Advice Needed - Hearts & Arrows (Victor, BGD)

[sn25]

Hi All,

I have started my search for an engagement ring for my partner and have done lots of reading on this forum (thanks for all the great info!).

I have decided to purchase my setting from Victor Canera (Emilya) and believe I have the budget to pick out a nice hearts & arrows diamond for the center stone. After doing some research on blogs/pricescope, there seems to be good reviews for the BGD signature line of diamonds; however I noticed that Victor also has his own line of hearts & arrows (Canera Ideal) but haven't been able to find many reviews online about these stones.

As I don't live in the US, I am looking at the option of getting the stone and setting from Victor which saves me having to ship the diamond from BGD if the quality of stones is the same.

I am hoping to get some input in regards to whether anybody has purchased a Canera Ideal stone from Victor and how is the performance of the stone compared to other hearts & arrows lines? Or should I be looking elsewhere if I am searching for the perfect stone?

 

[danielxlin]

For what it's worth:

niceice.com/diamond-reviews-brian-gavin-signature-or-victor-canera-hearts-arrows-diamond/

 

[emmebee]

Victor's stones are very nice as well. Also, if you purchase the center stone from him, you get the added benefit of 10% off your setting, and he will insure the stone while it is being set and then shipped to you - definitely makes things a bit easier.

I would compare similar stones at the various ideal cut H&A vendors and see what the pricing/performance differences are. What's your budget for the stone and what requirements would you like to meet? We can help

 

[Roqsteady]

For what it's worth:

niceice.com/diamond-reviews-brian-gavin-signature-or-victor-canera-hearts-arrows-diamond/

For what it's worth Todd is also a BGD affiliate. I've stopped by Victor's office before and seen some of his Ideal Hearts diamonds. I've also had a Brian Gavin blue diamond. All of them were stunning. Granted, I don't spend all my time looking at diamonds all day, but I've also seen other decent GIA 3X diamonds from retailers, as well as shipped 3/4 diamonds from James Allen. In terms of cut, my gut feeling is that both the BG and Canera diamonds were at the upper eschelon, and you really can't go wrong with either of them. Especially if you decided to get the setting with Victor, I'd recommend going with one of his diamonds if the price is comparable since it makes the process safer (insurance), faster (no shipping), and possibly cheaper with the setting discount (which is substantial since his settings are not cheap).

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Uh, yeah, niceice is not an impartial source.

I absolutely would buy a diamond from Victor if he was making the setting! His H&A diamonds are beautiful! So much easier, too!

 

[danielxlin]

The NiceIce review turned out to be worth nothing. Besides the Brian Gavin Diamonds sponsorship, Todd also receives affiliate money from Wink at HPD, Blue Nile and James Allen. The safest path is to buy diamonds from none of those dealers, and to ignore anything Todd writes. He's a shill (a poorly paid shill, but still a shill).

 

[simon123]

The NiceIce review turned out to be worth nothing. Besides the Brian Gavin Diamonds sponsorship, Todd also receives affiliate money from Wink at HPD, Blue Nile and James Allen. The safest path is to buy diamonds from none of those dealers, and to ignore anything Todd writes. He's a shill (a poorly paid shill, but still a shill).

danielxlin - First you tell the OP to read the NiceIce review then you slate Todd that he is a shill? What does it tell you if he is affiliated with BGD and Wink HPD - Todd will only recommend the best of the best. I have used Todd and he was upfront from the beginning that he was affiliated with the listed vendors. Todd is an expert in diamonds and found me a stone cut to perfection and I have been back many times.

One thing for sure he would not advise someone to cancel their insurance on a 30K ring, like you. So if you have nothing NICE to say even about NICEICE, say nothing and respect others on the forum.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ring-insurance-dilemma-paying-a-fortune-to-insure.212949/#post-3873078#p3873078']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ring-insurance-dilemma-paying-a-fortune-to-insure.212949/#post-3873078#p3873078[/URL]

"Cancel it! Then protect the ring like you'd protect a newborn.

Take the $650 a year and invest it in a rainy day fund. If you happen to lose the ring despite protecting it like a newborn, then the fund will be there to pay some of the way towards a new ring.

