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Engagement Ring Hunting Story

OK, yeah, good idea to wait for the new inventory so you have more to choose from...that way you see what the options are! good luck
 
Remember some places like BGD offer that nice upgrade policy so if you can only get a 1 carat now you could swap it out for the difference later! If you want to propose right away and not put it off anyway...

Also, I''ve been sending mail back and forth to BGD, and they are responding but letting me know they are currently extremely busy and they are sorry for the wait. Calling would likely be faster to get an immediate response. It sucks when you hear about their awesome customer service but I''m not surprised it occasionally happens with their small staff depending on their current load.
 
I figured as much. When Lesly has responded, she has been very helpful. I know about their upgrade policy, but when I present the stone to my gf for the first time, I''d like it to have the wow factor right away. I do want to spend my money at BGD because of their selection of stones, excellent reputation, and quality diamonds. So even though I''m trying to buy the best stone right now, I''m also pretty much locking myself to upgrading that stone in the future and spending my money with that particular vendor for years to come.

My only issue with BGD is their gorgeous photos. I know that sounds funny, but if there are inclusions present in the stone, I''d like to see how the stone would show realistically. This is where GOG is king. The level of information they provide on their stones is unprecedented, heck they even outline the inclusions and have red arrows pointing to them so you know exactly where they are. Total transparency. This is what I want from BGD. I guess GOG spoiled me. So why don''t I just buy from GOG? I think I just might, eventually. The excellent customer service that Jon and company have provided me make me feel very valued. All of my questions are being answered within less than 24 hours, and I''m sure they''re busy as well.

The only thing that irks me is this: if I have two diamonds that are exactly the same (I know this is not possible but just bear with me), one being sold by GOG and one being sold by BGD, I would want to buy from BGD just because of the mystique and excellent marketing that BGD has. Mr. Gavin is world renown and I believe the posters here on PS that say his H&A grading is the strictest in the world. I''ve read comparison threads of GOG H&A vs BGD H&A vs WF H&A. The consensus as I understand is that you can''t go wrong with either of them, but the fact a person is looking for an H&A diamond means he/she wants the best, so that begs the question: which is the best of the best? After reading the multiple opinions of users on PS, it seems that BGD wears the crown given that Brian Gavin hand selects the stones and has such an industry renowned reputation.

When I first started my diamond searching, I did hear about GOG and the excellent selection and reputation they had, but when I visited their website I wasn''t impressed. The search engine feature was not working as expected, I became frustrated, and just never considered them again until I went back a couple weeks later, played around with the search engine and found the trick for searching for their stones. I find this to be unacceptable for an internet vendor - you HAVE to have a excellent website and search feature, otherwise the customer will go somewhere else where the shopping experience is more intuitive. I''m glad I gave them a second chance, because after all the website has no bearing on the quality of their diamonds which is what I''m most concerned with.

Speaking of which, BGD''s search feature could use an improvement. I posted earlier that I thought BGD''s selection of signature diamonds was quite small. When selecting only signature diamonds from 1-2 carats and VS to SI clarity and only 10 stones were returned, I mistakenly thought that was all they had. But when I allow all stones to be shown (signature, select, and virtual) I see the rest of their selection. The first 10 stones shown are the first 10 returned by the search query. Confusing at first, but I caught on quickly.

Just my 2 cents. Thanks again to all who post.
 
you said how it would show realistically...keep in mind that the photos by BGD and GOG are magnified several x, otherwise you can''t even begin to spot the inclusions (take a look at some GOG stones, in the super magnified darkfield pictures they are quite tough to spot most of the time!)

the most important thing is to get a beautiful well cut stone (which you will do at either vendor) and the best for your $$, with a good upgrade policy (which both vendors have).

since GOG is providing the H&A, ASET, etc etc etc images, quite possibly video, I am confused as to why you think the BGD stone will be better? I think they are both quite highly regarded.

also consider that with GOG you get a discount on the setting, that may help you maximize your budget in terms of stone...

good luck
 
Well, I will need the opinion of the experts again. I''ve put the following stone on hold. It is a 1.21 D SI1, everything looks good to me except for the crystal inclusion in the table. The picture does a good job of hiding the inclusion due to the contrast of the arrows, but the microscopic picture does outline it. Do you think this stone will be eye clean?

