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BritGiggy

BritGiggy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 25, 2019
Messages
19
Hi everyone


I have been lurking here now for the past week and I just wanted to thank you all for imparting your knowledge and advice on noobies such as myself!


I am in the very first stages of planning a proposal to my Partner and I have learned so much already. I have signed up to the newsletters for a number of the sites mentioned here (JA, BGD and Bluenile) and just this week I have received a couple of promos from JA (25% off a setting) and BGD (up to 8% off) and I just wondered how often these promos occur? Obviously some of these could represent a significant saving so I am wondering whether I should look at taking advantage and pulling the trigger sooner rather than later.


In terms of the setting I am pretty sold on a Platinum solitaire (around US$1.4k) with a total budget of around US$5k (setting + diamond) - I am in Australia so I have to factor in around 10% customs charges on top of that. For the stone itself I am paralysed by choice! Going by the guidance here I am prioritising cut but I wondered if anyone would mind posting diamonds in my price range that represent a good balance amongst all the C’s (I am looking for something in the 0.7-0.95 carat range).


Thanks so much in advance! You rock!
 
So if the setting is 1.4k, then you have 3.6k (usd) for stone, right? But maybe more like 3.3k if we include 10% tax. Just want to make sure I'm searching correctly!

Does your partner have strict color preferences?
 
Those promos occur somewhat often. Depending on color preferences you could get this set from WF, which means great uprade options. I'll look at JA next.

Screenshot_20190404-183622_Chrome.jpg
 
lovedogs said:
So if the setting is 1.4k, then you have 3.6k (usd) for stone, right? But maybe more like 3.3k if we include 10% tax. Just want to make sure I'm searching correctly!

Does your partner have strict color preferences?
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! The US$5k budget is before any taxes (my budget is closer to US$6k)

Colour options, not particularly but (personally) f and above? Unless you feel this is too strict of a requirement given budget.
 
BritGiggy said:
Thank you so much! The US$5k budget is before any taxes (my budget is closer to US$6k)

Colour options, not particularly but (personally) f and above? Unless you feel this is too strict of a requirement given budget.
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I do think F and above is going to be strict, ESPECIALLY if you get from BGD or WF or CBI (or any other super ideal cut vendor). Under 1 ct stones show less color anyway due to size, and with a super ideal cut it will show even less. I think you'd be safe at H for sure, and potentially I/J depending on your GF's color tolerance.
 
Here's another WF option. H color and says eye clean, but I'd want to speak with WF to confirm at what distance it's eye clean.

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3895785.htm?source=pricescope

PS you (unfortunately) won't be eligible for the JA promotion because it requires 5K or more on a diamond alone. But they have some nice PT solitaires on there for under around 1K, which means more $ for the stone which is great.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6321479
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6333055

I don't love the JA selection right now in your price range, but the above have potential.


If I were you, I would seriously consider these 2 from brian gavin. They are gorgeous

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/....842-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-cbl-104104774067
https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/.../0.852-j-vs1-round-diamond-ags-c-104104774063
 
Thank you so much . Honestly this is so helpful. It's really hard for me to make a call on which of the C's to sacrifice on so having other opinions is really valuable. I have looked at those on BGD and agree they are very pretty!

By the way on JA I was sent a separate code that doesn't actually require the minimum spend (I confirmed on live chat). The code is UNBOX25 if this is helpful to anyone .
 
BritGiggy said:
Thank you so much . Honestly this is so helpful. It's really hard for me to make a call on which of the C's to sacrifice on so having other opinions is really valuable. I have looked at those on BGD and agree they are very pretty!

By the way on JA I was sent a separate code that doesn't actually require the minimum spend (I confirmed on live chat). The code is UNBOX25 if this is helpful to anyone .
Click to expand...
Oh nice, good to know about JA. But those bgd stones are miles ahead of anything from ja, because the JA ones aren't guaranteed to be top performers, whereas the BGD signature/blue ones are some of the top stones availalbe. On par with Whiteflash, crafted by infinity, etc.

Found some gorgeous plat solitaires on bgd under $1250, so with either of the stones I mentioned you'll be under budget :)
 
:D I must admit BGD and WF do have a great reputation around here which is why I was swaying towards them in the first instance.

In terms of the J colour, should I be concerned with any tinge of yellow? Is there anything I could perhaps BGD to show me that would replicate how it would look to the eye? I did read online for the somewhat smaller stones, J is rarely noticeable, but buying unseen does leave me a little nervous!
 
BritGiggy said:
:D I must admit BGD and WF do have a great reputation around here which is why I was swaying towards them in the first instance.

