Which .2 ct BG diamond?

mandaluv1119 · Nov 21, 2020

I'm upgrading the center stone in a cluster ring passed down from my grandmother. The diamond needs to be round and not much bigger than 3.8-3.9 mm (so around .2-.22 ct) in order to fit in the existing setting.

After doing some research, I'm down to these 2 options from Brian Gavin. BG's diamonds were noticeably better looking than options from James Allen.The BG "black" were only about $20 more than the "hearts & arrows" options and also had higher specs.

These 2 seem, well, exactly the same to me. Is there any reason to choose one over the other?

Option 1: https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/0.221-f-vs1-signature-round-bkags-104111575047

Option 2: https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/0.221-f-vs1-signature-round-bkags-104111575043

marymm · Nov 21, 2020

As you say, virtually identical, but as you must choose one, I'd go for the 2nd one (x5043) ... tinier bit larger face-up and a teeny tad less depth ... but you could roll a dice to choose as either would be amazing.

I hope you post a photo of the inherited cluster ring once the diamond has been set!

diamondseeker2006 · Nov 21, 2020

Both stones are fine. Are the other stones in the ring modern round brilliants? Are they high color close to F? Can you show us a close up picture of the ring? It's usually best to try to match the stone to the others in the ring.

mandaluv1119 · Nov 21, 2020

diamondseeker2006 said:
Both stones are fine. Are the other stones in the ring modern round brilliants? Are they high color close to F? Can you show us a close up picture of the ring? It's usually best to try to match the stone to the others in the ring.

The other stones are just RB melee that appear to be... maybe I color? Not white-white but not bad. The current center diamond is not attractive- noticeably yellow, cloudy, and poorly cut. The melee look much whiter in comparison.

I actually don't have the ring right now as it's being resized. There's a small center stone with wavy things radiating from the center (think like a flower or a sun) that each have two very tiny stones on them, maybe half-pointers. The setting is white gold.

The jeweler sizing the ring recommended G or H color. (They wanted to charge me $900 for a H VS2 sight unseen and I knew I could do way better looking online.) I figure F wouldn't be too bad. My e-ring center is a D with H side stones and the difference isn't that noticeable in most lighting conditions.

diamondseeker2006 · Nov 22, 2020

I guess if the other stones are tiny melee, you wouldn't be able to tell their color anyway. So you'll probably be ok.

mandaluv1119 · Nov 22, 2020

Thanks for the advice. I ended up choosing option #1 after viewing the ASETs on the AGS reports. #2 had some weird blue spots near the center; #1 was cleaner red. I'm sure they are both spectacular being BG Black but I had to decide somehow.

I really appreciate that BG puts such care into smaller stones and has a good inventory of them. BN and WF both did not have anything small enough for what I needed it for. The only other viable option appeared to be JA and none of their diamonds at the same or lower price looked as good as the ones from BG (there were no "True Hearts" in that size range).