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Bcow

Rough_Rock
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Feb 13, 2010
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I plan on purchasing an engagement ring this week. I''ve searched Brian Gavin, White Flash, and Blue Nile and I "think" I''ve settled on one of these 2 stones with Brian Gavin. I have a bufget of about $2500 and these fall with in that range. Which one would you pick and why?

$2167
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040381680059

or

$2236
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040381680049



I personally like that fact that the 2nd one is a VS1 vs a SI2. Will I notice a big difference in the color between G and I? I know you cant see the flaws with the naked eye but there is just something that bothers me about spending thousands of dollars on a stone that has flaws in it. I looked at some pretty bad Si2''s at the jewelery store and it''s kind of turned me off on them. These 2 stones seem to be about the best I can find in my price range. Lets hear from the experts. Is there anyting about these stones that would make you shy away from them? I''m a rookie here so I need all the help I can get.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
Date: 2/15/2010 12:20:28 AM
Author:Bcow
I plan on purchasing an engagement ring this week. I''ve searched Brian Gavin, White Flash, and Blue Nile and I ''think'' I''ve settled on one of these 2 stones with Brian Gavin. I have a bufget of about $2500 and these fall with in that range. Which one would you pick and why?

$2167
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040381680059

or

$2236
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040381680049



I personally like that fact that the 2nd one is a VS1 vs a SI2. Will I notice a big difference in the color between G and I? I know you cant see the flaws with the naked eye but there is just something that bothers me about spending thousands of dollars on a stone that has flaws in it. I looked at some pretty bad Si2''s at the jewelery store and it''s kind of turned me off on them. These 2 stones seem to be about the best I can find in my price range. Lets hear from the experts. Is there anyting about these stones that would make you shy away from them? I''m a rookie here so I need all the help I can get.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Click to expand...
Seeing flaws in stones at the Mall is a whole lot different that seeing them in a stone that is cut to perfection. The G SI2 could very well be eye clean. Meaning you wouldn''t see a thing without a 10X loupe, etc... Call Lesley, she''s sooooo wonderful to work with. Have her give you her opinion. She did that for me when I was buying diamond studs, a major purchase of over 14K. Brian had one opinion, and Lesley and I had another....No one was right, no one was wrong.

Best of luck.
 
I''d take the G SI2. I love G color, it is white and crisp and you see color all the time from any distance. The inclusions in the SI2 look well placed around the perimeter of the stone, it seems highly likely to me it is totally eye clean. And even if you can see the inclusions when you look really hard, well... don''t look really hard
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I chose a G SI2 and while the inclusions in mine sometimes bug me, the color is AWESOME.

And as for buying something with flaws, all diamonds have flaws
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You can just see some more easily than others.
 
Lets add this stone to the conversation too.

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040381680076

It''s smaller at .556 but has great color (F) and is a VS2 which looks real clean. This keeps me inside the budget I origianlly started with which seems to keep going up!

One question I have. When I look at the lab reports and they have the colored break down of light loss (red, green, etc..) most stones are green in the middle showing they loose some light there. This stone is red indicating that it doesn''t lose any light in the center of the stone. Does this indicate that it''s cut even better then most?
 
Sparemywallet that stone looks awesome. Almost perfect infact. The only problem is I''m already pushing the limit of my budget with the 1st stones. I started with a budget of $2000 for the whole ring and I just keep saying I can spend a little more but I need to draw the line somewhere.
 
Date: 2/15/2010 2:33:12 AM
Author: Bcow
Sparemywallet that stone looks awesome. Almost perfect infact. The only problem is I'm already pushing the limit of my budget with the 1st stones. I started with a budget of $2000 for the whole ring and I just keep saying I can spend a little more but I need to draw the line somewhere.
Click to expand...

oh trust me I know how that goes!
Bgd has a great upgrade policy. You should call Lesley at BGD and she'll tell your options. Tell her Jawad sent you !
 
$100 more .. go for it. I am so bad! Maybe you can find a cheaper setting to balance it out.
 
I like the BGD G SI2 you picked out. I believe in keeping to the budget. The SI1 would be a nice choice too and well worth the extra $100. But my guess is once set you wouldn't notice the difference and the extra money could go towards your setting.

Either way you are good hands with BGD.
 
So I actually spoke with Lesley this morning. Very nice lady! She actually suggested I go with a .711 VS1 in J color. She said the J "faces up" white very nicely. What do you guys think? It would keep me right in the range of my original budget.
 
What make that one so great? Are there other things besides the CCCC''s that I should be looking at that might make one better then another?
 
