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Discouraged with questions- please help!

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jrich

Shiny_Rock
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Nov 17, 2011
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Yesterday, I was FINALLY able to get a local jewelry store to show me a GIA certified K colored SI1 RB. Though the cut was only Good, I thought it was so sparkly and loved the color so much. I found the tint from the side to be not bothersome at all, and I love that it gave off rainbow colored sparkles. Compared to the Very Good cut J she showed me, I didn't notice any difference. I know that could have been a high K or a low K, since I know the range gets wider when you get to the lower color stones, but that is fine. I asked her about L colored (she didn't have any), but I asked because with my budget, to get the size and setting I want, I am going to have much more options and am more likely to get a better HCA scoring pick with an L. The sales person told me that there is a HUGE difference between a K and an L.... though earlier in the appointment, she told me she had only seen an L color IRL ONCE.

I know I've killed you all with questions but please let me know what you think about this. In my head I'm thinking maybe there is a possibility that since the K was only Good cut, an Excellent cut L could actually face up even whiter than the K I tried on. This is going to be for a solitaire with YG shank and WG head.

Second, for YSSIE or anyone else who prefers % and angle combos that don't spit out an under 2 score on the HCA calculator, does it still get you close, like between 2-4, or does it give you something even over that? I just want to make sure I don't cross any diamonds off my list that get a higher score just because HCA doesn't recognize the combo as excellent.

Finally, at the sake of sounding dramatic, I have such hurt feelings that I can't get BGD to write me back anymore. There is NOTHING more I want then to get my ring from them. Leslie responded twice in December, but after several attempts lately- nothing. I know they are so busy, but I don't understand. Could it be they don't want to work with me because I said I'll probably need to get my diamond from their virtual selection? I'll call her, but I'm almost embarrassed at this point- I feel like a stalker. I just want getting my ring to be an exciting and happy time, and I sure don't feel that way!

Thanks for reading and of course for all your help as usual.
Jessica
 
Okay well. I have an L in an OEC and mine faces up very white. But it is an OEC so I'm not sure how that compares to a RB. If you loved the K though, I'm going to go out on a limb and say an L might be okay for you.

Regarding BGD, they have a weird email system that sometimes spams emails for no reason. I'm sure there is a non- 'hurt feelings' explanation for their silence. Just call them and ask for Lesley. I promise it will be fine. But they don't sell L's in their signature lines.
 
Hmm just give them a call.
 
Gypsy I hope that is the case with them! Anyone have pictures of K's and L's IRL compared? I know a lot of our top posters posted on evergreens topic yesterday that they have owned K's and L's.

I hope yssie will see this about my HCA questions!

Thanks again.
 
I sincerely think the key to lower colors IS the cut. Warm colors are expected in antique stones, but in modern stones, ideal cut can make them face up white. Owies Nana bought a gorgeous excellent cut 4 ct. L stone. But I think it is essential to get ideal cut in lower colors. I am also certain that BG would not be intentionally ignoring your emails, so I do agree with calling. What is your budget for the stone? And which setting have you decided on and is is white or yellow gold?
 
Gypsy|1327278404|3109162 said:
Okay well. I have an L in an OEC and mine faces up very white. But it is an OEC so I'm not sure how that compares to a RB. If you loved the K though, I'm going to go out on a limb and say an L might be okay for you.

Regarding BGD, they have a weird email system that sometimes spams emails for no reason. I'm sure there is a non- 'hurt feelings' explanation for their silence. Just call them and ask for Lesley. I promise it will be fine. But they don't sell L's in their signature lines.
Click to expand...

As DS mentioned, I have a well cut L RB (1.4 on HCA I think) that faces up extremely white and which I plan to wear with my colorless wbands. If I could figure out how to load the link from SMTB, you could see it next to my Memoire eternity band for comparison. Perhaps DS or one of the other more experienced posters could help by posting the link for you or you can look through SMTB to see my pieces. Sorry the pictures aren't great, but it was the best I could do with my phone!

I would keep calling BGD. Remember: they WANT you to buy their diamonds as much as YOU want to buy their diamonds. :halo: :D
 
Owies Nana|1327286059|3109243 said:
Gypsy|1327278404|3109162 said:
Okay well. I have an L in an OEC and mine faces up very white. But it is an OEC so I'm not sure how that compares to a RB. If you loved the K though, I'm going to go out on a limb and say an L might be okay for you.

Regarding BGD, they have a weird email system that sometimes spams emails for no reason. I'm sure there is a non- 'hurt feelings' explanation for their silence. Just call them and ask for Lesley. I promise it will be fine. But they don't sell L's in their signature lines.
Click to expand...

