Trying to decide between Hearts and Arrows Diamonds

Hi Danny, I’m trying to decide between this Hearts and Arrows Diamond from and comparing it with this 0.708 carat, G-color, VS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature Hearts and Arrows Diamond. Which diamond would you recommend and why? I’m also looking for a cathedral style setting with diamonds set in the band; do you offer anything like that? – Tommy C.

All Hearts & Arrows Diamonds are not created equal:

Thanks for reaching out to me Tommy, the first thing that I’d like to point out is that the “Hearts and Arrows diamond” you are looking at from that other vendor, does not meet Brian Gavin’s selection criteria for hearts and arrows diamonds. It might exhibit some sort of pattern of hearts and arrows, but that does not mean that it meets the standards for grading hearts and arrows diamonds. Take a careful look at the hearts; do you see how they vary in size and shape? And how the tips of some of the hearts are bending in opposite directions? And how some of the hearts are bleeding into the arrowheads located beneath them? This is not an H&A Diamond by our standards…

By the way, I edited the outer edges of this graphic to remove items which would indicate the identity of the vendor to protect their identity, but did not edit the actual photograph of the hearts pattern; it remains exactly as it appears on their web site.

The Brian Gavin Diamonds Difference:

All right, here’s a photograph of the pattern of hearts and arrows which is visible within the 0.708 carat, G-color, VS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond that you are considering. Notice how the hearts are symmetrical in size and shape? And how the tips of the hearts are not bending in all directions? And how the tips of the hearts are not bleeding into the arrowheads located beneath them? This is what a true hearts and arrows diamond is supposed to look like, this diamond meets the grading standards to be called a hearts and arrows diamond… the other diamond is just a nice ideal cut diamond which happens to exhibit a decent hearts pattern because of the diamonds facet structure.

No offense intended towards the production quality and grading standards of the other vendor’s brand, but quite simply it isn’t up to our standards… but that isn’t necessarily what is causing the price difference between the two diamonds.

The diamond which you are considering from the other diamond dealer is a 0.77 carat, H-color, VS-2 clarity, round brilliant ideal cut diamond which is graded by the American Gem Society Laboratory (AGSL) with an overall cut grade of AGS Ideal-0, as determined on their proprietary Light Performance grading platform, the diamond is selling for around $3,510.00

The 0.708 carat, G-color, VS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond which exhibits a crisp and complete pattern of hearts and arrows, is also graded by the AGSL with an overall cut grade of AGS Ideal-0 on the Light Performance grading platform and has proportions which are relatively the same, but it is selling for about $3,650.00 however it is one grade higher in color and that commands a higher price… and technically speaking, so does the better diamond cut quality and higher level of optical symmetry.

So at the end of the day, the diamond from Brian Gavin is not actually more expensive, it actually presents a better deal because you’re getting a diamond which is one full color grade better, and which is going to exhibit a higher volume of light return and more sparkle because it is cut with more precision, for a difference of around one hundred and fifty dollars… the difference in the price per carat between G/H color diamonds of this carat weight and clarity is around $400 so the Brian Gavin Diamond is actually the better deal even without taking the precision of the hearts and arrows pattern into account.

Cathedral Style Diamond Engagement Ring:

I believe that the ring pictured above - the 18k white gold Bead Set Cathedral style engagement ring from Brian Gavin is exactly what you’re looking for! The ring shank measures about 2.4 millimeters in width and is set with (10) round cut diamonds which are VS in clarity and F/G in color. The diamonds are from the Brian Gavin Signature melee collection, so they are going to exhibit the same volume of light return and sparkle as the Brian Gavin Signature round diamond that you’re considering!