Best Diamond Engagement Ring for $30K
I have a dilemma on my hands that I’m hoping you can help me solve, I’m trying to decide between the 1.705 carat, E-color, VS-2 clarity, BGD Signature round; and the 2.354 carat, I-color, SI-1 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond. I suspect that the smaller diamond is going to face up brighter and whiter than the 2.354 carat diamond, but is that something that she and her friends are going to notice and consider to be more important than carat weight? The diamonds are pretty close in price, but the smaller diamond actually costs more, I’m guessing because of the higher color and clarity, but am I paying more money for less of a visual impact? I was actually ready to pull the trigger and buy the E-color diamond, when one of her friends told me that she would prefer size over clarity and color. What are your thoughts? – Antonio R.
Visual differences between E-color and I-color diamonds:
The most important thing for people to understand about diamond color grades, is that diamonds are graded based upon an absence of color, not necessarily the presence of color… thus a D-color or E-color diamond exhibits less color or tonal value, than an I-color diamond, but that does not necessarily mean that it is going to be brighter or whiter because the cut quality of a diamond has a significant impact upon the way it faces up.
In this particular instance, both diamonds are cut to similar proportions and exhibit the same degree of optical symmetry, so both diamonds will be extremely bright and my guess is that from across the dinner table, you would be hard pressed to determine which diamond is an E-color and which is an I-color, but that you would be able to detect the difference in size…
The sparkle of both diamonds is something which you would pick up from across the room, because the sparkle factor of a diamond is also influenced directly by the degree of optical symmetry and diamond cut quality. Both of these diamonds are cut to proportions which yield the highest volume of light return and produce bright, broad flashes of light, even when there is very little light present.
Which Brian Gavin Signature diamond should I choose?
While both Brian Gavin Signature diamonds are absolute knock-outs, my inclination is to go with the 2.354 carat, I-color, SI-1 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond because I think it provides the most impressive overall impact for the money. There is just something about being able to say that the diamond weighs more than two carats, and it is whopping gorgeous!
And my decision was backed up by the women in customer service as well, when I walked into the office with both diamonds set on a diamond sorting tray, separated by a distance of about half an inch, and said which one would you choose with no indication of clarity, color, or carat weight, they didn’t get all caught up in the decision making process, or seem to need much time to think it over, they all pointed at the larger one and said “that one!” so there you have it… apparently size does matter.
