WWYD; BGD-signature or GIA-excellent in eternity band?

[Viola]

Hi, I need some expert help from the PS community.

I'm looking to have an eternity or semi eternity band made in the next 2-3 years, my husband came up with the idea that he can buy me a diamond or two for each birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas etc, so that I one day can have an eternity band made out of the diamonds. I'm thinking somewhere around 0.25-0.35ct/each.
Now to the questions I can't seem to make up my mind about:

Should I go BGD signature cut or just "regular" GIA-excellent?
Is it worth paying a premium for a BGD-signature stone in this size?
Will I see a noticeable difference between a signature cut and an excellent cut?
What carat weight should I pick?

For reference, I have a 1,1ct I-color GIA-excellent engagement ring. I will be wearing the new ring in lieu of my wedding set.

I would love some feedback on this matter, as I can't seem to make a decision.

 

[PintoBean]

If money was no object, I'd pay extra for BGD signature
To make matching easier, I'd keep the diamonds with BGD so that when it's time to add another diamond, they can make sure that the new diamond matches the existing suite in color, size, etc.

If you're like me and have a, ehrmmmm, fluctuating finger size , I'd recommend going half eternity or 3/4 eternity, or if you REALLY want full eternity, see if you can leave a little sizing bar.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Buying all the stones separately is just not wise, in my opinion. All the stones for the band should be selected at the same time to be well matched. I'd personally save the money on all those occasions and then have the stones selected and ring made all at one time. At that time I'd get quotes from BG, Victor Canera, and Whiteflash. If you want a GIA quote, many here have used ID Jewelry.

I will say, though, at .30 or above, I'd do a 5 stone band and not a full eternity. I don't think it would be particularly comfortable to have a full eternity with that size stones, plus the stones on the palm side might take some abuse when grasping or carrying things.

 

[Viola]

If money was no object, I'd pay extra for BGD signature
To make matching easier, I'd keep the diamonds with BGD so that when it's time to add another diamond, they can make sure that the new diamond matches the existing suite in color, size, etc.

If you're like me and have a, ehrmmmm, fluctuating finger size , I'd recommend going half eternity or 3/4 eternity, or if you REALLY want full eternity, see if you can leave a little sizing bar.

Money always seems to be an object in my case . haha! This project stems from my engagement ring, I'm in Sweden, and diamonds werent supposed to be to big when we bought my engagement ring, so I didn't want to stand out with a 2+ct stone (which was my ideal size). I'm a few years older now, and I still love the blingy look, and diamonds have become more popular around here, so I feel comfortable "upgrading". Since I kiiiind of feel I compromised on my engagement ring , which I feel sad about as I will probably never change it (maybe receive upgrades in the future, but they will still not be THE engagement ring) I don't want to compromise on the look I want to achieve, I'll have insurance on the thing, Uugh!I will however probably leave a sizing bar OR go 3/4.

You have a good point about picking a signature cut, the stones will have similar parameters. I was playing with the thought of maybe going bigger 0.35-0.40 and getting a generic excellent cut , but I've been obsessed with ACA's and BGD's for the past years so I feel there's a risk that the ring won't feel special enough and at the same time I can't really justify spending 1000usd+ on each stone ...Ugh! My mind plays me.

I have to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed following your thread when you visited IDJ and bought your emerald cut. Such a fun thread!

 

[Viola]

Buying all the stones separately is just not wise, in my opinion. All the stones for the band should be selected at the same time to be well matched. I'd personally save the money on all those occasions and then have the stones selected and ring made all at one time. At that time I'd get quotes from BG, Victor Canera, and Whiteflash. If you want a GIA quote, many here have used ID Jewelry.

I will say, though, at .30 or above, I'd do a 5 stone band and not a full eternity. I don't think it would be particularly comfortable to have a full eternity with that size stones, plus the stones on the palm side might take some abuse when grasping or carrying things.

I know! I thought the eternity of that size would bug my fingers, but I tried on a band with 0.30 stones, and it didn't really bother the neighboring fingers. I've tried 5 stones but can't seem to get myself to REALLY love the look on my hand. The thing with my husband is that he is VERY sentimental about gifts, they have to have a meaning behind them, so he feels like an eternity of this size should wait for something like a 10 yr anniversary as its almost unheard of getting diamond pieces other than an engagement ring in my hoods . I obviously don't agree so we found a happy medium where each stone will have a meaning behind it. Sort of.

Don't you think an ACA cut or a BGD signature will have similar performance to its mates? As long as the color and clarity is the same or similar? I'm with you if I turn up getting generic GIA cuts, it would seem wiser to just get the stones in one go. But if I go signature?the only thing that kind of has me going back and forth is if going signature cut for this is overkill, even though I know in my heart that I've been obsessed with these cuts for the last 10yrs.

 

[OoohShiny]

If budget allows, I personally would always go for the best cut I could get - I doubt one would ever wish they had bought worse-performing diamonds

And if you do go for the more generic cut diamonds, you will always think "I wonder how good it would be if I'd bought Signature / ACA / CBI diamonds..." so I would just go straight for the top cut now for the added peace of mind and to remove the 'what if' thoughts that would niggle in the future!

 

[tyty333]

I would go with ACAs or BGDs. When its time for your DH to get you a new stone I would remind them that it is for an eternity band and needs to match the ones you already have. Either send them the gia/AGS report numbers of the ones you already have or the specs (table size, depths, crown, pavilion, diameters, lowers etc). Diamondseeker is right...Letting them do it all at once is the right way to go about it but the way I've mentioned might be the next best alternative. Honestly, I would work with Whiteflash. I know the people there and I'm pretty sure they would love and support the sentiment behind the idea (even though they will probably suggest getting them all at the same time).

 

[diamondseeker2006]

If you are set on buying the stones individually, are you having them set in your country when you collect the last stones? Insurance is a problem for shipping internationally unless you are a vendor covered by private insurance (at least here in the US, it is).

But in this case, absolutely buy H&A stones because they are cut to tight parameters and will be easier to match. I would also collect Whiteflash stones, personally. That's great you have been able to try one on!

 

[JDDN]

Would you consider waiting the 2 years to get the band in one go? When making this type of band the jeweler/bench chooses stones that have the same diameter and depth so that the diamonds can be uniform which is important in an eternity. When mother's day rolls around what if you can't find 2 diamonds that match? I totally appreciate the sentimentality but it's not like you'll know which two diamonds he gave you for mother's day once it's in the band . I had a heck of a time finding 2 matching stones myself, so I imagine doing so with an eternity will be tough.

Maybe get a quote from BGD and WF for an eternity with their Signature/ACA stones and compare to what you'd pay if you bought each stone individually?