As DS mentioned, I have a well cut L RB (1.4 on HCA I think) that faces up extremely white and which I plan to wear with my colorless wbands. If I could figure out how to load the link from SMTB, you could see it next to my Memoire eternity band for comparison. Perhaps DS or one of the other more experienced posters could help by posting the link for you or you can look through SMTB to see my pieces. Sorry the pictures aren't great, but it was the best I could do with my phone!

I would keep calling BGD. Remember: they WANT you to buy their diamonds as much as YOU want to buy their diamonds. :halo: :D
Click to expand...

Is this the link?
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/finally-some-pictures-of-my-bling.170666/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/finally-some-pictures-of-my-bling.170666/[/URL]

Ditto Owies Nana, BGD wants your business as much as you want a ring from them.
 
Thanks for posting the link, SparklyOEC. :)

jrich, you will have to scroll through the thread's photos to find the L stone with the colorless Memoire band. The second picture (that one with the better lighting!) shows the stones' color pretty accurately.
 
Hi Jessica :wavey:


I do tend to prefer combos outside the normal proportions restrictions on boutique H&A lines - not related to HCA score though, HCA is Garry's brainchild and different vendors have different proportions specifications for their branded stones. I would certainly recommend not tossing stones with HCA scores above 2 if you can get a review/additional information on them - or buy with an ironclad return policy. John Pollard calls the HCA score a chalk outline of a person - gives you some idea of what you're looking at, but you need a lot more info to make a helpful and informed decision!

The reason for this is that HCA uses only four inputs from the report, which have already been averaged around eight sections of diamond and then rounded, so there's quite a bit of wiggle room.

From your descriptions of the K it sounds like you really *liked* the slight tint? As opposed to preferring colourless, but "being okay with the K". If that's the case I'll agree with Gypsy - if you loved the K then I think there's a very good chance you'll like an L, too! At that point you're definitively in "slightly tinted" territory instead of colourless, the only question is *how* slightly tinted. My K and L are also OECs and smaller than I believe you're looking for but, well, I can't say that I see a difference in body colour face-up at all, let alone a HUGE difference! The difference was noticeable when the stones were loose upside down, but once set face-up the faceting is the first and really only thing I focus on. Of course that's a slippery slope - I might not see a difference between a G and an H and that H and an I but I'd certainly see that the G and the I are different...

BGD - ditto, just call in. Many vendors aren't great with email - it's always best to call if you have something pressing to talk about.

ETA: I think I owe you some pics from a week or so ago... My stones are off being set but I should have them back Tuesday and I'll try and get some good colour comparisons then! They're a "yellow" K (or maybe low J) and a "brown" L.
 
There were a couple of days a few weeks ago where BGD's correspondence system was down. I wonder if you happened to contact them during this time?
 
Thanks so much Gypsy, DS, Owies Nana and Yssie!

DS I am going to go with BGD's tiffany knife edge in yellow gold. I was so hoping I could be happy with the lower priced Stuller setting there, but I don't think I would be. Now if they had the solstice head maybe. I have found some virtual stones I think look good so I am going to try to call Leslie to get the ball rolling this weekend hopefully.

Yssie thanks so much, I am dying to see your brown L. I know I won't get to see one IRL unless I ordered one. Looking forward to seeing pics once you get them back, I really appreciate it!
 
Hi Jrich,

I never post and usually lurk but I wanted to chime in with my experience. I have a 1.61 carat Ags0 Ideal cut L color diamond in a pave setting with j colored diamonds and it is amazingly white! I do not notice any color at all. I agree with others that the cut is what makes the difference in lower colors. I'm not very color sensitive so I knew that I wanted a warmer color diamond. I would strongly suggest that you see these colors in ideal cut to see the difference. The sparkle is second to none and whenever anyone sees my diamond, all they comment on is how sparkly it is!! I hope you find the right stone for you!

Blessed1
 
Oh, I love that setting, Jessica! That would be my choice if I were buying a diamond from BG, too! Platinum prongs? I'd recommend that if they do them that way. But I've had a white gold head before and it worked out okay, too.
 
Blessed1 thank you SO much for posting! Your ring sounds so beautiful- would you be willing to post a picture??

DS- I am SO glad you like that one! I had planned to go with the half round bc I was scared the knife edge might be uncomfortable- I know it is for a lot of people, but after I tried on knife edge last weekend I loved the look- and have just told myself I will get used to it! I used to wear an 8 ct smoky topaz ring everyday that my grandmother passed down to me, that was stolen when I was overseas. Very sad, but the point is I figure if I got used to wearing that around I could get used to wearing anything! I know when I did my showdown poll the vast majority of people loved the tapered shank which is pretty too. I guess I feel that since I'm getting yellow gold, I want to make sure it still looks somewhat modern, and I think the knife edge helps with this.

