Does H&A matter for melee diamonds?

[nola82]

I am buying my wife a pair of hoop earrings for our anniversary, and am considering two options.

First, from Brian Gavin: 18kt yellow gold .70ctw Brian Gavin Signature H&A Melee F/G VS, 35 mm hoops. $1450
Second, from ID: 14KT Yellow gold with 0.84ct F-G/, SI1 ("pricescope quality), 30 mm hoops. $1,350

I am interested in everyone's opinion on whether the slightly smaller ctw and slightly larger price tag is worth it for the H&A, particularly given that these will be melee diamonds?

Thanks!

 

[ac117]

I'd rather larger stones and think IDJ PS melee are beautiful and a great value so that would be my choice...

 

[SimoneDi]

I would ask either vendor if the earrings are upgradable. If any of them are - I would go with that option. I do happen to love the bgd signature stones, so I would pick those, if none of them or both of them are upgradable.

 

[nola82]

Thanks AC and SimoneDi. Unfortunately, neither would be upgradable.
Anyone else with a tiebreaking vote? Ha.

 

[whitewave]

Pics? I'm leaning toward ID

 

[nola82]

Thanks whitewave.
They would both be custom orders, so don't have pics of the actual earrings. But the first two here are the setting that ID would use, and the last four are a white gold pair from BG that is otherwise similar to what they would make.

 

[whitewave]

I'm stumped because I read this a month or so ago: https://www.victorcanera.com/blog/single-cut-and-full-cut-melee-explained

 

[SimoneDi]

OK..they will both be full cut, aka. melee. BGD will use their super ideal H&A diamonds and IDJ will use the "PS quality" stones. I have purchased from both vendors, I like them both! Personally, I would prefer to have "the best" cut-wise, if I will not be able to upgrade later. The BGD pair is 0.14ct less, but VS vs SI, 18kt vs. 14kt and custom made, vs using a pre-made mounting. I would ask BGD how much extra would be to match the IDJ ctw. Also, have you purchased from BGD before? They have discounts for repeating customers.

 

[nola82]

Thanks Simone.
Yeah, I have purchased from BG before, and the price reflects includes the repeat customer discount. As you recommend, I will ask them about the cost for matching the ctw.

 

[JLW05]

I have not yet purchased from BGD but I did sign up for notices and they frequently offer discount codes for loose diamonds, jewelry, etc.

 

[SimoneDi]

I would also ask either vendor, if they are returnable, in case your wife does not love them...

 

[WillyDiamond]

Never bought from IDJ.
Bought a few times from BGD.
BGD quality is outstanding, you get what you pay for.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I'd certainly rather have BG H&A VS melee, but I am not sure about 35mm hoops. I'd probably rather have 30mm. If I went with IDJ, I would request excellent cut melee no less than VS2 clarity.