Black by Brian Gavin

[dhp]

Hello,

I'm a new poster here curious as to the real world benefits of the Black line of diamonds versus the regular Signature line. It seems the cut should be even more improved with technological advances, but I'm curious if anyone here has actually seen these diamonds in person or would be able to guess as to whether the newer cut actually translates into real world improvements. I know it's just been released so it's unlikely that too many people have encountered these diamonds, but any insight would be much appreciated!

I thought there had been a thread on these diamonds before, but I can't seem to find it anymore

 

[tyty333]

The old thread got "heated"...I wasnt following it so dont know why but admin killed it.

Hopefully, this one will not get "heated"! I cant help you with the Blacks because I have not seen any of them but I am also
curious why people would want to pay more for this line...(is it something visible or no?)

 

[ChristineRose]

I certainly haven't seen them, but it appears that the minor angles are fine tuned to maximize brightness, probably at the expense of contrast and flash. If you had a diamond that was perfectly bright, there'd never be any dark spots/contrast, and if you had a diamond that was bright at all angles, you'd have no flashing as the diamond was moved.

That said, I doubt whether anyone could tune cutting this finely before the computer era, so maybe there really is a visible improvement. However there have been many "just different" diamond cuts that have claimed to do more or less the same thing, but mostly these were clearly not ordinary round brilliants.

 

[LawmaLlama]

Hi dhp, I had started the old thread with a question similar to yours. The thread was pulled after some members got contentious. Since then BGD has posted more info on the difference between the two lines. You can read about it here:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/news/black-brian-gavin-vs-brian-gavin-signature/

 

[gm89uk]

I for one am sceptical. It also states that many Brian Gavin Signature diamonds possessed black qualities but do not guarantee it. Does it mean that top of the line Brian Gavin Signature diamonds will be taken into the black range and labelled as such, and the remaining signature diamonds would be "the worst of the bunch", although their quality would be extremely high anyway.

I personally do not think a visible difference would be there, and if so, under extreme scrutiny from a trained eye. Although I've not seen it myself so I cannot judge. But the icing on the cake is they even imply you may not be able to tell the difference on their page. When the own product advertisement has such statements it makes you very wary of spending the extra $.

Saying that I admire the dedication to researching how to make better cut diamonds and his contribution to diamond cutting is well acknowledged, thankfully they have not forced the premium on you (by retaining their more reasonably priced Blue and Signature line) and to their defence, they are quite transparent without any false overwhelming promises to consumers.

 

[tyty333]

Hi dhp, I had started the old thread with a question similar to yours. The thread was pulled after some members got contentious. Since then BGD has posted more info on the difference between the two lines. You can read about it here:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/news/black-brian-gavin-vs-brian-gavin-signature/

Interesting...I would like to see a side by side comparison of a BGD Sig Ideal and a BGD Black. I know for me personally it is above
anything I would ever need but I think there are those out there that want top of the line and wont mind paying extra for a Black.

 

[yssie]

I believe this sort of fine tuning is what the Crafted by Infinity line has espoused from Day 1 - Paul, John, Wink, et. al. have never been content with "It's all in the hearts". For BGD to see a marketing avenue in embracing this same perspective is... Well, the only surprise is that it's taken so long, really - but then again BGD, unlike CBI, now has the sticky position of having to defend their old line of "not-quite-superideals-anymores"..

CBI stones have also commanded a slight premium compared to other PS boutique vendor superideals. I've always personally felt it warranted, for those seeking perfection as technology permits - now it seems BGD Blacks will too.

 

[OoohShiny]

Personally speaking, I think Yssie has hit the nail on the head with regards to BGD moving towards the CBI position of 'extreme attention to cut accuracy produces the best performing diamonds' - in my mind that position is also employed by Karl and Yoram, whereby Yoram pays extreme attention to fine-tuning the cutting of the Octavia diamonds by eye after the accuracy of the computer only gets the cut so far(!!).

The BGD position appears to differ from the CBI position, though - BGD seems to be positioning itself towards the market that is focused on high colour and clarity, whereas I have seen many CBI stones in the their inventory that are K colour (and lower) and/or SI1.

I think the most interesting comparison would be not just a BGD Signature against a BGD Black, but both stones against a CBI stone. I recall at least one 'noob' on here (apologies, I cannot remember his name for the life of me) spent the time to check out a lot of diamonds in person before making a purchase, including visiting a CBI dealer, and his feedback was the CBI stone was visibly different/better than the other stones he had seen. In the end I think he went for a great GIA XXX because he was trying to maximise size and sacrificed on the cut side of things slightly, but the report that the CBI was somehow different seemed to support the view that the CBIs have a certain 'something', even if it can't necessarily be quantified.


Personally I think it's an interesting development in the market. Anything that encourages increased awareness of and focus on high quality cutting can only be good in the longer term - hopefully the message will eventually spread further that colour and clarity and size aren't the be-all-and-end-all of diamond shopping, which may even make high street B&M chains raise their game (although I won't hold my breath...)

 

[ChristineRose]

Well it's not a secret that adjusting minor facets can change the look of a diamond. The real question is whether there is a look that better--as opposed to just different.