BG Signature or Select?

[JeBri31508]

Question....and this can be concerning either BGD or Whiteflash, because I know that Brian Gavin was a part of WF until very recently. In order to get the best cut (most sparkly, fire, etc) diamond, would you go with the Signature (branded H&A) or the Select diamonds from either vendor? Let''s say that theoretically both Ideal Scopes were great, HCA was great, color and everything the same...is there visually (I''m not talking the H&A viewer, just to the nake eye) going to be a difference between the two? (I''m kind of hoping that someone who has owned both at one point in time will chime in here with their opinion . Thanks!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/21/2010 11:57:42 AM
Author:JeBri31508
Question....and this can be concerning either BGD or Whiteflash, because I know that Brian Gavin was a part of WF until very recently. In order to get the best cut (most sparkly, fire, etc) diamond, would you go with the Signature (branded H&A) or the Select diamonds from either vendor? Let''s say that theoretically both Ideal Scopes were great, HCA was great, color and everything the same...is there visually (I''m not talking the H&A viewer, just to the nake eye) going to be a difference between the two? (I''m kind of hoping that someone who has owned both at one point in time will chime in here with their opinion . Thanks!

It depends on the proportions/ cut quality of the Expert Selection stone in question in order to answer that. Suffice to say without having specific examples that some ES from either vendor can be of superb cut quality so you could definitely consider those.

 

[JeBri31508]

Date: 2/21/2010 12:07:57 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 2/21/2010 11:57:42 AM
Author:JeBri31508
Question....and this can be concerning either BGD or Whiteflash, because I know that Brian Gavin was a part of WF until very recently. In order to get the best cut (most sparkly, fire, etc) diamond, would you go with the Signature (branded H&A) or the Select diamonds from either vendor? Let''s say that theoretically both Ideal Scopes were great, HCA was great, color and everything the same...is there visually (I''m not talking the H&A viewer, just to the nake eye) going to be a difference between the two? (I''m kind of hoping that someone who has owned both at one point in time will chime in here with their opinion . Thanks!

It depends on the proportions/ cut quality of the Expert Selection stone in question in order to answer that. Suffice to say without having specific examples that some ES from either vendor can be of superb cut quality so you could definitely consider those.

Let''s say that the proportions were all deemed "PS worthy" , and all were EX cut...I''m just trying to decide if I should nit-pick my way through the expert selections, and ask for help from Lesley in finding something, or if I should just pay the little extra to get the Signature diamond...

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/21/2010 12:11:48 PM
Author: JeBri31508

Date: 2/21/2010 12:07:57 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 2/21/2010 11:57:42 AM
Author:JeBri31508
Question....and this can be concerning either BGD or Whiteflash, because I know that Brian Gavin was a part of WF until very recently. In order to get the best cut (most sparkly, fire, etc) diamond, would you go with the Signature (branded H&A) or the Select diamonds from either vendor? Let''s say that theoretically both Ideal Scopes were great, HCA was great, color and everything the same...is there visually (I''m not talking the H&A viewer, just to the nake eye) going to be a difference between the two? (I''m kind of hoping that someone who has owned both at one point in time will chime in here with their opinion . Thanks!

It depends on the proportions/ cut quality of the Expert Selection stone in question in order to answer that. Suffice to say without having specific examples that some ES from either vendor can be of superb cut quality so you could definitely consider those.

Let''s say that the proportions were all deemed ''PS worthy'' , and all were EX cut...I''m just trying to decide if I should nit-pick my way through the expert selections, and ask for help from Lesley in finding something, or if I should just pay the little extra to get the Signature diamond...

Ok! Well.....it comes down to whether the extra is worth it to you to get the h&a stone or not....No reason to not consider a nice ES stone unless you would really rather have h&a.

 

[JeBri31508]

Thanks Lorelie! I guess I''m just on the fence about the whole H&A thing...I want the best cut and will def pay the $$ for that, but I just don''t see the big deal about being able to see hearts through an H&A viewer and paying extra for that`...I do like being able to see arrows when looking at the diamond IRL though, but wouldn''t EX symmetry (GIA) get me that?

 

[Phoenix]

I could be wrong about this, but I thinnk that BGD H&A Sign cut is upgradeable whereas their Select stones are not. The upgradeable option may come in very handy one day...you never know!

Also, again I'm not sure, but with BGD Sign stones, you also have the option of getting 70% (? not sure of the percentage and am too lazy to look it up, LOL) back if you ever decided/ had (God forbid) to sell your stone back to them. If you sell a "generic" (for lack of a better word) stone on the secondhand market, you'd be lucky to recoup 40-50% of your original cost. I should know, I've just sold some of my diamonds.

So, to me, paying that extra (small) premium is worth your peace of mind.

