BGD Black Dilemma

[Snigdhendu]

I purchased a BGD black 1.05 C diamond for my wife on our 25th anniversary and initially was very happy with the stone - had a strong brilliance and some sparkle in sunlight and kitchen lights.



Wanted to impress my wife and took her to Costco (as others have advised here) and the costco 1C diamonds had more fire compared to the BGD black and we are disappointed to say the least.

Am still in my review period, so seek advise on what we should do.

We are noobs as far as diamonds are concerned, but both of us prefer fire over brilliance and do like those dancing colors a lot

The ASET image looks perfect
but have not been able to see much with the IS that is already included - seems like there is a lot of light leakage - apologoes for the terrible photo with my iPhone



The GIA certificate details are as follow

GRADING RESULTS​

Shape	Round Brilliant
Measurements	6.49 - 6.54 x 4.04 mm
Carat Weight	1.05 carat
Color Grade	G
Clarity Grade	VVS1
Cut Grade	Excellent

PROPORTIONS​

Depth	62.0%
Table	55%
Crown Angle	34.0°
Crown Height	15.5%
Pavilion Angle	40.8°
Pavilion Depth	43.0%
Star Length	55%
Lower Half	75%
Girdle	Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted, 3.5%
Culet	None

The HCA score is 0.9

 

[MissGotRocks]

Is the ring in the photo the Brian Gavin diamond? It looks like it could use a good cleaning in some Dawn dish soap and water. Diamonds have to be kept clean to perform their best. There is no reason why the Costco diamond would have better performance than the diamond you bought.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

It's bath time!
A baby toothbrush and some warm water/few drops of Dawn in a glass. You can even drop it in for 15 mins first if there's a lot of dirt/oil build up. Give a scrub and quick rinse. Dunk and repeat. Then rinse well and dry with a paper towel.
Do this every few days if you use any products while wearing your ring. It's not much different than having a mirror. Just tiny.
*some build up is more stubborn, buy a Sunshine polishing cloth(yellow) and give a good rub before you do your wash and brush up. Try not to do the metal polishing cloth addition more than say, once a month.

Also, It's a lighting trick in stores.
Precision cut diamonds do something called a 'blackout' in direct spot lighting and sometimes at particular angles in direct sun- it's because they're cut to perform optimally in all other light. We don't live with personal spot lighting.
More poorly cut and shallow diamonds always look great in spot lighting as that was what the lighting was designed to do, make a poorly cut diamond shine so you'll buy it. You'll never see those diamond do that anywhere else.

Trust me, a Brian Gavin isn't being outperformed, it's just showing you what they have to do to make other diamonds look precision for a short time...until you walk out the door.

 

[Snigdhendu]

Thank you !! Just the feedback I was looking for.

 

[MMtwo]

My favorite cleaner is Simple Green degreaser (won't harm metal) and a bath with brush to keep diamonds doing what they should. I also make sure to hit the bottom/pavilion for best results. In addition, I LOVE my ultrasonic cleaner from Amazon for a good cleaning.

 

[Lookinagain]

Also, if you have a local jeweler you can ask them to give it a good cleaning. They will usually do this for free. Then your wife should make sure to clean it regularly and not wear it while applying things like hand cream.

 

[Dreamer_D]

A tablespoon of household ammonia in a cup of boiling water and a few drops of dish soap, soak 5 mins then brush with baby tooth brush (wear gloves). That’s a deep cleaning!

 

[headlight]

Rest assured you have the best of the best!

 

[Snigdhendu]

Rest assured you have the best of the best!

Yes, that is exactly what I am also thinking, and I did clean the stone yesterday evening with regular soap and warm water and at home it was on fire (with 4 overhead LED in ceiling lights)

Today morning was cloudy, so not much action, but the stone does not become dark (remains white but not much brilliance)

Thank you everyone for the feedback

 

[Autumn in New England]

I love when folks come here with a problem diamond, and then feel the sweet relief of realizing it simply needs a quick scrub. It's a beautiful stone! Happy Anniversary to you both!!

 

[LightBright]

I purchased a BGD black 1.05 C diamond for my wife on our 25th anniversary and initially was very happy with the stone - had a strong brilliance and some sparkle in sunlight and kitchen lights.



Wanted to impress my wife and took her to Costco (as others have advised here) and the costco 1C diamonds had more fire compared to the BGD black and we are disappointed to say the least.

Am still in my review period, so seek advise on what we should do.