I am pretty sure BGD will use white gold for the prongs and not platinum. I really hope the white gold prongs is okay, becasue I sure cannot put any more money into the setting and I assume it would be quite a bit more. Am I really missing out on something by not going platinum? I do get a little worried about the white gold's plating wearing off, because while I absolutely love the look of unplated white gold, I don't think it would look good as a head on an 18k YG shank. Does this make sense? DS, Yssie and anyone else, let me know what you think!!

I read through this thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/white-gold-vs-platinum.12048/,,']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/white-gold-vs-platinum.12048/,,,,[/URL], but there doesn't seem to be a complete consensus one way or another.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother's ring :(sad :nono:


I'm having a ring made and I had the same dilemma! The shank will be 18k yellow gold, and the recipient doesn't want platinum (it's for my mum and she doesn't like the weight or the patina). I didn't want to do plated white gold as I was worried about the plating wearing off, and I didn't want to do Ni-wg for the same reason you don't! I debated palladium but my rep told me it can darken over time, so I went with palladium-wg, I think (hope!!) it'll be *white enough* that in contrast with the yellow gold it'll just look *white*. If she hadn't explicitly expressed that she didn't want platinum that'd have been my first choice though.
 
Yssie you are so helpful!! Just in my bit of research I did I find that I don't personally like the patina look either so I don't think I do want to go with a platinum head even if it wasn't much more expensive than the WG. The palladium-wg sounds interesting. I wonder if BG will charge extra to do something like that? I'll hopefully get to talk to them this weekend and will let you know what they say!
 
Hi, Jessica! So sorry to hear you're having a hard time communicating with BGD... My first reaction would totally be to get my feelings hurt, too!

Not to beat a dead horse, but I love the idea of unplated WG to suround a warmer-colored diamond. :D I bet it'd help your prongs blend better with the diamond and be less obviously prong-y (especially if that's a look you'd like - if not, i take it back ;) ), plus compliment the warmth of your stone. If they do use WG for the prongs, I wouldn't let them rhodium-plate it, on the assumption that it would contrast too much.

Yssie, I'd love to see pics of your brown-tint L next to a yellow-tint K! Like Jessica, I see a couple of faint-brown stones online that I might consider, but have an ice cube's chance of seeing one in person without ordering it.
 
I heard from Leslie at BGD! Thank you all for the reassurance- they have been experiencing some email delays so if anyone else is having the same problem, I would call them. This made my day and I am so excited to work with her!!
 
I owned a 1.2ct K BGD stone for a little over a year before I upgraded. It was gorgeous and though I could see warmth, it was *not* yellow and I don't think anyone other than me ever saw the tint. I owned an M color AVC for a while. In some lighting it honestly looked totally white, it was shocking actually. Both th M and the K did look very creamy and even deep taupe or umber in some lighting. I find that tinted stones tend to really react to environmental colors, they have a chameleon quality, that some people love and others do not. Especially any cream, yellow, taupe, or beige in your environment will really set off a more tinted stone, making it look remarkably dark, not bad, just colored.

BGD have had some L stones in their Blue line. If it was me I would ask for one of thise! You might have to wait but I think an L with sbf would be awesome.
 
Thanks Dreamer!! Do you have any pics you could show? I love the Blues- absolutely love them. Unfortunately I am a size obsessed girl (going for the 1.5 mark) and their haven't been many Blues lately, none in my size or price range! There was a 1.29 K a little bit ago but someone snagged it right up!!
 
From what I can see, K and L are pretty scarce in the size range you are looking at. What is the budget for the stone?
 
Hi Jrich,

I am trying to attach one now. I hope it works :-). I only have one from my iphone. Well here goes nothing :wink2:

Blessed 1

My ring.jpg
 
Here's another one with the band. I hope this helps :-)

Blessed 1.jpg
 
I'm back to bump for Yssie to see if you have any new pictures to share of your brown and yellow K and L's. Can't wait to see and thanks again everyone for your help!

Leslie says they'll do the prongs in plated white gold. I think I am just going to be fine with this- there is too much anxiety about picking the stone as it is!

Still feeling nervous about how I'll feel about the L since I won't be able to see one IRL. After looking at options it look like if I want to be at that 1.5 carat mark with my tiffany knife edge I'll definitely be looking at L's. If I want to go with a 1.5 K, I'll be looking at the stock stuller 6 prong setting. Anyone have any real life pictures of this, not vendor glamour shots?? Here it is. I know D&T said she had it once, hoping she'll see this:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/six-prong-solitaire-14k-yellow-gold-5351y14

Thanks guys!! :wavey:
Jessica
 
Jessica - I don't have them back yet, shipping has been delayed b/c they wanted to do a bit more work.
I promise I'll take pics when they're home!
 
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