In terms of the J colour, should I be concerned with any tinge of yellow? Is there anything I could perhaps BGD to show me that would replicate how it would look to the eye? I did read online for the somewhat smaller stones, J is rarely noticeable, but buying unseen does leave me a little nervous!
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With both wf owf or bgd you can ask them to send you "real life" pics. Ask them to send you photos of the stone(s) you are considering next to G/H colors (which to most people is a safe spot to maximize budget but not look too "warm" if someone is color sensitive). The differences are more noticible with larger stones, and much more extreme with less well cut ones. So I'd ask them to take pics of the J you like next to an H and G or something. See if the warmth bugs you or not, bc color tolerance is such a personal thing. That's why buying from vendors that have stones "In house" vs places like JA that are drop shippdfs is so nice. The In house vendors can take these pics / compare with their own eyes, etc.
 
I contacted BGD as you suggested for real life photos. Unfortunately they mentioned that they don't keep all stones on site so they couldn't provide me with additional photos. They were however very helpful and have given me much more confidence in the J colour :D
 
BritGiggy said:
I contacted BGD as you suggested for real life photos. Unfortunately they mentioned that they don't keep all stones on site so they couldn't provide me with additional photos. They were however very helpful and have given me much more confidence in the J colour :D
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oh darn, that's too bad. But glad they could give you more info!
 
I would suggest that perhaps you and your partner go and have a look at stones in real life to judge how colour sensitive she is. I have BGD stones- I owned K stones and the tint bothered me though they were studs. I have a J BGD blue with strong blue fluoro and it is less apparent, but it’s in pendant so I don’t look at it as much. I wouldn’t want a J on my hand in a MRB- but that’s just ME. Conversely, I do wear a L OEC! In a rose gold halo, no less.

I AM colour sensitive though. Very.

May I also suggest that you take a look at the BGD blue line, which is somewhat more affordable if you don’t mind fluoro?

I usually find the best deals on BGD occur around Black Friday and cyber Monday. There are often a VERY limited number of codes which are live for a VERY short period of time. However, that is when the biggest discounts I have encountered are to be had. You need to have your stone selected and be ready to jump when it goes live as there are often something like 8 codes for 45min only at the greater discount. This is when I have bought my stones in the past.

As I am also in Australia, I am going to throw another suggestion out there- have you considered getting the stone set here? It may well be more expensive, but if you need it resized or need any work done on the setting, it’s a whole lot easier to have someone local. Alistair Kelsey would be my recommendation given he does some beautiful work and works with outside stones. His settings are also hand forged...
 
Crystal_Dreams said:
I would suggest that perhaps you and your partner go and have a look at stones in real life to judge how colour sensitive she is. I have BGD stones- I owned K stones and the tint bothered me though they were studs. I have a J BGD blue with strong blue fluoro and it is less apparent, but it’s in pendant so I don’t look at it as much. I wouldn’t want a J on my hand in a MRB- but that’s just ME. Conversely, I do wear a L OEC! In a rose gold halo, no less.

I AM colour sensitive though. Very.

May I also suggest that you take a look at the BGD blue line, which is somewhat more affordable if you don’t mind fluoro?

I usually find the best deals on BGD occur around Black Friday and cyber Monday. There are often a VERY limited number of codes which are live for a VERY short period of time. However, that is when the biggest discounts I have encountered are to be had. You need to have your stone selected and be ready to jump when it goes live as there are often something like 8 codes for 45min only at the greater discount. This is when I have bought my stones in the past.

As I am also in Australia, I am going to throw another suggestion out there- have you considered getting the stone set here? It may well be more expensive, but if you need it resized or need any work done on the setting, it’s a whole lot easier to have someone local. Alistair Kelsey would be my recommendation given he does some beautiful work and works with outside stones. His settings are also hand forged...
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice! I am trying to keep the proposal as much of a surprise as possible so I don't know whether I would want to take my Partner along to view. Perhaps I can arrange with a showroom to have a look at different options. I actually like the fluoro and one of the BGD linked above is the blue line and one that I am seriously thinking about.

Unfortunately I probably won't be able to wait around until Black Friday so this 8% off at the moment sounds like it could be my best bet.
 
In that case, 8% is certainly a good deal for one of their promos! I’d say go for it! I think blue fluoro stones are awesome. I upgraded my studs from their regular line to their blue line to help go up in size and I love them! If you are purchasing from overseas from a vendor like BGD, remember to use a wire company as it ends up a lot cheaper than through the bank.

I’m partial to the BGD H SI1 with fluoro over the J, as I know I would be able to see the colour, but for an engagement ring, I would ask them to confirm that it’s eye clean. There’s an inclusion in the middle there in the video- given the videos are very zoomed in, it may not be visible IRL but worth checking...

