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Our e-ring experience with BGD

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R

rmcdo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
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Yesterday morning, we picked up our completed BGD masterpiece at FedEx. Ashley and I couldn''t be happier with the result of this journey.

I (Rob) started this process in late October with zero diamond knowledge. I wanted the ring & proposal to be great, to reflect her preferences, but also to maintain lots of surprise.

Although I didn''t post much, Lurking on PS has been a great help through this process. We''re going to post our whole story, start to finish, with hopes that it helps others starting at zero. For all the experts and gurus on PS, I hope you enjoy it -- there will be plenty of pictures.

Rob
 
As I mentioned, I started with zero diamond knowledge. I also started with very little clue of what she would want.

I did have one big bit of inspiration; I wanted a man-made stone (gasp). I thought it would appeal to both of us. So, I made my first PS posting.

I got two replies, both very helpful.

I called Eric Franklin at D.NEA Diamonds. He was very helpful, but it was clear that they couldn''t provide a stone in my size/quality/schedule range. Maybe someday, but not quite yet.

The other reply pointed me to Brian Gavin Diamonds. I searched around on PS and the ''net and was very impressed with their impeccable reputation. That reputation was a great start, but it was backed up by my further research, and excelled by my experiences.

Rob
 
When I first looked at BGD''s inventory, it was a bit of a Goldilocks story. Lots of great stones, some too big, some too small, none just right.

Of course, through all of this, I was running late with some real time constraints. BGD was always understanding and willing to work quickly to expedite the process. Hopefully when we go back for a wedding band, we''ll have plenty of time.

I contacted Lesley to ask for some more information about a few of their stones. I picked the one nearest my budget/preference, one larger - one smaller - and even one that had recently sold. She sent all the pictures and specs.

I found what I have come to expect from BGD. All of the pictures are virtually perfect, they quickly become boring to look at. A great kind of consistency to make you comfortable buying.

I expressed the Goldilocks situation to Lesley and she informed me that they had a bunch of diamonds coming back from the AGS lab. She sent preliminary size/grade estimates of a few stones she thought would be in my range. They would be priced when the lab reports were complete - she could send pictures when they got back in house.

Of course, from the new inventory, one stone was ''just right''. When the reports came in and the price was set, Lesley sent all the specs, the pictures, etc. At this point, she probably didn''t need to. So, here is the stone...

1.518 G VS2
Brian Gavin H&A
AGS-1040381680017
AGS 000
Table 56.9 %
Depth 60.9 %
Length 7.41 mm
Width 7.43 mm
Height 4.52 mm
Crown 34.7 deg
Pavilion 40.8 deg

Rob

DI_L_AGS-1040381680017_recomp.jpg
 
ASET Image

ASET_AGS-1040381680017_recomp.jpg
 
Hearts

H_AGS-1040381680017.jpg
 
IS

IDS_AGS-1040381680017.jpg
 
Sarin

SR_AGS-1040381680017_small.jpg
 
I wanted to surprise Ashley, but I also wanted to make sure her ring was exactly the ring she would want to wear forever. I hadn''t spoken with her about ring types - and I didn''t want to spread clues by asking her friends.

I also realized that it would be important to have something for her to wear when I proposed. I didn''t want to ask with a loose stone in a baggie.

I asked Lesley if they could help with a ''temporary'' setting for the proposal. She suggested their simple and elegant Tiffany-style setting and she offered a generous return arrangement when we chose a permanent setting. I chose the four prong version though the six was also an option.

Although this was never intended to be our permanent setting, it is an absolutely beautiful ring in its own right. Quite a few of Ashley''s friends have asked why she would even consider getting it reset.

So, on to the ring...

BrianGavin_4Prong1_111909.jpg
 
Head on.

BrianGavin_4Prong3_111909.jpg
 
On the stone, showing off the setting.

BrianGavin_4Prong2_111909.jpg
 
At Thanksgiving dinner, I has insisted on using my good crystal stemware (the kind that can't go in the dishwasher), promising that I would be the one to wash it when we were cleaning up. So after everything else was cleaned and put away, I'm making good on my promise and standing at the sink washing the wine glasses.

Rob comments that we never opened the bottle of champagne he had chilled (I thought) to have with dessert, and suggested we open it then. Because it was a holiday and we both really like the bottle he bought, I wasn't suspicious at all, and I said sure. He opened the champagne, poured two glasses, and then disappeared from the kitchen, leaving the champagne on the counter.

