Brian Gavin Signature Diamonds or Whiteflash ACA?

[EarRang]

I'm considering these two vendors and wondering if there's much distinction in quality and would love to hear your opinion.

Assuming the same specs for the stones:

1) Are there any differences in visual beauty between BGD Signature stones and Whiteflash ACA's?

2) Is there any difference in customer/follow-on service?

Thanks!

 

[Laila619]

They are virtually the exact same thing. I'd pick whichever vendor has the setting you like the most.

 

[Gypsy]

1) The ACA and ES lines and all the BGD lines were developed by the same man: Brian Gavin. Brian helped start WF then moved on to his own shop. As a result the guidelines for all of the lines are very similar. When Brian was at WF he chose all the stones for those lines himself, and now he does this at BGD. I don't know who choses the stones for WF now. If you wanted a fancy cut, I would prefer Brian over WF, just because I think he has a better eye for them. But if you want a Round from any of the signature lines most people would tell you to flip a coin, while others might say that BGD is slightly tougher still because Brian does the selections himself.

2) I personally have had excellent experiences with BGD and prefer to work with them over WF. I like being able to talk to Brian about the diamonds/projects and find that working with him directly is just incredibly easy: he gets what I want and often improves upon my requests and I'm always thrilled with what I get. There are posters on here who prefer their WF experiences over their BGD experiences however. I can tell you that both are responsive if there is any problem and will make it right. And both have a strong record of post-purchase customer service.

I think that between them, for most consumers, there is no bad choice. Is there one that has a setting you prefer over the other?

 

[Christina...]

I agree with everything that has already been said. I too, think it's important to chose a vendor that also carries the setting that you are looking for. Most insurance companies will not cover the loose stone while it is being set, and vendors don't often cover stones that were not purchased from them. There have been cases of diamonds chipping or cracking during setting, so this would be a deciding factor for me. Also, the companies specific buy back, trade in, return and upgrade policies would be a consideration. In this case I believe that they are quite similar.

 

[Gypsy]

I agree with everything that has already been said. I too, think it's important to chose a vendor that also carries the setting that you are looking for. Most insurance companies will not cover the loose stone while it is being set, and vendors don't often cover stones that were not purchased from them. There have been cases of diamonds chipping or cracking during setting, so this would be a deciding factor for me. Also, the companies specific buy back, trade in, return and upgrade policies would be a consideration. In this case I believe that they are quite similar.

They are similar. But BGD does have the Blue Line (my personal favorite line) and that Line has different policies.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I have bought several diamonds from WhiteFlash and have had Brian Gavin recut and old family diamond for me. I think the diamonds are excellent and would buy from the one who has the diamond you want!