If you’ve already decided on a setting and it’s made overseas, make SURE you know her ring size! A lot of jewellers in Australia are a bit funny about working on pieces you didn’t buy from them. Some will, but a lot won’t.

If you aren’t SET on getting a super ideal, IDJ can also work wonders on maximising size on a beautifully cut stone within a certain budget. I helped my brother get his ering sorted through them. Although we considered BGD, he opted for the larger stone within the same budget in the end. It’s not a branded super ideal, but certainly a nice triple Ex stone from GIA. I actually got him a 0.8ct BGD blue for this purpose. After seeing stones in person though, he decided he needed to go up in size to the 1ct mark. The 0.8 is now one of my earrings :)
 
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Just 5 cents from a fellow Aussie.
Most gals get their engagement rings from local suppliers ie “Michaels” or “Gregory” and despite the many thousands of dollars often spent, they are very average quality (dare I say rubbish) diamonds.
Most their diamonds, which look plenty white are H / I colour, so don’t think you need G or above to look white.
Most people can only “see” lower colour when it is alongside an obviously higher colour.
And of all the Cs to sacrifice I’d drop colour and clarity before cut. Cut and complementary angles are everything when it comes to diamonds. Well cut diamonds even look bigger because all of them is sparkling.
And if you can, get the same vendor to provide the mount and do the setting of the diamond for you, it’s always more economical to do it all together.
And yes you’ll pay 10% import if the seller knows to export under the US/ Aust free trade agreement (otherwise its 15%). Plus there’s a processing fee, $55 still I think. How it works is if they use Fed ex or United you get a phone call from Customs processing once the parcel hits Australia. They ask for payment (visa) of the tax over the phone and then 2 days later they deliver it. Very easy.
 
Bron357 said:
Just 5 cents from a fellow Aussie.
Most gals get their engagement rings from local suppliers ie “Michaels” or “Gregory” and despite the many thousands of dollars often spent, they are very average quality (dare I say rubbish) diamonds.
Most their diamonds, which look plenty white are H / I colour, so don’t think you need G or above to look white.
Most people can only “see” lower colour when it is alongside an obviously higher colour.
And of all the Cs to sacrifice I’d drop colour and clarity before cut. Cut and complementary angles are everything when it comes to diamonds. Well cut diamonds even look bigger because all of them is sparkling.
And if you can, get the same vendor to provide the mount and do the setting of the diamond for you, it’s always more economical to do it all together.
And yes you’ll pay 10% import if the seller knows to export under the US/ Aust free trade agreement (otherwise its 15%). Plus there’s a processing fee, $55 still I think. How it works is if they use Fed ex or United you get a phone call from Customs processing once the parcel hits Australia. They ask for payment (visa) of the tax over the phone and then 2 days later they deliver it. Very easy.
Click to expand...

Thank you everyone honestly for your opinion and input! Before I arrived here I knew ZERO about diamonds and honestly, didn't really "get" the fascination. The more I learn the more interested I am becoming, so thank you all.

I've e-mailed BGD about potentially a custom setting based on something I have seen online so I am going to see what they come back with before I pull the trigger. I will definitely be back here for further advice and comments before I take the plunge!
 
If anyone is interested this is the design..

View media item 122720
What I really like is the roundness of the band (1.3mm) and the claw like prongs which look almost sharp, it's also very very simple which is exactly what I am going for. I haven't seen anything similar on BGD of WF but perhaps I have just missed it. Would be interested in your thoughts...:geek2:
 
@BritGiggy - Did you forget to attach the link? Nothing showing on this end.

I'm Australian also, living in the US. I definitely wouldn't go below an H. There's a fifth area where you can compromise with little-to-no pain; the setting. You can get a pleasant 14kt rhodium plated white gold setting for a few hundred bucks, leaving you almost another 1k to spend on the diamond.

Upgrading in Australia isn't as common, so it's possible this will be here one-and-done. I'd be looking for a WhiteFlash or BGD G/H VS2/SI1 - and I'd just get the biggest I could find, while eeking out my budget. A white gold solitaire will look just as nice as a platinum one - but will be lighter. The extra heft is nice, so I'd be saving up for that as an anniversary of birthday gift. But for a solitaire, you'll notice an extra 1k in the diamond WAY more than you'll notice the diff between platinum and white gold for a year or two.

Good luck!
 
1.jpg
@mrs-b Oops! Not sure what happened there, but here is the pic...

To be honest I hadn't actually thought about moving from platinum, but your points make perfect sense and is something I am definitely considering now.
 