If you don't lose the ring then the rainy day fund will pay for college for your actual grownup newborns.

 

[arkieb1]

Victor's stones and Brian Gavins stones are virtually identical cut wise, they are beautiful stones. However, if you want a setting made from Victor you will get a discount if you buy stone and setting all from the one vendor. If you are an Aussie and need help let me know.

 

[danielxlin]

The NiceIce review turned out to be worth nothing. Besides the Brian Gavin Diamonds sponsorship, Todd also receives affiliate money from Wink at HPD, Blue Nile and James Allen. The safest path is to buy diamonds from none of those dealers, and to ignore anything Todd writes. He's a shill (a poorly paid shill, but still a shill).

For the literal-minded among you I was joking about the absurdity of dismissing the opinion of any expert who accepts affiliate money.

The Pricescope site accepts all sorts of sponsorship and ads from various dealers but I still read the Knowledge section, and use the Resources section.

Now do cancel that expensive insurance and protect your rings like newborns!

 

[Todd Gray]

It is true that I affiliate market for several of the more well known vendors online, however I disclose this relationship quite clearly, both on the web site, and in the terms disclosed within every email that I respond to. Heck, in some of my articles the outbound link that leads to some of the vendors who I work with is even labeled <===== BIG SCARY AFFILIATE LINK ======> so I can't possibly imagine how anybody could miss the fact that I'm an affiliate for the various companies promoted on the web site.

I am absolutely affiliated with Brian Gavin and High Performance Diamonds, however my experience with these companies goes well beyond the nature of our affiliate agreement. I have purchased literally thousands of diamonds from Brian Gavin, DBA Alpha Diamonds, and Crafted by Infinity, and sold those diamonds through NiceIce.com which was a rather successful online diamond business, which was operated out of a brick and mortar jewelry store; the diamonds produced by Brian Gavin and Crafted by Infinity comprised the majority of our inventory, which was often sold under the private Nice Ice label, but we sold a lot of their branded production as well.

With that in mind, I don't think that promoting the benefits of brands which I've worked with for years, makes me a shill, but if it does, then I'm proud to be shilling for those companies... But what does it make me when I tell people to buy diamonds from companies which I don't have an affiliate relationship with? I'm working with three clients who are considering diamonds from Whiteflash at the moment, and we don't have an affiliate agreement in place, thus I don't profit one red cent from helping those people... And when I help somebody buy a diamond from Victor Canera, as I did earlier this year, again not one red cent, and this was not the diamond referenced in that review... Or when somebody seeks my advice about a diamond from GOG, or their local jewelry store? Not one red cent.

The consultation services that I provide are free of charge and my email correspondence tends to be pretty detailed, I don't charge consumers for my time, I'm compensated for my efforts via affiliate commissions that are generated when people do buy from one of the vendors that I'm affiliated with, and nobody is twisting anybody's arm to contact me and ask for advice / assistance, people take the information that makes sense to them, and dismiss what doesn't make sense to them... And in my experience, they are working with more than one affiliate, and comparing notes to determine which advice they are receiving is most accurate.

 

[sn25]

Hi All,

Thank you for all your feedback and helpful advice.

I am now leaning towards sourcing a stone from Victor given the 10% setting discount and convenience of purchasing everything from the one place. Looks like the stones would be quite comparable by all accounts having compared some of the specs and scope images online. Now I just need to find the right one!

Thanks for the offer arkieb1, I am an Aussie! However I am living in the UK currently. I will be travelling to the US later this year so will have the opportunity pick up the ring there to avoid having to pay additional import tax if I had it shipped.

I am budgeting ~$8,000 USD for the stone itself. Looking at anything around 0.7-1.0ct. My partner has tried on a number of rings and has a preference for a smaller centre stone (0.5-0.6ct) as she has tiny fingers but I would still like to get something a little bigger if possible. I believe this allows me to look at stones within the D-G / VVS2-VS2 range for the price which is a plus!

I will need to sit down and have a better look at Victor's inventory (and some of the other H&A dealers) and see if I can find something that suits. Please feel free to send me a note if you find a suitable stone as I could use all the help I can get