We are noobs as far as diamonds are concerned, but both of us prefer fire over brilliance and do like those dancing colors a lot

The ASET image looks perfect
but have not been able to see much with the IS that is already included - seems like there is a lot of light leakage - apologoes for the terrible photo with my iPhone



The GIA certificate details are as follow

GRADING RESULTS​

Shape	Round Brilliant
Measurements	6.49 - 6.54 x 4.04 mm
Carat Weight	1.05 carat
Color Grade	G
Clarity Grade	VVS1
Cut Grade	Excellent

PROPORTIONS​

Depth	62.0%
Table	55%
Crown Angle	34.0°
Crown Height	15.5%
Pavilion Angle	40.8°
Pavilion Depth	43.0%
Star Length	55%
Lower Half	75%
Girdle	Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted, 3.5%
Culet	None

The HCA score is 0.9

I’m not an expert. If you or your wife think this BGD Super Ideal diamond has less fire when directly compared with other diamonds, visually, it’s not the cut. It might be that the flourescence is making the diamond cloudy (in addition to the diamond not being cleaned lately).

Sometimes with strongly flourescent diamonds, or even in non fluorescent diamonds, in a certain UV light the diamond becomes oily/ hazy. I’m fairly certain BGD would have checked for this, but it’s worth mentioning. For the record. There are PS threads discussing this. Search and read.

I’m NOT sure if the official Grading of diamonds includes a note for this characteristic of oily or haziness. I’m assuming your VVS2 Diamond Grading did not mention haziness, and I’ve seen for example VS1 GIA Report on another post DID NOT report haziness in a diamond that was hazy in certain light.

So, I’m hoping your diamond does respond to cleaning, and in addition YES, take it once clean to compare side by side with other diamonds in all light, during your return period.

This is one of many PS discussion threads on the issue of hazy/oily diamonds which MIGHT NOT be your case at all, but it is worth mentioning.

Hazy / oily / milky diamond with fluorescence?

We just purchased a diamond that is G color and has very strong blue fluorescence. We noticed a slight blue tint under the jewelers lights (which we were told had some UV), but the diamond looked great outside in the sunlight and in one of the back rooms (we had another diamond that was an I...

www.pricescope.com

 

[MissGotRocks]

I’m not an expert. If you or your wife think this BGD Super Ideal diamond has less fire when directly compared with other diamonds, visually, it’s not the cut. It might be that the flourescence is making the diamond cloudy (in addition to the diamond not being cleaned lately).

Sometimes with strongly flourescent diamonds, or even in non fluorescent diamonds, in a certain UV light the diamond becomes oily/ hazy. I’m fairly certain BGD would have checked for this, but it’s worth mentioning. For the record. There are PS threads discussing this. Search and read.

I’m NOT sure if the official Grading of diamonds includes a note for this characteristic of oily or haziness. I’m assuming your VVS2 Diamond Grading did not mention haziness, and I’ve seen for example VS1 GIA Report on another post DID NOT report haziness in a diamond that was hazy in certain light.

So, I’m hoping your diamond does respond to cleaning, and in addition YES, take it once clean to compare side by side with other diamonds in all light, during your return period.

This is one of many PS discussion threads on the issue of hazy/oily diamonds which MIGHT NOT be your case at all, but it is worth mentioning.

Hazy / oily / milky diamond with fluorescence?

We just purchased a diamond that is G color and has very strong blue fluorescence. We noticed a slight blue tint under the jewelers lights (which we were told had some UV), but the diamond looked great outside in the sunlight and in one of the back rooms (we had another diamond that was an I...

www.pricescope.com

I don’t think the BGD Black Line includes diamonds with fluorescence. He has a Blue Line that does have fluorescent diamonds.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Yes, that is exactly what I am also thinking, and I did clean the stone yesterday evening with regular soap and warm water and at home it was on fire (with 4 overhead LED in ceiling lights)

Today morning was cloudy, so not much action, but the stone does not become dark (remains white but not much brilliance)

Thank you everyone for the feedback

Diamonds and their facets are like mirrors. They reflect light from their environment and also colors that they are surrounded with in any given situation. If it is cloudy, you won’t see much fire. If you are in a beige room, it won’t look as white. You always have to take your lighting and color environment in mind when assessing a diamond’s performance. Diamonds are grease magnets as well so it is important to keep your diamond clean so that it performs well. Even washing your hands in Dawn and warm water will keep the grease and/or film to a minimum.

 

[Snigdhendu]

I don’t think the BGD Black Line includes diamonds with fluorescence. He has a Blue Line that does have fluorescent diamonds.

This is BGD Black and the GIA report says mild fluorescence
This is a VVS1 from GIA, with a few pinpoint defects and one feather at the edge of the diamond

 

[MMtwo]

This is BGD Black and the GIA report says mild fluorescence
This is a VVS1 from GIA, with a few pinpoint defects and one feather at the edge of the diamond

A mild fluorescence would not have any undesirable visual effect

 

[MissGotRocks]

This is BGD Black and the GIA report says mild fluorescence
This is a VVS1 from GIA, with a few pinpoint defects and one feather at the edge of the diamond

Then that would not impact the diamond in a bad way.

 

[HS4S_2]

Nothing a good scrubbing can't help. I clean my ring every morning before heading out for the day. It has become part of my routine. I really dislike seeing the diamond dirty.