Purchasing soon - help picking from BGD recommendations

[trljjl03]

I think I'm finally nearing end of my engagement ring search but I still need a little bit of help. Just to summarize - I thought I had found the perfect setting through Blue Nile, the eiros vine setting (http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?forceStep=STYLE_STEP&offer_id=21299) and I asked for some advice in choosing a diamond here at PS. I hadn't quite picked a diamond yet when I found out that the setting was being discontinued soon but they still had some left in the right size. The next day, the diamond that I eventually settled on was no longer available and I panicked at the thought of losing out on the setting as well. With some good advice from some other posters (Thanks!) I didn't rush the search for another diamond. The original diamond became available again and I was about to purchase it but I hesitated and thought maybe I should make sure my girlfriend liked the setting. Turns out that was a good idea - she wasn't thrilled with the setting because the side diamonds made it too sparkly. We've looked at rings before so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary to show her a handful of rings to reestablish what she likes.

After this ordeal, I was at a loss for what to do. I couldn't find anything she liked (well.... and that was also reputable) so I started looking into custom rings. I contacted BGD about a quote becuase they seem to be very well liked by the people here and their work looks amazing. The bonus is that they also give a ton more information about their diamonds than Blue Nile! After thoroughly describing my idea, I got a quote back for the setting and diamond recommendations and everything fits into my budget! I was definitely relieved - I thought custom work would be much more expensive. I've attached a few pictures of the rings that inspired my idea and a rough sketch I drew of part of my idea.

So here is where I need some help - I was given 4 recommendations. All of them are from Brian Gavin's Signature H&A collection so they should all be excellent quality. I still actually have to choose one though and I could really use your help. I generally know what to look for in the stats but I don't really know what to look for in ASETs and Idealscope images. I've read about both but there's only so much you can get from articles.

Here are the diamonds. All the specs are listed at the links and all HCA scores are between 0.7 and 1.4 with excellent in every category except spread (very good). My main questions would be what are your opinions on the ASETs and ISs for each of these and which would you choose? I also have a few questions specific to each diamond listed below each link. Thank you for your help!

1 http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/0.586-i-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104055878130
HCA - 0.7
I'm a little concerned that the HCA is so low but there are few inclusions and it's VS1 so they shouldn't be visible (and I can't find them).

2 http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/0.580-g-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104055878103
HCA - 1.0
I'm a little worried about VS2 inclusions but otherwise I just don't know how to interpret this ASET or IS.

3 http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/0.607-h-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104057888036
HCA - 1.4
The certificate says that additional clouds are not shown but I don't see anything in the actual diamond. Would this show up at all in the ASET or IS? This is a VS2 diamond so would the inclusions be visable? I can't find anything in the picture.

4 http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/0.607-h-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104057888036
HCA - 1.4
All the inclusions are in the table but I can't see them at all in the provided picture. VS1 inclusions shouldn't be visible in their picutre and in person, correct? The certificate also says that additional clouds are not shown but, again, I don't see anything in the actual diamond.

 

[helpMeFindARock]

I'm going to premise this with the fact that I'm new as well and just bought my first couple of diamonds, but here are my thoughts for whatever they're worth.

First off, these are all pretty similar. I doubt you'll see too much of a difference in any of them. From my understanding, the smaller the diamond the harder it is to pick out the flaws and color. Most VS2s are eye clean. I saw some that weren't, but they were all larger stones. At .6 cts, I think a VS2 would be very safe. With that being said, the .58 G has a crystal right in the middle of the table, so I'd be a little worried about that. The other two I'm sure are completely eye clean. The color is really personal. Color is really important to me, so I went with a G. Originally, I was going to go with an I, and I think an I looks really great and is an excellent choice. G was the sweet spot for me though, because a GvsD didn't make that big of a difference to me. G vs I made a huge difference. D vs I is very noticeable. Without comparing though, I looks great. Once the diamond is set, it's even harder to tell the difference. Without seeing them in person, I think an argument could be made for any of them. All of the ideal scope images look good to me. I like the H ideal scope image the least, but it's still a great diamond. They all have something going for them that the others don't.

Diamond 1 is the cheapest which is important. The color is the only real negative with this one.
Diamond 2 is still a great price. H is a good color and is right in the middle. I don't like the ideal scope image quite as much though.
Diamond 3 is the most expensive. G is an awesome color. The ideal scope is great, but I'd be the most concerned about the eye cleanness of this diamond.

Chances are though, you'll be happy with any of them.

 

[ariel144]

I don't think you could go wrong with any of these stones so I would go with the G VS2 for the higher color. Good luck. Did you ask the gemologist which one he thought was the best performer? Good luck

 

[ponder]

Ask Brian which he prefers.

 

[marymm]

Ask Brian which he prefers.

Ditto this - but I'd also ask Brian to include the new-listed 0.630ct G-VS2 in his comparison - it's about the same price as the 0.58ct G-VS2 you listed above, but with slightly larger dimensions at 5.5mm - the stone pic & ASET etc aren't posted yet but I'm sure Brian will know how it performs (and I'm guessing as a VS2 the crystal listed on the lab report is not visible, but you could check with him re: that too) - http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/0.630-G-VS2-Round-Diamond-AGS-104060170044

Love the inspiration pics you posted for the ER design!

 

[trljjl03]

Thanks for the input! I'm definitely leaning toward the first one now but I'll check with BGD to see what they think.

Also, I just realized I posted the same link for diamonds 3 and 4. Here is the correct link for diamond 4:

4 http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/0.604-i-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104057888039

The certificate for this diamond says that there are additional clounds that aren't shown so I'm a little worried about that. I'll still ask them about that though.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

All BG signature stones are going to be great, so that is not an issue. All of them have almost perfect idealscope images. I wouldn't choose I color when you have G and H stones to choose from! I'd choose the H stone if this stone is over budget:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.630-G-VS2-Round-Diamond-AGS-104060170044

 

[trljjl03]

I emailed Denise at BGD and she said that they prefer the H VS2 (diamond #3) because it's slightly bigger than the rest. She said that all are eye clean and that they are all very similar (which I suppose would be expected since they are very close in grading). I'm still leaning toward the smaller diamond (#1) because I'm worried my girlfriend will feel uncomfortable with the bigger ones. There doesn't seem to be a huge size difference though and they're around the same price so maybe it wold be worth it.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I emailed Denise at BGD and she said that they prefer the H VS2 (diamond #3) because it's slightly bigger than the rest. She said that all are eye clean and that they are all very similar (which I suppose would be expected since they are very close in grading). I'm still leaning toward the smaller diamond (#1) because I'm worried my girlfriend will feel uncomfortable with the bigger ones. There doesn't seem to be a huge size difference though and they're around the same price so maybe it wold be worth it.

Please trust us. .60 carats is only a tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny bit larger than a .58! You probably can't even SEE the difference in size! But absolutely get the .60 just because it just sounds larger than a .5x. And, H color IS better than I. I cannot think of one single reason to buy #1 over the H stone.

 

[trljjl03]

Please trust us. .60 carats is only a tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny bit larger than a .58! You probably can't even SEE the difference in size! But absolutely get the .60 just because it just sounds larger than a .5x. And, H color IS better than I. I cannot think of one single reason to buy #1 over the H stone.[/quote]


Thanks, I was really just analyzing things too much. I didn't want to have any regrets about such an important purchase. I went with the one they recommended (the H VS2) and just got my payment processed. I did have some trouble with that but Denise got everything worked out. I'm super excited to see the what they come up with!! I'll share the CAD pictures once I get them. Thanks againg for your help!