1.21 D SI1
 
I think you''ll have to ask GOG about that...they''re the only one who can determine if it will be eye-clean. Also it looks like they have a H SI1 in that size too, maybe you could get a comparison video
 
You cannot and should not try to assess the eye cleanliness of a diamond from the photos. I too like the pictures the GOG posts of their diamonds, but on the other hand, since even the magnified images tell you nothing about eye cleanliness, at the end of the day you need to call and talk to the vendor about it. Jon will be straight up, and so will Brian. I would wager that neither company will carry and Si1 diamond that is not eye clean... technically. But is it eye clean to *your* standards... that is where it can actually be difficult with SI1 diamonds.

I would MUCH rather see you go with a E/F color and VS2 if you care about clarity. It will still be blazing white but you will also have more comfort with knowing you will not see inclusions even on close inspection.
 
PS: I personally do not like large table inclusions and also prefer an SI diamond with more diffuse inclusions rather than one larger grade setting inclusion. Just makes me feel more certain I will not be able to see the inclusion ever with the naked eye, which is my preference. But that is a mind thing, not a technical thing about inclusions and eye cleanliness.
 
Well, I''ve broken down and decided to go with the 1.21 D SI1 I linked to above. Jon did a wonderful job convincing me. I decided to go with Mark Morrell''s flame setting. This should take about 4-6 weeks, so when I get it I''ll post some pics! Until then, I hope these suffice. Thanks to everyone who took their time to post their opinions and give their expertise.

bling-cfer.jpg
 
And the Flame for good measure.

morrell-cfer.jpg
 
awesome! that''s a really nice size and I really like the setting you chose. congratulations and you will have to post pictures when you get it!
 
I think you have made an excellent choice, can''t wait to see the finished product!
 
Long story short, I did not get the ring or diamond I posted above. Budgetary constraints have precluded me from doing so, however I would appreciate some opinions on two diamonds I am considering from WhiteFlash to set in the Tiffany Bead Set setting of theirs. Links below.

1.2 G SI 1 - ACA
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 26,2270389
This seems to be the better cut of the two, however it does have an inclusion in the center that I've been told is very hard to locate even from 6 inches away.

1.2 H VS2 - ES
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 26,2270389
I appreciate the clarity of this diamond, inclusions I think would be harder to locate. However my concerns are that it's not as well cut as the stone above (being that its not an ACA, however the stone does look beautifully cut) and the color. Being set alongside F/G side stones for the tiffany bead set, I would prefer there not be a hint of warmth.

Tiffany Bead Set Setting
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-ri ... g_953.htm#

Assuming I could get them both for the same price, what is your take?

Thanks for your opinions.
 
Both are beautiful stones.

There is a reigning misconception that hearts and arrows in an RB equates to better performance than that of a tightly cut non-H&A stone with nice proportions.
 
Both look good. The ES may just be out of the ACA range as the stars is larger than the allowed tolerance, the Hearts may be fine for all we know but we will never know because there is no hearts image.

Side stones can be up to 2 grade color difference. I doubt you will be able to tell the color difference.
 
I have the hearts image for the ES stone, however WhiteFlash asked me not to go posting this. It looks even better than the ACA to be honest, it seems cleaner. What about those specks on the ACA hearts image pattern, I've seen that on quite a few hearts images.

No one can recommend one over the other? The H color seems to be ok for that particular setting? Thanks again for your opinion.
 
Specks are fine, those are the inclusions being reflected.
 
Looks good.

Couple of thoughts. With respect to ring size, I would try to get a more exact idea of her ring size if possible, there's a big difference even in a half size and when you wear 8K on your finger you want the ring to fit.

Second thought, have you looked at settings. I know your budget is already ever expanding so I just wanted to make sure you've thought about budgeting for the setting. All this work on the perfect diamond and it would be a shame to just stick it in anything.

What's your setting budget and which jeweler has the setting(s) you like? We'd love to help with the total ring package.
 
a few thoughts...if you're OK with SI1, why not go with one of the H ES SI1 stones WF has...call and ask them about those?

also I think you can ask them to use H/I melee (not sure?) but you should be just fine with H, melee sparkles differently than the larger diamonds so it's not going to match perfectly anyway (not to say it won't look good, it will just be a little different). anyway, H is fine :) I'd check out some ES H SI1 stones and see what is the best for your budget
 
I haven't read through this entire thread, but I read your initial post.

