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Q&A: Oval Diamond — James Allen or Brian Gavin?

By Mike Fried,

I have now spent a number of weeks (turning to months) educating myself on the various elements to be taken into account when purchasing a diamond/engagement ring. After visiting a number of jewelers I didn’t feel I was getting my moneys worth so decided to look online.

I have now read countless reviews of Blue Nile, James Allen (JA) and Brian Gavin(BG) and your site has been by far the most helpful I have come across.

I have now narrowed it down to either JA or BG. Would you have a preference between these two? At the moment I’m swayed towards JA because of the ability to see the actual stones but whilst I have come across some negative reviews of the ring workmanship provided by JA I cannot find a bad word written about BG.

I also have a lingering worry over the quality of the rings provided by these sites. I was hoping you might provide some guidance on the not only the diamond but also the quality of the rings supplied by these sites?

I have also picked a couple of diamonds from the JA site I was hoping you could give me an opinion on (or alternative to) and also one from BG but can I trust to the quality of this without seeing the stone?

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1357239.asp

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1303735.asp

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.020-e-si1-oval-diamond-gia-30934741

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have, without a site such as yours I’m not sure i’d have ever gotten the ability to even get this far!

I’ll be honest with you. We love BGD and JA but I wouldn’t recommend BGD for an oval cut. Their expertise are super-ideal round diamonds. I would actually go with this diamond:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VVS2-Very%20Good-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1356810.asp

It is much nicer than the two you selected. The F SI1 is not eye-clean and the G VS1 has a strong blue fluorescence 🙁

As for the setting, they both have excellent jewelry departments. We rarely get complaints about JA’s settings (no one is perfect though). The problem with looking for reviews is the majority of people who take the time to write a review are those few people who are upset enough to take the time to write the review.

If you are unhappy with the settings on JA though, you can buy the diamond from JA and send it to BGD. They have actually done that for many readers of ours.

What do you think?

Thanks for the quick feedback, I have read a number of your replies on the site and think it is great that people like myself can get in touch with someone who has so much experience with diamonds. I really appreciate it.

The ring I actually preferred ( linked below) was on the James Allen site so very reassuring to hear that you rate their jewelry department so highly.

https://www.jamesallen.com/design-your-three-stone-ring/ring/item_260-4150.asp

The diamond you suggested looks fantastic but I’ve been given some guidelines from the fiance (I have already proposed with a nice but cheap ring as I wanted to get her opinion before I went about purchasing a diamond ring). She had done some research around diamonds before (as a lot of girls have) and was hoping for something within the D – G range that was between 1 to 1.1ct. Would it be possible to get a recommendation within this range? I have a budget of around €4500 for the diamond.

I don’t know where you are located, so I am going to use $4,500 as the baseline (VAT and exchange rate are roughly similar depending where you are). There is a shipping calculator on the bottom left of their page so you can figure out the precise cost.

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VVS1-Very%20Good-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1102843.asp

I really like this diamond for you. Its bright, eye-clean and a great value. What do you think?

Sorry for the confusion, $4500 is my budget (excluding tax) added the euro symbol accidentally! I am over in Ireland (I know you have visited before from the image on your profile 🙂 Hope you enjoyed it over here).

It is a lovely stone but I would be slightly concerned about the brown coloration visible in the middle top area.

I would preferably like to stay within the D – G color range, would it be possible to get a recommendation within this color range?

Thought this sounded nice based on the image and GIA report. What do you think?

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1501128.asp

…….

Or maybe this although slightly smaller?

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Very-Good-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1373536.asp

Thanks

That brownish mark has nothing whatsoever to do with the diamond. Its a reflection of something in the room. I think that diamond is much better than this one.

Thanks for the advice, only real concern was the brown tint.

Thanks again

Sounds great. Let me know how it looks when it arrives.

James Allen James Allen is the leader in online diamond sales. Their imaging technology is the same as inspecting a diamond with a jeweler's loupe. They have the largest exclusive loose diamond inventory online and fantastic prices. They also have the nicest collection of lab-created diamonds online. Get 30% off lab-grown diamonds during a limited time sale.
What we love about them:
  • No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
  • Lifetime Warranty
  • Free International Shipping
  • Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
  • Provide insurance appraisals
  • One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
  • Free ring inscriptions
  • Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
  • 24/7 Customer Service
  • Best-in-class packaging
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Blue Nile Blue Nile is the largest and most well-known internet jewelry seller. They have a very large exclusive online inventory. Their high-quality images are catching up to James Allens' and their prices are amazing. Save 25% on settings at Blue Nile!

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What we love about them:
  • No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
  • Lifetime Warranty
  • Free Shipping
  • Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
  • Provide insurance appraisal
  • One free resizing within the first year of purchase
  • High quality images of about half of their diamonds
  • 24/7 Customer Service
  • 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
  • Best in class fulfillment
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