GOG AVC vs. ERD Royal Chandelier - Comparison and Questions!

[Newbie101]

Hi all,

I have been researching on the forum a lot recently, trying to find that perfect "vintage looking" cushion. I am currently swaying between going with an August Vintage Cushion from Good Old Gold and a Royal Chandelier Cushion from Brilliantly Engaged (ERD). I love both! I have a couple specific diamonds I was eyeing that I would like some input on because there are small variations between them. Mainly, I noticed there is a large price difference between them, but they have really good ASET images, and I was hoping some more experienced members could shed some light on the key differences between them as far as practical appearance. I am ideally looking for something in the 1ct'ish range that costs no more than $10k and these looked really good, but I'm mainly just trying to gain a better understanding of the differences right now since this is such a large expense and I want to make sure if I spend more money, it is in the right area (i.e. I would rather sacrifice a color grade which the eye can't see for better light performance/symmetry).

http://www.brilliantlyengaged.com/1.04-carat-g-vs2-royal-chandelier-cushion-brilliant-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-7393.html

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11494/

I even was looking at the AVC below which just sold and was curious why it was more expensive than the AVC above. It is smaller (length and width are smaller), color difference is only F to G, and pin inclusion is in the corner as opposed to middle for the 1.04 above. Are these the factors that influence the price difference, or is it more based off of light performance differences? I ask because both seem colorless and "eye clean" so it seems odd that these characteristics could have such a profound effect on price.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/12186/

Any input is really appreciated...even if it is just to state your favorite of the group!

Thanks,

CushionNewb

 

[arkieb1]

Re: GOG AVC vs. ERD Royal Chandelier - Comparison and Questi

I think the price at GOG has to do with size, how long the stone has been sitting in their inventory and if someone has traded it back in on something (sometimes these stones are cheaper than brand new stones).

Here is another option;

http://www.victorcanera.com/diamonds/151mjr

I currently own an AVC and I personally would go for the biggest one you can get at a colour you can live with for your budget. The reason for this? The bigger they are the cooler they look IMHO. And for me (and I am really fussy about colour) they face up and look white at H/I and above and icy white at F and above. Find a shape you like (square versus more elongated rectangle) and buy the largest one you can at a colour you can live with.

 

[apacherose]

Re: GOG AVC vs. ERD Royal Chandelier - Comparison and Questi

Now I am a newbie... but I have been shopping obsessively for a 1 ct AVC (I had your 1.02 G AVC on hold for a while, too, lol!) and now am over the moon in love with my diamond. I think all the choices you have are very beautiful. I guess, predictably, I would choose the 1.02 G AVC over the ERD as it is noticeably bigger, and the slight elongation vs. more square does not bother me. They both have their appeal and are both gorgeous.

I will agree with Arkieb, as big as you can comfortably afford is the way to go- they are just such cool diamonds you can get lost in those facets. We went with GOG (besides the amazing diamonds) b/c working with them before had been such a pleasure and their policies gave my husband and I such peace of mind. The setting you choose could be a swaying factor. If you got the diamond Arkieb suggested you could get a setting by VC- his work is amazing and held in high regard on Pricescope; GOG can send a diamond to ERD and they also have settings by Vatche and Tacori, and ERD does amazing custom settings as well as their awesome lineup... in anycase, I am happy for you- and should probably tell you to relax, if you are anything like my husband and I you will be so thrilled and amazed with your diamond.

 

[GrandMadamme]

Re: GOG AVC vs. ERD Royal Chandelier - Comparison and Questi

Long time lurker here and I wanted to share what I've found out about these antique cushions over the months of reading and lurking that I've done on the forums here.

The August Vintage Cushion (and now maybe the VC Cushions) seems to have been polished from the ground up for light performance. The ERD stones in my opinion are NOT. It's like buying a sports car that's designed from the ground up to go 200MPH vs.one that has NOT been designed for performance but cherry picked from the lot and tweaked to go 180MPH.
On other threads posters have said that Mark hand picks nice antique cushions. Looking at the ASET scope images, the ERD stones are posted on black backgrounds. The AVCs are posted on white backgrounds which lets you really see the light performance of the stones more clearly. I do not think the ERD cushions would look nearly as good if they were posted on white backgrounds. There was actually a thread comparing white and black background ASETs for the same diamond on the forums here but I'm sure other posters can link it for, I can't seem to find it at the moment. The black background ASET of the SAME diamond was confusing because your couldn't see the light leakage and the colors would mix into each other. After seeing that thread, me and my DH know what to look for and the AVC stones seem to be in a level of their own. The polish and symmetry scores are usually higher on the AVC stones compared to the ERD cushions. The AVCs are mostly graded by AGS. I would take a finely cut AGS graded diamond over a GIA cut graded one any day as the consensus on Pricescope seems to be that GIA is lax with their cut grades compared to AGS. The other very fine diamond vendors like WhiteFlash and BrianGavin Diamondsm High Performance Diamonds have their stones certified by AGS too which must mean something!

I'm in the same shoes as many people it seems like in deciding between an antique cushion but for me, the performance of a finely cut diamond is our TOP priority, that's why we're going to just bite the bullet and go with a really fine AVC or possibly VC cushion in the near future. Remember Cut is king!

Hope this helps!

 

[arkieb1]

Re: GOG AVC vs. ERD Royal Chandelier - Comparison and Questi

Either Victor or GOG or both did a ASET comparison and a video of their stone versus the ERD ones and if we are talking about pure performance and leakage the Canera Cushions and the GOG AVCs are the best. The ERD ones are still nice but not as precisely cut. And I will throw in a wildcard here some of the Diamonds by Lauren Antique Cushions cut by Yoram (he cuts the AVCs for GOG) are pretty cool as well, but some of them do not have ASETs as perfect as the Canera or the GOG ones, you have to know what shape you want, what size you want and how much you want to spend and compare what is actually available in order to decide which is best for your budget.