Differences between the big 4? BG, CBI, WF, GOG

[tristanking]

Whiteflash "A Cut Above"
AGS 000
Hearts, Aset, and Idealscope imaging available to ensure getting top performance
in house inventory
specs are tighter than GIA Excellent cut
reps seem helpful and return policy seems solid.
they dont cut their own diamonds, where do they get the from?
Price seems to be 10% premium to local jeweler with supposed close or equal performing stones (his words not mine...and how much difference can my eye really even see?) ,who im sure has a 10%-15%+ markup from the entity he got it from, and on and on? who knows the real price of these things.

Brian Gavin "Signature"
I dont know a ton of details about BG.
Are they all AGS 000?
Brian seems to have a great reputation...is this just marketing or is he as legendary as the site makes him out to be?
All the same imaging Whiteflash has to ensure getting top performance.
not sure what the specs the diamond has to have to meet the signature brand?
Brian seems to be known as a great cutter but it doesnt seem like he cuts these stones, just inspects them. Where do they get their stones from?
I dont see any diamonds in their inventory that match my size, color and clarity needs, but doing some looking around their prices seem to be higher than Whiteflash and perhaps the highest of all the big 4.
Havent had luck getting a hold of anyone at the company, no one answered the phone a couple days in a row and an email has gone unreturned.
Any idea why BG left WhiteFlash?

CBI
heard great things about them
Assuming all AGS 000 and all pics available on site to make good assessment of diamond.
Looks like higher cost than WF but lower than BG.
some of them have medium blue fluorescence, why is that allowed?
Specs seem to be a as precise as any of the top 4, is that a fair assessment?
They do their own cutting, this seems like a cool / unique advantage to know who is cutting the diamond and learn about them. I dont need to meet the guy and have a beer with him, but cool to learn about him. Possibly an advantage over the other 3 since I have no idea where their diamonds come from.

GOG Ascendancy
Looks like either GIA XXX or AGS 000 and whatever agency they didnt get the grading report from they must meet that agencies criteria for top grade.
lots of info and tools on the site to make an informed decision of performance quality
tightened spec requirements
Price seems more competitive than BG and CBI, not sure if we are comparing apples to apples products though.
good return or upgrade policy.
great website content
where do stones come from?

Hard for me to know which one of these vendors will have the best looking product. All seem to be solid. Anyone care to chime in on key things I have missed or thoughts on which of the 4 has the best looking product? Id rather not pay extra for a BG if I can get the same thing from WF, for example.

 

[gm89uk]

Performance wise, some swear by CBI, say there isn't much difference. With regards to medium fluorescence, "fluorescence" is not a negative attribute of a diamond, very occasionally a diamond with very strong fluorescence or even strong fluorescence may give a diamond a hazy appearance in the presence of UV light, but extremely rarely with medium fluorescence. Additionally CBI will vet stones to ensure fluorescence does not have any negative impact on the diamond. BG will sell BG blue as a selling point as fluorescence can give a diamond an icy white look which is usually a highly regarded attribute.

I think all the vendors were offer fantastic stones, your selection would probably be based on price (based on the stones they have in their current inventory), upgrade policy (if that is important to you), the setting you want (easier to sort it all out at the same vendor).

They are very very similarly performing stones, some of which may source their stones from similar cutters. CBI cut their own stones and can offer you additional services such as the history of the stone. From my experience around here, ACA seem to offer the 'best value' super ideal stones.

GOG Ascendancy cut are in no way a league below in my opinion and it is apples to apples.

Just for your info BG was with Whiteflash before and helped set up the Superideal criteria for their stones, but broke off and started his own individual company so I gather their cut standards are very similar.

I do believe there will be a visual difference between the other stones seen. Of your other stones, only 1 of them had ideal proportions. Those proportions are the blueprint of the diamond and make it look the way it is. They are also averages. So when the crown angle states 34.5, in a poorly cut diamond each individual crown (8 of them) are averaged to give you that value, which could range from 33.5 to 365.5 or whatever.

If you don't want to spend the premium on an ideally cut diamond you can find well cut diamonds on websites like James Allen with nice videos, and request idealscope/aset pictures. If you find a really nice one, it is possible you may not be able to tell the difference between that and a super ideal and save a fair amount of money (but it takes a lot more effort).

 

[Dani5577]

Brian Gavin was closed on Monday and Tuesday which is probably why you couldn't get a hold of them. I had emailed them Monday and didn't hear back till Wednesday. Typically though, they have great customer service and are quick to respond