My opinons as a woman:

1. Most important to me is Cut
2. Second comes Clarity
3. Then Color
4. Lastly, Carat

If you would have asked me the same question a year ago, carat would have come first. Then color. But I've learned through PS and diamond hunting on my own that you really do need to decide what is most important, the 'specs' or what it actually looks like.
For example, I used to have the mind set that I would absolutely NEVER go below an H in color. Then my BF and I went ring shopping, found the perfect princess cut (which shows more color than a round) that was a (GIA) J! The color difference to me is perceptible, but because it didn't show as much as some of the other J's we looked at, was supremely cut, and had a good spread (which pertains more to how big it looks as opposed to carat which really only shows how much it costs) and I was in love with it!

So, knowing that you are an analytical person (as I am) I would say start looking at diamonds. Make sure you know what is set in stone (Must be GIA, must be Ideal Cut ect..) and then feel free to look at everything that fits into this category. You might be surprised at what you find!

Lastly, I found this video very useful: http://vimeo.com/3288695
and these diamonds:
http://pics.whiteflash.com/loose-diamon ... 169547.htm
http://pics.whiteflash.com/loose-diamon ... 166783.htm
 
I'd like a second opinion on the following stone.

1.088 G SI1 ACA
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... -50919.htm

This is one of the cleanest G SI1s I've seen in WF's inventory, however the one thing holding me back is the HCA score. It is an old stone, cut back in 2004, and has two different AGS certificates. One draws a score of 1.7 and the other a 2.0.

Another stone I'm considering is linked below.

1.023 G SI1 ACA
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 192298.htm

This was my second choice. It scores a 1.1 on HCA, it also looks fairly eye clean. The 40x magnification looks cleaner than the IdealScope, Aset, and Hearts image. There is a crystal in the center that is difficult to locate under the 40x, but easily identifiable in the other images. What are your thoughts?

Also, I've been looking at Goodoldgold and BrianGavin's inventory of diamonds. I do like their inventory but WF is willing to negotiate and come down on their prices much more so than GOG and BGD. Anybody been able to lower these two by any significant amount (several hundreds)?

Thanks,
 
DO NOT use the HCA as a selection tool, that is not what it is designed to do. DO NOT use the image to judge if a stone is eye-clean, not accurate.

Both idealscope and hearts image looks good. What is the newer report number?
 
Actually the new report has been updated on the link for the 1.088 stone. After speaking with WhiteFlash, they recognized there was an error. They are resubmitting the stone to AGS to be certified again.

As far as not using the HCA as a selection tool, I can understand that. I was using it to eliminate poor performers, in this case I question whether a score of 2 is a poor performer. All the stones I've been considering buying are Excellent in HCA ratings. This is WF's most eye clean G SI1 in their ACA inventory. I'd like to stick to them because they are giving me a huge price break when buying a setting from them.
 
Having an idealscope image trumps whatever HCA score you have and the idealscope image looks good.
 
Re:

cemrn said:
My priorities as a woman are:
1.sparkle- ideal cut is a must for me
2. size-also an ideal cut stone will usually face up bigger
3. color-I am not super color sensitive and love stones in the G-I range
4. clarity- as long as it is eye clean I am good with it. My diamonds are VS2-SI1

For example I personally would never pay for a D color. I''d rather get a bigger size in say a G color. That''s just my 2 cents. But really you need to feel out what your girlfriend''s priorities are.
Click to expand...


Ditto to what cemrn said! Good luck with your hunt and upcoming engagement!
 
ask WF for their opinion on the two stones (as well as their opinion on the eye-cleanliness, can't tell from plot)
 
Alright, I've narrowed it down to these two finalist (hopefully)

1.088 G SI1 ACA - This is an old ACA from 2004, approved by Brian. I figure if I buy this stone, I can upgrade with either WF or BGD in the future. This scores a 2.0 on the HCA but has a good idealscope. I cant tell if the Aset image is good.
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 52,2270389

1.075 G SI1 BGD Signature - This one seems to be better cut, it has better specs from what I can tell. However I doubt it is as eye clean as the ACA above. This one has 8 inclusions in the table which are difficult to see with the picture.
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamo ... 0399230037

The setting will be either the tiffany bead setting or tiffany half round. As for the diamonds, I'd like your opinions on which you would choose and why?

As always, thanks for your help.
 
No opinion? I'd like to hear from somebody please =)
 
both look good.
 
Stone-cold11 said:
both look good.
Click to expand...

I know they both look good, hence my dilemma. I can only have one. If it were you, which would you choose and why?
 
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