It was about a few month ago that I decided it was time to start looking for a stone. My initial instinct was to go to the regular Zales-type jewelry stores and see what they have to offer. Going in i knew pretty little. Coming out I felt like I knew even less. Some stones looked better than others, but the sales people couldn't point to anything in particular except to say "this is a Xct stone with such and such cut, polish, symmetry.
And so I began researching the subject of what really makes for a great diamond. I certainly learned many things, but more importantly, I learned what jeweler to trust. Looking on websites like Blue Nile, I could see a huge selection of stones with what looked like decent GIA reports and measurements that seemed to fit the bill. But I still had no way to know why two stones with seemingly same parameters had a $2k price difference.
At that point I decided to call Jonathan at Good Old Gold. Not knowing what to expect, I ran a few questions by him, told him what I am trying to accomplish and my budget, and the next thing I knew Jonathan was looking for a diamond that fit the bill. I will admit, having never dealt with GOG, I was a bit apprehensive about what they would find, and my expectation was they would try to sell me some stone just to make a quick buck. Well, I was proven completely wrong. A few days after our conversation, I received an email stating that Jonathan found what he thought was a great stone. It took a few more days to post all the images and a few more after that to post a comparison video that I requested. For the video, I knew that my benchmark would be their superior line of stones, and that's what I asked I asked for. The video certainly put a lot of my apprehensions to bed. The stone looked and performed very very similar to their top-of-the-like stone (same/similar color and clarity).
So I decided to pull the trigger. Mind you, the price was very reasonable, so much so that similar stones from JA and BGD appeared to cost more. Fast forward to the day when I get the package. Not knowing what to expect, I saw a ring box and thought they just threw that in with the purchase. Little did I know that that's where the stone actually was. When I opened the box my immediate reaction was simply "WOW!" I was blown away. The stone was set in their setting-like stone holders and it looked as if every single facet was firing back all kinds of light at pretty much any angle that I could hold the ring at. It was simply amazing and I definitely did not expect this. Maybe a better stone exists somewhere and after a lot of looking and a lot of second guessing I might've been able to find it. But what I received from GOG is just stunning. The thing that makes this whole experience so much better is that I never felt pressured by either Jonathan or Marie, and they made the whole process ridiculously easy.
Since getting the stone I've looked at it under a few different conditions and it is ridiculous how fiery it appears. It literally blinds you under direct sunlight. I also went into a jewelry store yesterday just to compare it to a similar stone, and the end result was that a stone costing practically twice as much as what I paid performed worse than what GOG found for me.
If you are a guy looking for that perfect gift for your special someone, definitely consider GOG, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
And so I began researching the subject of what really makes for a great diamond. I certainly learned many things, but more importantly, I learned what jeweler to trust. Looking on websites like Blue Nile, I could see a huge selection of stones with what looked like decent GIA reports and measurements that seemed to fit the bill. But I still had no way to know why two stones with seemingly same parameters had a $2k price difference.
At that point I decided to call Jonathan at Good Old Gold. Not knowing what to expect, I ran a few questions by him, told him what I am trying to accomplish and my budget, and the next thing I knew Jonathan was looking for a diamond that fit the bill. I will admit, having never dealt with GOG, I was a bit apprehensive about what they would find, and my expectation was they would try to sell me some stone just to make a quick buck. Well, I was proven completely wrong. A few days after our conversation, I received an email stating that Jonathan found what he thought was a great stone. It took a few more days to post all the images and a few more after that to post a comparison video that I requested. For the video, I knew that my benchmark would be their superior line of stones, and that's what I asked I asked for. The video certainly put a lot of my apprehensions to bed. The stone looked and performed very very similar to their top-of-the-like stone (same/similar color and clarity).
So I decided to pull the trigger. Mind you, the price was very reasonable, so much so that similar stones from JA and BGD appeared to cost more. Fast forward to the day when I get the package. Not knowing what to expect, I saw a ring box and thought they just threw that in with the purchase. Little did I know that that's where the stone actually was. When I opened the box my immediate reaction was simply "WOW!" I was blown away. The stone was set in their setting-like stone holders and it looked as if every single facet was firing back all kinds of light at pretty much any angle that I could hold the ring at. It was simply amazing and I definitely did not expect this. Maybe a better stone exists somewhere and after a lot of looking and a lot of second guessing I might've been able to find it. But what I received from GOG is just stunning. The thing that makes this whole experience so much better is that I never felt pressured by either Jonathan or Marie, and they made the whole process ridiculously easy.
Since getting the stone I've looked at it under a few different conditions and it is ridiculous how fiery it appears. It literally blinds you under direct sunlight. I also went into a jewelry store yesterday just to compare it to a similar stone, and the end result was that a stone costing practically twice as much as what I paid performed worse than what GOG found for me.
If you are a guy looking for that perfect gift for your special someone, definitely consider GOG, I don't think you'll be disappointed.