Loyal Customer’s Brian Gavin Signature Princess Cut Diamond Upgrade and Platinum Engagement Ring and Matching Band Reset…

Jen was a repeat customer of ours as she had purchased an original A Cut Above Princess cut from Brian in his previous company. She had worked closely with him to select her diamond and when it came time to order the wedding band she contacted us directly. In conversations about the wedding band and a reset for her diamond, Brian explained to her that the style of setting she was considering would not support a larger stone if she decided to upgrade later. With that in mind she decided to do her upgrade at the same time and selected a magnificent 1.046ct F VS2 Brian Gavin Signature Princess.

Jen worked closely with Jamie to iron out all the details of the settings. She was nervous about going the custom route and using platinum as she was concerned about It getting scratched, but decided to go for it in the end. She had several discussions with Brian to fine tune the details. We created a magnificent cathedral style setting with our famous Truth head and F/G VS Princess cut melee channel set half way around the shank and we named it the "Jen". The matching band also featured F/G VS Princess cut melee channel set half way around the shank. We set 2 surprise stones (a Signature diamond melee and a pink tourmaline) in the inside of the engagement ring and engraved the wedding date inside the band.

Jen's Story…

As you know it was almost a year ago, March 2010 when I first contacted BGD and got hooked up with Jamie. I have to say that Jamie is wonderful and patient. If I was her I'd have given up on me and she never did. We kept in contact pretty regularly. I had an ACA princess that I wanted to reset. I was never happy with the setting from the beginning and it just didn't do the stone any justice. I had looked at local stores but never found just what I wanted. I was also never happy with the quality that I found. When it came time that I really needed to start looking for a wedding band I just didn't like how the store bands looked with my setting or my stone. I needed side stones on the setting and the stones in the bands I found couldn't live up to the ACA. I knew without a doubt the kind of band I wanted. I just needed to decide what setting I wanted for my stone. The initial plan was a reset.

I waited patiently for my dream setting to appear on the site. I contacted Jamie for more pictures of settings that I saw on the blog, the site and PS. She was doll, always prompt to reply and send any photos she could dig up. I almost went with two different settings over this time, but I could never commit because deep down I knew there was something that wasn't quite right about each of them. I was scared of the custom process. It seemed like the unknown to me. I like to see the finished product. I'm a hand on type of person. I like to touch, feel and try on! So shopping for jewelry online, as opposed to simply drooling over it, is hard for me but at least I could examine every picture and hope to get a picture from every angle including a hand shot! I kept returning to local stores trying things on that were similar in certain characteristics to some of your settings. I tried every ring on that was in the case at Jared's! I wanted to be sure what I visibly liked looked good on my hand. Finally I was sure that I truly knew what I wanted and I decided to go custom.

That process involved a few conversations with Brian. These were both fun and anxious for me. I have to admit that I felt like it was an honor to work directly with Brian. I think previous to this process, I thought that Brian only talked to "special" customers. Not that I had any idea what qualified as special! What I have learned though is that every one of your customers is special! Brian will take the time to talk to anyone. He is incredibly patient even though I'm sure he would have liked to put me on mute every now and again! Brian listened to what I liked and didn't like and made some suggestions. It was during this time that I asked about an upgrade in the future. It was likely that my ideal ring wouldn't support and upgrade later. So . . . I decided to upgrade now!

I had the great opportunity to be able to trade my ACA with BGD. We bought the ACA in Nov of 08. I found WF, Brian and Lesley through Pricescope. That process was quite the learning experience. I remember getting my stone and panicking because I thought I could see color in my F colored diamond. I had a conversation with Brian about it and I remember being in awe talking with the famous Brian Gavin. I felt so honored and also a little bit like I was being troublesome! I also remember the panic when I read Brian and Lesley were leaving WF. They were the face of WF in my mind. We bought the stone there because of their reputation. I was so relieved to find out my ACA would be honored as trade at BGD. I feel that this really shows how well Brian stands behind his stones and how he values previous customers. Brian and I talked about several stones and he suggested attributes that I should look for based on what I wanted and together we chose my upgrade stone.

The CADs were difficult for me because it's hard to imagine the finished product. I had looked at many CADs on PS and the associated finished product. I was trying to train my eye to "see" the finished ring in the CAD. Nothing could have prepared me for my finished rings. They are amazing! I received one glamour shot before the rings arrived. As gorgeous as the photo was it was nothing compared to the rings! My hands were shaking when I opened the box. I stared at the contents in shock. I had no words! My vision was right there in my hands! The rings were perfect. The engagement ring was everything that I had wanted. It had a slim cathedral profile with a top down view that didn't necessarily appear as a cathedral and didn't visibly shrink my stone. I have looked at a LOT of jewelry in stores. . . I have NEVER seen such amazing little tiny princess stones. They are stunning. I looked at each one and each one is clean, sparkly and gorgeous! I have to admit that I didn't want to loupe them as I thought for sure I would find something in those little stones. With baited breath I looked through the loupe and they are fantastic amazing little pieces of sparkly bling! I have never had a ring of such quality in my hands. I was nervous that these wouldn't turn out as I pictured them in my head. I told Jamie the day I got the rings, that often times during my conversations with Brian, I would hang up the phone and wonder who made the decisions? Was it me or was it Brian? I'm kind of a control freak and sometimes I felt like Brian was making the decisions for me. I'd be slightly uncomfortable about that in all honesty, but I allowed myself to trust Brian. As it turns out, he didn't make the decisions for me, he read my mind!!! I will admit to owning a lot of jewelry, some average quality and some a bit better as I got lucky and smarter. However, I've settled for what I could find and what I could afford, all the while knowing that it was ok, but not great. Nothing quite lived up to my standards but I accepted the best I could find . . . until now. I've found perfection and my life (and my bank account) will never be the same again!

I'm kind of a perfectionist with my jewelry and because of that the engagement ring is patiently waiting in the box with the wedding band. My wedding is just 5 weeks away and I want the rings to be perfectly stunning on that day. So as much as it kills me, I'm waiting to wear it until I can wear both at the same time. People think I'm nuts, but the wait is worth it for me. The rings are going to be little fireballs on my wedding day! When my mom first saw them she joked that she couldn't look directly at them, they are so sparkly!

Thanks to everyone at BGD. I tell anyone who will listen all about your company. I'm a customer for life now. I consider Jamie a friend and have hooked up with her on Facebook so I won't go through Jamie-withdrawal until my next purchase. . . speaking of that next purchase, I'm already forming a list. Jen

The Story in Pictures….