I agree with the posters who advised staying with H-color and higher if you are unsure about your GF's preferences ... while a super-ideal J-color diamond will perform fabulously and look comparative better than the majority of diamonds sold (which are not super ideal cut), if you are comparing a super-ideal J diamond with a super-idea H (or higher color) diamond, most people will be able to easily see the difference in color, particularly viewed from the side.

Your preferred setting (beautiful choice by the way) will show the entire diamond and as you wish the ring & diamond to be a surprise, I'd strongly recommend buying super-idea H-color or higher.

To be clear, if you knew your GF preferred warmer diamond colors or prioritized size/cut over color, my advice would be different.

Just my 2 cents.

eta: if you were shopping with your GF, then I echo the other posters who suggest that both of you visit your local jewelry stores to view different colors of well-cut diamonds to find out your/F's color preference and color tolerance.
 
That’s a lovely classic setting choice. It’s also not an uncommon setting, so I think there are many vendors who could make something similar for you. I would STRONGLY advise you to shop around to optimise your setting cost. IF you are set on getting this made overseas, then David Klass is a competitively priced option. Please remember that you need to know your girlfriend’s ring size though! Resizing here would be an additional cost and you would need to find someone willing to work on the ring. You really don’t want to be sending a piece like this back and forth overseas. You can always ask for quotes in both gold and platinum to see what the difference comes to.

I too, would price out how much a setting would cost and figure out who can price it the most competitively... then put the rest of the cost into the stone. My vote still goes to the BGD blue H! Upgrades aren’t common here at all (unless you’re a PS’er haha) so also agree with putting as much into the stone as you can realistically manage.
 
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Crystal_Dreams said:
That’s a lovely classic setting choice. It’s also not an uncommon setting, so I think there are many vendors who could make something similar for you. I would STRONGLY advise you to shop around to optimise your setting cost. IF you are set on getting this made overseas, then David Klass is a competitively priced option. Please remember that you need to know your girlfriend’s ring size though! Resizing here would be an additional cost and you would need to find someone willing to work on the ring. You really don’t want to be sending a piece like this back and forth overseas. You can always ask for quotes in both gold and platinum to see what the difference comes to.

I too, would price out how much a setting would cost and figure out who can price it the most competitively... then put the rest of the cost into the stone. My vote still goes to the BGD blue H!
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I have e-mailed BGD for a custom quote but I will also e-mail David Klass as you suggested. Ideally I would get the stone and setting from the same place to minimise the hassle so I am hoping BGD come back with something very competitive as I really have my eye on BGD or WF! I guess I could also e-mail WF at the same time.
 
I can totally understand that! Having said that, I recently purchased something very similar and BGD were amazing- they sent it out to DK when I asked after I had confirmed the price and style with him, and it all went incredibly smoothly. No issues whatsoever! Both vendors were incredibly professional and the process was completely hassle and stress free I have to say.

BGD even held onto my stone for a few weeks while I was deciding who to set the stone with :)

ETA: DK CAN be difficult to get hold of to start a new project with. I’ve had the most luck with messaging him through his Etsy store if you have an account there. I think he gets a rather overwhelming number of emails...
 
Crystal_Dreams said:
I can totally understand that! Having said that, I recently purchased something very similar and BGD were amazing- they sent it out to DK when I asked after I had confirmed the price and style with him, and it all went incredibly smoothly. No issues whatsoever! Both vendors were incredibly professional and the process was completely hassle and stress free I have to say.

BGD even held onto my stone for a few weeks while I was deciding who to set the stone with :)

ETA: DK CAN be difficult to get hold of to start a new project with. I’ve had the most luck with messaging him through his Etsy store if you have an account there. I think he gets a rather overwhelming number of emails...
Click to expand...

Damn, have just seen this having sent him an e-mail! Maybe I'll ping him a separate message on Etsy to cover all bases. Thank you!
 
Back again!

So I have a response from DK. Essentially the quote is more or less what BGD have quoted for the setting .

Given that, would you recommend buying each piece separately or just stick with BGD? Overwhelmed by the positive reviews of DK so want your valuable opinions!
 
Sat for too long pondering my decision on the BGD Blue mentioned above and found out today it was sold :(

What are your opinions on the below diamond?

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/.../0.848-h-vs1-round-diamond-ags-c-104104774045

I literally found it by clickling 'similar diamonds' and seems to be a great alternative. For reference the previous diamond I was considering

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/....842-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-cbl-104104774067

I know this one was a "Blue" and I did like that property but its not a requirement.
 
Brian Gavin are excellent but Whiteflash has more upgrade flexibility both with regards to inventory and parameters in case this is a consideration for you. Disregard if not.

In my opinion platinum vs plated gold for an engagement ring is well worth the extra initial outlay for a number of reasons.
 
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