A moment later, I felt something running into my foot. I looked down and there was a remote controlled car driving over my foot. I asked Rob why he was driving a remote controlled car in my kitchen, and he said it was for me. I was like, really, that remote controlled car that YOU are driving in the kitchen is for me, and he said yes and to pick it up. He asked me what kind of car it was, and at that moment realized it was a Mini Cooper.

Whenever Rob and I had previously discussed other girls getting engaged or their engagement rings, he usually commented about how stupid engagement rings were and said that for that kind of money, you should get a much better present, like a car. So we had always joked that he was going to get me an electric mini cooper instead of an engagement ring.. So after I realized it was a mini cooper, he pulled me over to him said, "see, didn't I tell you I was going to get you an electric Mini Cooper when I asked you to marry me?", and then he pulled a ring out of his pocket.

Ashley

Mini Cooper_recomp.jpg
 
Hand shot with ring in temporary setting.

Hand on Tree_recomp.jpg
 
The next morning, we decided to go visit a few jewelry stores in the area to get some idea for our custom setting.

In the Baltimore/DC area, there are many and extremely varied selection of jewelry stores. We visited a wide array, from mall jewelry stores to local chains to individual custom jewelry stores.

None of the mall jewelry stores had anything of interest (in fact, we told a couple we met in a mall jewelry store about BGD), but to look at a wide selection of styles Jared is actually not a bad choice. We also were particularly impressed with Quest Jewelers in Washington, DC. The in-store selection was not huge, but they do a significant amount of custom work and you can bring in your own drawings of your ideas.

I would strongly suggest going to actual jewelry stores and looking at rings on your finger, even if you think you have an idea about the size and style you want. Not everything I thought I liked actually looked good on me, and we found some surprising styles I would not have thought to look at.

At a Jared location in Washington, DC, we actually saw the ring that proved to be the inspiration for our ring. We really liked an antisymmetric design from their Hearts on Fire collection. We were told the ring we looked at in store was a sample from the previous year and that it was the last one. I was ready to get my diamond reset that night, but Rob convinced me that we could design something even better with BGD.

On the way home, we discussed ways to combine the style of the ring we liked (an antisymmetric design with a small row of melee diamonds and a solid metal band on each side) with some of the design elements I already knew I wanted (a wider band that tapered as it went around my finger and a simple profile). By the time we arrived home that evening, we had a vision for what we wanted the ring to look like. I was going to just draw a sketch with pen and paper and fax it to Brian Gavin and let him take it from there, but Rob had other ideas.

Ashley
 
I am really enjoying your story. Keep it coming! Fabulous ring BTW!
 
As an engineer, a simple sketch was simply not going to suffice...

A bit of background. Ashley and I are in a long distance relationship. I live in a small town in California, she lives in Baltimore. Now that we''re engaged and have the ring we want, we need to figure out how to live in the same place. Why is this relevant? Well, it just complicates everything. Planning, scheduling, working together on rings, going shopping together, everything has to be coordinated.

Our ring browsing happened on Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. I really hoped that we would have a solid concept/design/plan down for the ring before I returned home on Monday.

So, Saturday night, I set about making some sketches. I was going to do this pencil and paper - but Ashley didn''t have a ruler. She set about printing a scale ruler off the internet which gave me further inspiration. If we can print to scale, I might as well draw to scale electronically.

First, I sketched what I remembered of the inspiration ring, mainly trying to capture the main design elements and some of the proportions. I wasn''t that familiar with the drawing program I had access to (Illustrator), so this also served as a learning experience.

We agreed that the drawing captured what we remembered about the design, and I then set about combining those elements with her desirements - thick tapered band, plain profile, etc.

I produced a series of drawings - starting rough, then refining. Also, playing with the size and proportions a little. The sketches were made around the circumference of the ring. We could print them out, cut them out (X-Acto knife) and wrap them around her finger to get an idea of size/proportion.

When we came to a design that we both liked, Ashley once again thought we were done. Of course not...

I took the final design and worked to polish up the drawing some. I increased the scale 4:1, and made a dimensioned drawing. I also sketched some cross sections at the 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 6:00 positions around the ring to show how the shape transitioned.

Probably a bit excessive, but I can''t quite help myself sometimes.

Here is a smaller version of the drawing I sent off....

Rob

AshleyRingSketch.jpg
 
Thanks so much, we may have to take a break, but we''ll finish the job soon.

Rob
 
After sending in the drawing, I called and talked to Brian himself about my ring design. If you are having a custom design made, I would highly recommend looking at the pictures on the BGD blog, so that you can see the style of his work and know what different settings are called and what his signature head settings look like. In the first phone call, I didn''t know what pave meant, but after I saw a picture, I realized that wasn''t what I had wanted at all. After two phone calls, I decided on the settings for my side diamonds and that I wanted the BG Signature Truth setting to mount my central diamond.

