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Brian Gavin, Whiteflash, or James Allen?

M

Mark87

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 30, 2016
Messages
14
Hello

I created a topic some days ago on a Whiteflash diamond and received lots of good feedback. I am based in the UK so only when I was about to pay I realised the Whietflash price didn't include VAT. Including the cost of the custom design + VAT + duties, the total price was out of my budget. So I had to start the search again. Now I have selected these 4 diamonds:

BGD Blue Line: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.191-i-vs1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104087953002

BGD Signature: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.267-k-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104067957028#!prettyPhoto[gallery2]/1/

WF ACA: http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3488748.htm

JA TrueHearts: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.37-carat-j-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-1870386


I am trying (as I guess most retail buyers) to maximize carat weight and optical performance at the same time. They are all around the same budget, but with different carat weights and slightly different color and clarity grades. I am not sure if BGD is worth the brand premium, and for JA I am not sure the cut quality is the same of BGD/WF even if it's their TrueHearts line.

This said, any recommendation? What would you pick if you were me?

Thanks a lot for your help
 
What do you mean that BGD may not be worth premium? Aren't their Signature series and WF's ACA comparable? You are comparing both.
 
I don't know, it is a question. It looks that with the WF one for just $300 more I get one notch above in color and 0.5ct more...that's why my feeling was that BGD, at least on this diamond, may not be the best deal

I guess all of these 4 diamonds are excellent. And my understanding is that WF ACA and BGD Signature are comparable on average. However my budget and the features I am looking for have led me to these diamonds: arguably there is not much difference, but I just want to understand which one other people would pick, given that I am not sure how to choose between these.

So which one would you pick?
 
Now I understand. Also the K might be a little too yellow.
 
Why do you want to buy from the US? Is it not an expensive way to do it if you live in the UK once you add on import duty etc? I live in the UK and know that the few things I have purchased from the US and had shipped have turned out expensive.
 
Well I understand the duty is 2.5%. If you buy a loose diamond however that shouldn't apply (based on what I have read even on this forum). So you just got 20% VAT. If you buy in the UK you have VAT too, so it should be roughly the same on that front. I have done my search of online vendors and couldn't see any major UK vendor that looks as reliable as the US one. Also, again reading on this forum, many other UK retail buyers had expressed the same frustation regarding the lack of a UK vendor of the calibre of WF, JA or BGD...but if you know one please share it with me! :)

any suggestion on which diamond to pick among those 4?
 
I would go with the Whiteflash stone. Nice size and middle of colors you are looking at.
 
I must admit duty at 2.5% is lower than I thought it would be - so basically you will pay 22.5% when the diamond/engagement ring clears customs in the UK. I think in the UK there is quite a focus on colour, I suspect a lot of people would place it above size. I would definitely stick with H/I colour as a minimum, eye clean and with good proportions. I'm by no means a diamond expert I'm speaking from experience of what my friends, recently engaged work colleagues etc looked for.

I think it is correct that the UK websites are lagging behind the vendors you mentioned in terms of easily accessible information about the stones eg pictures, superzoom, ASET images etc. Diamond geezer in the UK has something called sparkle factor - not sure how reliable that is though.
 
Take your 22.5 % and buy a plane ticket......that way spend the same and get a trip at the same time!! Pick the diamond in person. Sort of kidding, but something to consider.
 
Yes unfortunately when entering back in the UK with the diamond you would have to pay teh VAT anyways. Otherwise you are in breach of the law :wall:
 
Sagefemme|1472911193|4072877 said:
Take your 22.5 % and buy a plane ticket......that way spend the same and get a trip at the same time!! Pick the diamond in person. Sort of kidding, but something to consider.
Click to expand...

I think a lot of people might do that!
 
Thanks all for your input provided so far.

In order to hear from a variety of different people and gather feedback from a diverse group, could I please get the opinion of other people too?

I have so far received 1 " + " for WF and 1 " - " for BGD. What about JA say, would anyone have it as her/his first choice?

Thank you all again, I do value a lot your opinion so any comment is HIGHLY appreciated!
 
My vote is either WF ACA or BG BLUE.

I always say this. I think WF ACA offers a complete package (cut, assurance, upgrade policy, customer service) with very competitive pricing.
For BG Blue, it is I, it is VS1, and it is strong blue without negative effects. This is the whitest among these choices. It is unique, as well.

I don't see any value in JA TH in this case, when you can get a similar stone at a similar price from WF.
The same goes for the K color BG Signature, unless you like BG's settings.
 
I honestly don't think you should drop all the way down to a J and definitely not a K. I wouldn't go lower than an I especially seeing that you were looking at F and H color stones before. I'd drop in size and get the BG blue or drop in clarity as long as it's eye clean. The first thing people see is size and color so I would prefer not paying for something I can't see. Check out these, too:

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.27-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1784070

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3698993.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3684606.htm

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD06794200

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.22-carat-i-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1090935

Whiteflash also has amazing upgrade policy!
 
I stopped recommending JA when they dropped publishing an IS and ASET pic for every listing.
With BGD and WF you don't have to ask, thereby revealing your email address ... MUCH less hassle and time to shop at BGD and WF.

It's called competition.
 
I would choose the Whiteflash stone of the original choices, but personally I like the I color WF stones that ac117 posted.
 
I am confused regarding the Duty being stated as 2.5%. It is my understanding that the Duty for importing stones set in jewellery is 5%? It may have changed, though, it has been a while since I bought from the US (middle of 2015).


Personally speaking, I would still advise buying from the US rather than the UK, even with 20% VAT to pay on top of whatever you buy the stone for. Just factor it in and use the lower value to shop with, as the OP is doing. :)

The cut quality from any of the PS-recommended vendors will be far superior to the stuff you can get over here, and you should be able to get better specs on the diamond for a given amount of money.

For example - when I bought (admittedly when the exhange rate was over £1/$1.60) I got a 0.67ct F VVS2 AGS000 SuperIdeal and set it in a custom-made platinum setting in Hatton Garden for the same sort of money as I had seen 0.5ct H/I SI2/I1 white gold Hearts on Fire rings.

The exchange rate has of course dropped, which is annoying, but diamond prices have been broadly stable or even dropped as well (https://www.pricescope.com/diamond-prices/diamond-prices-chart) so things aren't all bad.


Personally speaking again, I would go with WF, BGD or HPD/CBI because of their known (Super)Ideal cut quality, well-presented information on their websites, and good future upgrade/buyback options.

From the latter vendor of the three, Wink has a 1.27 J SI2 (that I can't see any of the twinning wisps in!) for about $7k (http://highperformancediamonds.com/shop/j/HPD7494/?shop=yes), which may be another option if you wanted to drop to J.

I'm inclined to agree with previous posts regarding colour, though - you might have to get the recipient to try on different (GIA-graded) stones to see how colour sensitive they are. If they don't mind a bit of warmth, a J should be all good. If they are colour sensitive, I'd stick to H and above, as recommended earlier.

Flourescence is also a very personal thing - some think it cool and a benefit for lower colour stones, but others might think it weird, so checking with the recipient if possible is a good thing to do. Many retailers over here assume Fluor is a bad thing so sale and re-sale / trade-in value takes a hit, so if upgrading in the future is a possibility, it's another tick in the box for the PS-vendors.


One thing, though - I'm not sure it's possible to pay by overseas CC on BGD stones...? I think I tried and couldn't get it to work!
 
Thank you all! It is truly appreciated a lot!!!

Any other comment is more than welcomed!
 
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