Q/A on a Brian Gavin Blue with Crescent Moon Engagement Ring

Reader Raul wrote to us and asked:

Hi Diamond Adviser,

My mind is set on getting a Brian Gavin Blue Diamond and I really like the setting at this link: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/elsie-14k-white-gold-5927w14

I’m happy to get 14k white gold for the metal type since I think the focus is on the diamond anyway – or is it worth ponying up to get 18k white gold or platinum?

My total budget is about $6,000 . If getting 14k white gold for the metal for the setting at $1,790, that leaves about $4,200 for the blue diamond itself. I’m hoping you can recommend an appropriate blue diamond for the engagement ring. Clarity of the diamond is important, but so is the size, so a balance would be great.

Look forward to any insight you can provide. Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer:
Hi Raul,

Great looking ring! It will look very sharp with the icy color of a BGD Blue!

I would definitely stick with 14k white gold. Although 18k is a more pure gold (75% as opposed to 58.3%), it also means that it is softer and more susceptible to damage. Platinum is the most durable of the 3 but is heavier and also comes with a much higher price tag. It also tends to be more flat looking than rhodium plated white gold.

The nice thing about Brian Gavin diamonds is that their diamonds are cut to a higher standard.  That being said, although the list of potential diamonds was shorter than usual in this case (Blue, $4000 budget), all were well performing diamonds.   I narrowed down the search based on the usual criteria (depth between 59 – 62%, table between 53 – 58%, AGS Tripe 0) and after doing a little more weeding out, ended up with 6 candidates.  These 6 stones all performed equivalently in terms of ASET and IdealScope.  The set also all scored 2.0 or lower on the Holloway Cut Advisor.  I again narrowed it down based on the type of inclusion (i.e crystal/feather) and their position.

Here are my two recommendations

Recommendation 1:  $2,610
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.596-g-vs1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104068959025

Recommendation 2:  $3,203
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.707-h-vs2-round-diamond-ags-bl-104069795033

Both BGD Blue’s are eye clean and showcase excellent light performance. One is obviously larger than the other, but from table up view the difference is almost unnoticable.   Here’s what I’m referring to:

• Recommendation 1:  5.37 mm
• Recommendation 2:  5.7 mm

Just for reference, a 0.75 carat is 5.91 mm while a 1 ct is 6.5 mm

Because your selected setting adds to the overall size of the diamond, both BGD Blues will have the same visual effect on the overall ring.  That being said, my recommendation is to go with option 1.  Because the setting has F/G colored pave, you want to stay as close (or better) in color to those side stones.

I wish you all the best!  Don’t forget to send us a photo of the engagement ring as we’ll be happy to post it here for our other readers to see.

Cheers,

Jason