Stone Upgrade - BGD vs WF ACA

[ADI12]

My wife currently has a 0.9 BGD signature princess cut wedding ring that I am looking to upgrade and am contemplating Brian Gavin & Whiteflash stones. Obviously the BGD upgrade policy is tempting and I have that going for me since that is where the original stone came from, but from the looks of it, I can get a much better price for a similar diamond from Whiteflash compared with Brian Gavin.

Does anyone have experiences in comparing Whiteflash ACA cuts with Brian Gavin Signature? Is one better than the other regarding cut/fire, etc (both for in general and in these two stones)? The two I am contemplating are below (but open to other suggestions).

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3816340.htm
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...1.507-g-vs2-princess-diamond-ags-104084753001 (although not particularly set on this one due to the inclusion dead center)

 

[SimoneDi]

ADI12, could you tell us what are the specs of your current stone, what would be the upgrade value and what is the budget for the upgrade? Also, would you like to have two princess cuts if you don't upgrade with BGD, or if you would like to trade in the stone/sell it?

Your choices are nice (although I don't know terribly much about princess cuts), but I will say that what you are really looking at is not really a fair comparison - there is a premium that comes with the 1.5ct mark. Also, looking at your selections - I do prefer the ASET of the BGD stone - it has a lot more red than green. Based on that alone, I would go with the BGD stone, but in the end you will decide what is important to you. If your budget allows, I might even pick this stone: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...1.774-h-vs2-princess-diamond-ags-104085570001
Yes, it does go down in color.. yes, princess cuts show color more, but you can always ask BGD to take a picture of it next to the G. I was fine going from an H to a J in a round cut, so I think that it is all about personal color tolerance. With BGD you will also get a repeat customer discount.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The BG stone has leakage in the center. See the big white spot in the center of the idealscope image (and black in the ASET)? I like the Whiteflash stone better, and I think they have better pricing on diamonds. Ideally, it would be great if she could keep her original stone for a pendant and then get the upgrade stone from WF. But if not, I'd contact WF and talk to them and tell them your situation. There is a slight chance they'd buy the stone. Otherwise you could sell it yourself.

 

[SimoneDi]

I came back to this thread thinking to add something else and I see that diamondseeker posted, I would trust her regarding the ASET interpretation (I didn't see the leakage as all I can see on my phone were the AGS reports). However, I wanted to ask if your wife is 100% certain on getting a princess cut again? I knew that princess cuts face up smaller, but I noticed the actual dimensions of the 1.5ct (6.15x6.09x4.56) would face up smaller than a 1ct round! I understand that it is personal preference, and princess cuts are lovely, but with your budget you may be able to get a stone that will really look substantially bigger than her existing ring. Also, round cuts will have the best performance. Again, feel free to completely ignore my suggestion, but I figured, I would just mention it...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Excellent point to be sure she'd choose princess cut again! We have seen them go down in popularity here over the years, but I am not certain about the entire US.

 

[ADI12]

Thanks for the insight, looks like I would be better off sticking with BGD, especially since I would get full value trading in the existing stone. She currently has a 0.90 (to avoid the 1.0ct premium per Lesley's rec) G VS2, so I would need to upgrade 2 of the 3 Cs.

And unfortunately (for me ), she wants to stick with princess cut as this is her preference in diamond cuts. I much prefer the round, but I'm not wearing it. I'll keep an eye out on BGD stones to see if anything pops up since I'm not looking to upgrade immediately.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

When you do, I'd try to find a comparable stone from WF and try to negotiate price. But I'd personally still check with WF just to see what they say.