 

[tyty333]

Date: 2/21/2010 12:35:47 PM
Author: Phoenix
I could be wrong about this, but I thinnk that BGD H&A Sign cut is upgradeable whereas their Select stones are not. The upgradeable option may come in very handy one day...you never know!

Also, again I''m not sure, but with BGD Sign stones, you also have the option of getting 70% (? not sure of the percentage and am too lazy to look it up, LOL) back if you ever decided/ had (God forbid) to sell your stone back to them.

I believe you are right Phoenix...if you ever want the option to upgrade with BGD you will need to go with his H&A line.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/21/2010 12:35:47 PM
Author: Phoenix
I could be wrong about this, but I thinnk that BGD H&A Sign cut is upgradeable whereas their Select stones are not. The upgradeable option may come in very handy one day...you never know!

Also, again I'm not sure, but with BGD Sign stones, you also have the option of getting 70% (? not sure of the percentage and am too lazy to look it up, LOL) back if you ever decided/ had (God forbid) to sell your stone back to them. If you sell a 'generic' (for lack of a better word) stone on the secondhand market, you'd be lucky to recoup 40-50% of your original cost. I should know, I've just sold some of my diamonds.

So, to me, paying that extra (small) premium is worth your peace of mind.

That is a point, the WF ES stones are fully upgradable to the best of my knowledge so that might be a factor to consider in the decision process.

Terms and conditions are listed below, as for upgrades on non Brian Gavin Signature H&A it states that ' certified' diamonds are upgradable so I would take it to mean that any inventory stone is upgradable....

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/need-help-faq/

"We offer a Lifetime Upgrade Policy on certified diamonds only. This does not apply to jewelry that contains diamonds. Apply the original purchase price (less shipping) towards your upgrade and pay the difference."


Miss Lesley, if you are reading, could you confirm please?

 

[JeBri31508]

Hmm...I"ll have to figure out the upgrade thing, because if the Select stones are not upgradeable, it''s a done deal for the Signature then lol. Although this will be an upgrade, I''m not outruling one in the next decade!

 

[Maisie]

I started off with an ACA from Whiteflash. I upgraded to another ACA then to an Expert Selection. I can honestly say the ES was just as beautiful and sparkly to my eyes as the ACA. I wonder if the ES stone could have almost (but not quite) met the criteria for ACA.

I think each stone should be judged separately. Some are probably closer to ACA standards than others.

 

[tyty333]

Date: 2/21/2010 12:40:39 PM
Author: tyty333

Date: 2/21/2010 12:35:47 PM
Author: Phoenix
I could be wrong about this, but I thinnk that BGD H&A Sign cut is upgradeable whereas their Select stones are not. The upgradeable option may come in very handy one day...you never know!

Also, again I''m not sure, but with BGD Sign stones, you also have the option of getting 70% (? not sure of the percentage and am too lazy to look it up, LOL) back if you ever decided/ had (God forbid) to sell your stone back to them.

I believe you are right Phoenix...if you ever want the option to upgrade with BGD you will need to go with his H&A line.

I could have sworn...and its in my notes that it had to be a BGD H&A for upgrade...but according to what Lorelei
just pointed out, I am misguided (ok, wrong...I said it!). Well, this opens a whole new door for available BGD
diamonds for me!

Also, in my notes for Whiteflash I have that ACAs and Expert Selections are upgradable (not the rest though). Hope that
note is not incorrect!

 

[Lesley Harris]

Hi All,

Just had a moment to read a little bit here and I''m pleased I did. When the rules were originally written, we were only selling our Brian Gavin Signature H & A''s but now that we''ve opened up our diamond offerings to include other certified diamonds with the launch of the new website, we need to update the rules. At present only our Brian Gavin Signature H & A diamonds are eligible for our upgrade program. We can see how the "certified" part in the description is confusing and we will update this in our FAQ''s asap.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/21/2010 5:09:45 PM
Author: Lesley Harris
Hi All,

Just had a moment to read a little bit here and I''m pleased I did. When the rules were originally written, we were only selling our Brian Gavin Signature H & A''s but now that we''ve opened up our diamond offerings to include other certified diamonds with the launch of the new website, we need to update the rules. At present only our Brian Gavin Signature H & A diamonds are eligible for our upgrade program. We can see how the ''certified'' part in the description is confusing and we will update this in our FAQ''s asap.

Thanks for the clarification Lesley!

 

[D2B]

Hi lesely,

Just in case you still see this, I am having trouble getting into your website (just yours have checked other ps vendors), is it me, or have there been issues, or is there a new website I am unfamliar with. I have tried the one listed in your signature, but keep on getting "problem loading the page" and I am dying to see some of the lovly things you have on your new website.

d2b