (maybe a return or an upgrade)? Or are they just trying to source a Brian Gavin Black caliber stone from elsewhere (other vendors)?

I don't have a time limit. This is a ring project, so no big proposal waiting on the ring to happen, haha! I can wait several months (or longer). How long did it take you? And what did you end up setting the .93 custom cut in?

BGD was looking for a rough for my initial plan. Though not 100% sure, but I believe it's generally cut from rough for custom order, as most of the case I think it costs more to source a finished stone (enough bigger than the requested size) to cut it smaller, but experts / trade members are definitely welcomed to correct me if I am wrong It will much less likely to locate a stone of SAME cut quality elsewhere directly and brand it for themself; it will either be highly highly difficult or the stone will actually be cut and owned by another ideal cut vendor. Should you wish to, you can always ask BGD to confirm whether it will be cut from a returned or another polished diamond, they would be happy to disclose.

 

[Double E]

I don't have a time limit. This is a ring project, so no big proposal waiting on the ring to happen, haha! I can wait several months (or longer). How long did it take you? And what did you end up setting the .93 custom cut in?

I've waited for more than a month, found no qualified rough came over for the slightly smaller size I preferred, and a signature H & A moved in BGD's inventory at the time. I realized the rarity that I mentioned as I was targeting .85ct+ F/G VS, so I decided to grab the .93ct G by expanding a bit my budget. But honestly I think you have more flexibility than me since you are open to a larger size range.

I am now processing on a custom solitaire setting with them and look forward to the final piece before our anniversary trip in Nov. Good luck to your journey, I do think that you are in a very optimal situation for the budget, flexibility and time on hand.

 

[carbonfan]

I did ask VC about putting a smaller than 2 carat stone in the Grymera. In fact, that was my initial inquiry, I had put down that I was interested in 1-1.5 carat stones (don’t remember the exact numbers but I had said less than 2 carats). The reply I received was that the model Grymera image on the website is a 3 carat, that the wires really can’t be scaled to much thinner than 2 carats, and that for anything stone under 2 carats, the metal to stone proportion would be off (too much metal for too little stone). To be honest, I’m a bit put off by VC at this point. I’ve inquired about 2 settings up to this point, both the Grymera and a round center stone with 2 pear sides a little while back. Each time I was told that I should aim for no smaller than 2 carats, and their notion is that bigger looks better (seems to be their script). While I can understand that certain settings simply may not work with a smaller stone, I don’t agree that bigger is invariably better looking. They also did not suggest making the side pears smaller to work better with a better center stone. They also didn’t suggest what settings would work for a 1.5 or less stone. They seemed to suggest to change the other criteria (lower the clarity, color) in order to get a bigger stone.

I am sorry that you have had this experience and I must say that I am surprised by this. I can completely understand them steering you away from the Grymera if the wire aspect of the design would not complement a smaller stone, and as Victor has an uncanny eye for proportion I would trust him on this. However, many of VC's posts have featured stones in the size range you mentioned, as well as smaller ones, so I don't get the sense that they have a "bigger is better" approach. Victor has been quite busy lately, so it is possible that he is still thinking about a design for the stone you have in mind, or perhaps there was a miscommunication somewhere along the line and he does not know if you are still interested. In any case, I know he could recommend a beautiful setting for that size of stone, and if there are diamonds in his inventory that are of interest to you he would be my first choice to create the setting, hands down. However, they probably won't be able to provide you with a firm quote for the setting until the choice of stone has been finalized due to the 10% discount and the materials involved, etc.

Of course you are welcome to go with BGD or another vendor if that is your preference. I have personally had very mixed experience with BGD, but I know other PS members have been happy with them. I have also purchased stones from other vendors (WF, HPD, etc.) and asked Victor to create the setting, which was a refreshingly seamless experience. So I don't think you need to limit yourself to one-stop shopping. In any case, I would not give up on Victor until you have spoken with him directly. Once you have a definitive idea about what you are looking for with regard to the stone he will be able to assist you in designing an amazing setting.

In any case, I hope everything turns out the way you want it to! Try to enjoy the journey, and please keep us posted!

 

[Irving]

Just to clarify that I’ve not spoken to Victor directly on any of the inquiries about rings or settings. Both times I’ve reached out it was through the email or live chat channel. Does Victor normally communicate directly with the buyer if the buyer isn’t buying something extraordinarily pricey?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Diamonds...Whiteflash or Victor (if he has a diamond you want and are getting him to make the setting). I have diamonds from WF and recommend them very highly. I think you'd need to look at both vendors and see who has the diamond with the specs you want.

You should thank Victor for being honest. People can be very disappointed when they choose a setting that was made for a 3 ct stone and then see it with their 1-1.5 ct diamond. Some settings DO work better with a larger center. I personally would not make a round with pear sides with less than a 2 ct center because the sides won't land at the right place with a smaller stone in the center. However, he does a fabulous Lily three stone with side diamonds that is great with a 1.5 ct center. Take a look a that. I think that is one of the best choices for a smaller stone unless you go with a solitaire or halo. Victor is concerned with aesthetics, not selling you a larger diamond. The price of the item has ZERO to do with Victor's communication. He has staff to handle much of the communication so he can be involved in design and production of his jewelry. I always communicate by email.