Four prong kite set cushion solitaire diamond pendant

My sisters want to surprise our mom with a diamond pendant for Mother’s Day, now that we've all graduated from college and have found great jobs! She raised us as a single mother, working two jobs to ensure that we had everything we ever thought we needed, so now it's our turn to surprise her with something bright and shiny! One of my sisters ran across a picture of a Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond on Facebook, and we like the four prong kite style solitaire. Can you help me pick out the best option for around $4000-4500 including the setting? I'd say that we prefer higher color and carat weight over clarity as long as the diamond is eye clean. - Glenn B.

What a wonderful idea Glenn, it sounds like your mother made some significant sacrifices over the years, as does every mother to ensure that her children have everything that they need, but probably more so with single mothers who have to pick up the slack and do everything on their own. If your mother is anything like mine, she is going to be extremely touched by such a thoughtful gift and you're going to make her cry... score one for the team!

I looked through our inventory and think that this 0.713 carat, E-color, SI-1 clarity, BGD Cushion cut diamond is an excellent choice. The E-color is nice and bright, and as indicated on the diamond details page, the diamond faces up eye clean, so I think it is exactly what you're looking for.

Determining whether an SI-1 clarity diamond is eye clean:

I wanted to take a moment to address the concept of "eye clean" as it pertains to our expectation of an SI-1 or SI-2 clarity diamond to face up free of visible inclusions, to ensure that we're on the same page.

From a gemological standpoint, a diamond is considered to be "eye clean" if a trained observer can pick up the diamond to look at it, and not see any visible inclusions from a distance of 9 - 12 inches. During this evaluation, the diamond grader is looking at the diamond normally, as somebody would if they were admiring the diamond, but they are not scrutinizing it facet-by-facet, from a distance of 2 - 3 inches or anything like that.

Obviously there are differences in vision from one person to another, so if you happen to have "Eagle Vision" and you want a diamond that is absolutely eye clean, then you might prefer a diamond of higher clarity, such as VS-2 clarity and higher. However if your vision is more average, then you should be perfectly fine with an SI-1 clarity diamond which we've determined to be eye clean.

One thing is for certain, I don't think that diamond clarity is as much of a concern for diamonds being set in pendants, as it is for diamonds being set in an engagement ring, because they tend not to be looked upon with the same level of scrutiny... it might be pretty common for a woman to grab her friends hand and perhaps pull it closer to her face in order to get a closer look at a new engagement ring, but I've never seen anybody get that close and personal to look at a diamond pendant.

With this in mind, I suggest the 0.713 carat, E-color, SI-1 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond, because it provides you with the high color that you seek, along with a clarity grade which most people will find to be eye clean, and maximizes the carat weight that you can get within your desired price range, I think it is an excellent choice for the special gift which you want to present to your mom this Mother's Day!