Ashley
 
Beautiful, congrats!
 
We have to run, but we will finish the story tonight or in the morning.

Rob & Ashley
 
I''ll be waiting patiently with my bowl of popcorn...LOL...
 
OMG!!! I love your story, can''t wait to hear the rest of it hopefully very soon.... Can wait to see your design IRL. :)
 
I have been waiting for you to finish to comment and now you are going out! C''mon don''t leave us hanging
emsmilep.gif
 
Sorry ''bout the interruption. We had to take the dogs to the beach before it got dark. Hopefully we''ll be able to finish before we have to go out again tonight. Glad to hear that others are interested and following along.

After talking with Ashley, Brian felt he had a good idea of the concept and was ready to move forward to building the CAD models.

When the CAD model came back, it wasn''t quite right. Some of the lines which form the shape transitions didn''t go the right places. The difference was subtle, but it formed the essence of the design and was important to Ashley and me. Brian (of course a perfectionist himself) was very patient and ever willing to make sure we got it right.

We had some revisions done, and while improved, it was proving challenging to communicate all of the design elements just how we wanted them. So I decided that I needed to find a better way to communicate the design. It was getting late, but I was determined to stay up so I could have something better to BGD in the morning.

I considerd my other options. More drawings, pictures off the internet, etc. I decide that only a truly 3D model will communicate the design. My goal is to create a 3D model and send a whole bunch of views to fully explain the motion of the lines in the design.

I don''t have the skills or tools to build a sophisticated model like their CAD experts, so I use what I have at hand. I write a short computer program to model the ring. For those who know, I used Matlab, its built-in 3D graphing worked great. For those who don''t know what I''m talking about, this isn''t as crazy as it sounds (I hope).

Ashley and I were on the phone, she was getting nervous about our project''s deadline. We really want the ring finished before we go to her family for Christmas. If it can''t be done, we''ll be content to wait until January -- but she needs a ring on her finger for family and the holidays.

She thinks I''m crazy to want to write this program. She has a very technical background, so she knows what I''m suggesting, but she doesn''t have a lot of experience with this particular tool. She is afraid it will take me all night. Fortunately, it was easier than either of us expected, I''m 80% done with the program before we get off the phone.

The program worked great, I was able to generate many-view drawings (not as pretty as BGD renderings by any measure) as well as cross sections around the circumference.

As an added bonus, years ago for another project, I had written some routines to write out curves in an AutoCad DXF format. DXF is a very old format which is used as a universal language between CAD programs. I was able to directly write a simple CAD file which embodied the design I''d coded up.

I was able to send everything I wanted off that night. I spoke with Brian the next morning. He got the files and was going to take them back to his CAD guy. I told him that it would be particularly special for me if they could use the curves generated by my program and output in DXF.

Before I go on too far, here are some more pictures....

Rob

ringPS.png
 
Cross sections

xsecsPS.png
 
That evening, we get an email from BGD with new CAD drawings. They have built a new model based on the curves I sent them. Everything looks great, we excitedly give consent to move forward with building the ring.

Final BGD CAD.jpg
 
From there, things progressed pretty much as normal for BGD custom jewelery. From the CAD, we got to see the wax cut. It looked great too -- to Rob.

Since we changed our design several times, we only saw CAD drawings of our ring, not the renderings where you can see the details and stones. So, my first inclination of what my ring was really going to look like was the picture of the wax that would be used to cast my ring. It looked like a beautiful engagement ring -- for an alien (the wax they use is green).

Ashley

AshleyWAX5_recomp.jpg
 
Another view of the wax.

AshleyWAX7_recomp.jpg
 
And of course, the ring was cast in Platinum from the wax.

However, the stones are not part of the wax, so I actually never saw an image of my completed ring until the ring was finished and BGD sent us actual photographs of my ring. From then, I didn''t have to wait long because they sent the ring that same day via Federal Express. I was antsy all day long and checked Fed Ex tracking compulsively until it showed delivery early on Friday morning. Rob took me out to breakfast just to make me wait a little longer and then we picked up my ring. It is truly stunning and even more perfect that what I pictured (if that is possible.)

Ashley

BrianGavin_asymmetrical5_121609_recomp.jpg
 
A great shot of the BGD Signature Melee, F/G VS

BrianGavin_asymmetrical3_121609.jpg
 
Opposing view. The band without any diamonds is constant width and runs continuously around the bottom of the ring and up the other side.

BrianGavin_asymmetrical6_121609.jpg
 
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