Date: 2/15/2010 3:16:03 PM
Author: Bcow
Well I kept going back to this stone so this is the one I''m going with! I feel like a made a good choice but please feel free to speak up if you disagree! The invoice is on it''s way and soon there will be no turning back!

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040381680049
Click to expand...
I was just commenting generally that SMW picked a great diamond but so is the one you are going with!! No need to worry at all, your stone will be a beauty!!
 
Date: 2/15/2010 3:16:03 PM
Author: Bcow
Well I kept going back to this stone so this is the one I''m going with! I feel like a made a good choice but please feel free to speak up if you disagree! The invoice is on it''s way and soon there will be no turning back!

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040381680049
Click to expand...
If you are already stretching your budget, that is an excellcent choice. If can go an extra $100 (wireprice), then I personally would go for this:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040381680061

My reasoning would be because if the SI1 is eyeclean, no one will notice unless you grab a 10x loop. However since we are comparing apples to apples (same cut to same cut quality), the G will be whiter. Some people prefer the warmth of an I or J color, others don''t like it. A BGD diamond that is "I" will be a lot whiter than your mall store "I" color, because of the cut.

I''ve looked at stones with Brian in person. I looked at an F G and H color. He says I am pretty color sensitive, I don''t like obvious tinting. the F and the G were pretty spot on close. I''d be splitting hairs trying to find a difference. The H color however I noticed since I have an eye for it. Granted, these are loose stones, and mounted stones are whiter than loose.

Either way, you have an H&A signature from the man himself.
 
The price difference isn't only $100 though. The diamond I chose was in the special offer tab (upper right corner) for $2236 normally $2430. I then got another small discount to pay via wire. So the actual difference was over $200 even if I would have paid by wire on the more expensive stone.

Either way I'm happy. Compared to the Hearts on Fire line my fiance' liked in the store I just saved myself a BOATLOAD of money! They had a .72 SI1 in H color and they wanted $6400 for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We looked at a .58 E SI1 for $5100. We were going to trade in a .98c F SI1 from a previous relationship and still have to pay over $2500 after setting and tax!!!! I almost wanted to laugh at the guy but I held it together. I just came out of the deal with a bigger stone for the same new money and kept my old stone.

Anyone know of a good place to sell a ring? I'm will to part with it at a reasonable price and I put it on craigslist but I dont seem to get many serious buyers on there.
 
In that case, 10% is a lot of savings! You did well :D

what settin did you decide to go with?
 
Just the plain 4 prong solitare for $250. She liked the small and simple white gold settings which allowed us to spend most of our budget on the stone.
 
I prefer 4 prong as well! This setting will certainly be all about the diamond
 
I think you will be very happy with your choice!
 
Well I have to say BGD has been awesome to deal with so far! I actually started getting nervous that I picked the right stone last night and emailed them a few questions about the Aset image at about midnight. I definetly didn't think I'd get a response until morning. 5 minutes later Lesley responds and says not to worry that I picked a great stone and I could talk to Brian in the morning if I wanted to. This has been such a great experience especailly compared to what happend when I walked into a brick and mortar store. The funds were wired today and I should have my ring before the weekend. I cant wait to see the ring!

Thanks BGD and thanks to those here who helped. Many of you helped who didn't even know it. I learned a lot just reading other peoples posts here.


It's good to see my stone stamped "sold"
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040381680049
 
Good luck.
 
I don''t think you can go wrong with buying any of the stones from BGD. Your stone looks gorgeous! You definitely got a great price with the additional discount they were offering. If your gf likes the way HOF stones look, she will be thrilled when she sees the BGD stone! I initially wanted a HOF stone, but knew I would never be able to afford it in the size I wanted and I wasn''t even after something huge. I hope you will post pictures when you get it! Congratulations on your purchase.
 
Well I picked up the ring this morning and all I can say is WOW! I sent this email to Lesley at BGD and this pretty much sums up my experience.


WOW! I picked up the ring this morning and the smile hasn’t left my face since I opened the package at the FedEx pickup site! Thank you, Thank you, and Thank you! I haven’t felt this good about a purchase in a long time. Your service was awesome. I couldn’t afford to spend a ton of money with you guys but I felt like you treated me as if I was a high priority customer.

I’m going to show the ring to Nate today so I’m sure he’ll be in touch with you about the fancy yellow stone he''s looking for once he sees how awesome this stone is.
 
Bcow, I''m thrilled you had a great experience with Brian and Lesley, but to tell you the truth I''m not surprised! You feel above the world right now don''t you? :)

Ok now make a new thread in the section titled "Show Me the Ring"

We want to see the pictures! BGDs photos, your photos, and handshots after you propose! Go Go Go Go
36.gif
 
Pictures please
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