Hi all.
First, I need to tell you all how much I appreciate this forum, your posts, insight, discussions, knowledge, and so on. I've read thousands and thousands of posts here over the past several months and it has been a priceless resource. At the beginning of this process, I knew literally nothing about jewelry. This is essentially an all-purpose post that contains all of the questions that I couldn't resolve by doing research on my own. I'm probably going to be a bit long-winded here, so I apologize in advance.
With that said, here's my current mission. I'm going to propose to my girlfriend, and have been trying to decide on the ring forever. My budget is around $6000. If I can come in under this, great.
Setting
I knew from the start that platinum would be a must for me.
I settled on the Legera Pavé from BGD, with one caveat, which I will mention toward the end.
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/legera-pave-platinum-5861p
I welcome feedback on this setting.
The Diamond
I'm 99% certain that I'd like to get a diamond from BGD as well. I like the reputation and history of emphasis on cut and performance. I'm looking for round stones in the .6 to .99 carat range. Color is pretty unimportant to me (have considered D-K), and clarity is not a huge concern either. I'm open to grades from SI2 to VVS2 - I sense that at VVS1 the premium for clarity really elevates. It should be eye clean, but even then I wouldn't immediately reject inclusions visible with the naked eye if they weren't unattractive. With .6 carats seemingly around 5.5mm in diameter and .99 around 6.4mm in diameter, I don't see a huge amount of difference between these two. I'm leaning toward the .6 carat to .7 carat range, putting the budget surplus toward a down payment on a mortgage.
I love the BGD blue diamonds, but they are actually kind of scarce at the moment. Most of the ones I've looked at are reserved, pending payment. BGD assured me that the BGD Signature and BGD Blue are equally well cut; the only difference is the fluorescence. While typing this post, the first stone below became available and I reserved it, pending payment. I included its numbers along with the other options I was considering. I'd love to get feedback on it.
.824 carat, BG Blue, I color, VS2, 5.98mm x 6.00mm x 3.70, table 56.1%, depth 61.8%, crown 34.7˚, pav 40.7˚
HCA 1.1 (all EX except Spread Very Good), $3238
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.824-i-vs2-round-diamond-ags-bl-104075658010
I have this reserved, pending payment. It became available while typing this post. I would love feedback!
.806 carat, BG Blue, G color, VS1, 5.95mm x 5.98mm x 3.70mm, HCA 1.1 (all EX except Spread Very Good), $4212
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.806-g-vs1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104075658019
.603 carat, BG Blue, F color, SI1, 5.42mm x 5.44mm x 3.35mm, HCA 1.5 (all EX except Spread Very Good), $2341
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.603-f-si1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104069795003
I consider this eye clean (or close enough), but have not confirmed that with BGD. Input is welcome in this regard.
Canera?
The biggest question I have, though, is this. Would it be worth it to splash an extra $2000 to get a very similar setting made by Victor Canera? He quoted between $3500 and $4200 for a few very similar designs. If I indeed went with the stone above, using Victor would take the price of the ring from ~$5100 to ~$7100. This is a tough call for me. It's essentially a 40% increase in the overall price of the ring, without taking into consideration shipping the stone to Victor and insuring it during setting.
Thank you all very much for your time.
First, I need to tell you all how much I appreciate this forum, your posts, insight, discussions, knowledge, and so on. I've read thousands and thousands of posts here over the past several months and it has been a priceless resource. At the beginning of this process, I knew literally nothing about jewelry. This is essentially an all-purpose post that contains all of the questions that I couldn't resolve by doing research on my own. I'm probably going to be a bit long-winded here, so I apologize in advance.
With that said, here's my current mission. I'm going to propose to my girlfriend, and have been trying to decide on the ring forever. My budget is around $6000. If I can come in under this, great.
Setting
I knew from the start that platinum would be a must for me.
I settled on the Legera Pavé from BGD, with one caveat, which I will mention toward the end.
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/legera-pave-platinum-5861p
I welcome feedback on this setting.
The Diamond
I'm 99% certain that I'd like to get a diamond from BGD as well. I like the reputation and history of emphasis on cut and performance. I'm looking for round stones in the .6 to .99 carat range. Color is pretty unimportant to me (have considered D-K), and clarity is not a huge concern either. I'm open to grades from SI2 to VVS2 - I sense that at VVS1 the premium for clarity really elevates. It should be eye clean, but even then I wouldn't immediately reject inclusions visible with the naked eye if they weren't unattractive. With .6 carats seemingly around 5.5mm in diameter and .99 around 6.4mm in diameter, I don't see a huge amount of difference between these two. I'm leaning toward the .6 carat to .7 carat range, putting the budget surplus toward a down payment on a mortgage.
I love the BGD blue diamonds, but they are actually kind of scarce at the moment. Most of the ones I've looked at are reserved, pending payment. BGD assured me that the BGD Signature and BGD Blue are equally well cut; the only difference is the fluorescence. While typing this post, the first stone below became available and I reserved it, pending payment. I included its numbers along with the other options I was considering. I'd love to get feedback on it.
.824 carat, BG Blue, I color, VS2, 5.98mm x 6.00mm x 3.70, table 56.1%, depth 61.8%, crown 34.7˚, pav 40.7˚
HCA 1.1 (all EX except Spread Very Good), $3238
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.824-i-vs2-round-diamond-ags-bl-104075658010
I have this reserved, pending payment. It became available while typing this post. I would love feedback!
.806 carat, BG Blue, G color, VS1, 5.95mm x 5.98mm x 3.70mm, HCA 1.1 (all EX except Spread Very Good), $4212
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.806-g-vs1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104075658019
.603 carat, BG Blue, F color, SI1, 5.42mm x 5.44mm x 3.35mm, HCA 1.5 (all EX except Spread Very Good), $2341
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.603-f-si1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104069795003
I consider this eye clean (or close enough), but have not confirmed that with BGD. Input is welcome in this regard.
Canera?
The biggest question I have, though, is this. Would it be worth it to splash an extra $2000 to get a very similar setting made by Victor Canera? He quoted between $3500 and $4200 for a few very similar designs. If I indeed went with the stone above, using Victor would take the price of the ring from ~$5100 to ~$7100. This is a tough call for me. It's essentially a 40% increase in the overall price of the ring, without taking into consideration shipping the stone to Victor and insuring it during setting.
Thank you all very much for your time.
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