BGD preset baby bezels - anyone have these?

[Jax172]

Does anyone own the BGD preset baby bezels? Do you like them? Can you see a sparkle in this size? Any pics on the ear?

 

[yssie]

Circe does:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/baby-bling-christmas-thread-bgd-baby-bezels.169873/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/baby-bling-christmas-thread-bgd-baby-bezels.169873/[/URL]

 

[Smith1942]

Hi Jax, I've got WF baby bezels in white gold and also I had some BGD baby bezels in rose gold. I sent the BGD ones back because I felt they were super-flimsy while the WF ones were much more substantial. Usually I love BGD's work but these ones weren't for me. The bezel was so thin, and they weighed 0g on my scale whereas the WF ones weighed 1g. They just seemed so much smaller overall, even though both are set with 0.15 each, so both pairs totalled 0.30 ctw each. The thin bezels work really well when the diamond melee is in a line on a bracelet or necklace, but not so much in the baby bezel earrings - for me, at least. WF's bezels are thicker.

I have seen two other threads, one on Purseforum, where a member thought her BGD melee looked smaller than it should have done, and I do wonder if the BGD melee is cut slightly differently. I actually think the BGD melee is sparklier than the WF though, comparing my BGD melee with my WF baby bezels. From my observations, I think the BGD melee is cut to maxmize sparkle not spread, which results in an AMAZINGLY sparkly melee but some puzzlement about the size. That's just my opinion from my own observations. I've got a Tiffany 0.12 pendant that is so much bigger than my BGD 0.12 stones in my bracelet. But the BGD 0.12 is sparklier than the Tiffany 0.12.

Anyway, here are some pics of the comparison between the BGD and WF studs, 0.15 each. I like delicate jewellery, but the delicacy of the BGD baby bezels was just too delicate even for me, at around $950 for the pair. The rose gold below is the BGD. With the ear shots, admittedly the WF is closer-up so will look bigger. Hard to get it accurate. But the other photos show the difference too. I love BGD and think they make gorgeous things, but in this instance it was just too much money for the flimsiness of the piece. After some haggling, BGD did take them back. When it comes to baby bezels, I'd recommend WF.

 

[Circe]

Yssie, thanks for the shout-out! Hi, Jax - all my pics are in the linked thread, but I can tell you that the sparkle is fantastic. They're really finely crafted, and BGD was a pleasure to wok with.

But, like Smith1942 said ... they are really fine. I wear mine in my third piercings, and they're perfect there, because I have elephant ears. Dunno if I could pull them off as primaries ....

 

[ame]

I actually really like how thin that bezel is a great deal. I wonder though if in Plat they'd be that thin.

 

[Smith1942]

Yes, BGD said that most people like a super-fine bezel because it makes it look like the diamond is floating.

The wafer-thinness of it wasn't for me, though. If you can hardly see the bezel, no point in having it, IMHO! If I wanted a "floating" look, I'd go for a martini setting with no bezel. I don't like super-thick bezels, just a nice medium one, which WF's is.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Smith, you are a wealth of information on bezel pieces! I cannot get over the size difference between the WF and BG pairs! I think the white metal bezel also helps them look larger from a distance since the rg kind of blends in with the skin color more.

 

[Smith1942]

Oh yes, I love my bezels! If I get my stud upgrade, I'll be bezeling those babies!

Yeah, those BGD earrings were a mystery. They were supposed to be 0.15 each and they looked SO much smaller than my Tiffany 0.12, and smaller than the WF 0.15 as you can see from the pics. For a thousand dollars I was so NOT impressed! BGD did agree to take them back, after some back and forth. I think BGD is an honest vendor and I totally trust them - I just think that their melee must be cut differently from others, in a way which maximizes sparkle and this results in a smaller spread. There's no other explanation - esp. since I have heard others have this issue with the BGD melee, such as the person on Purseforum.

 

[yssie]

Smith, you are a wealth of information on bezel pieces! I cannot get over the size difference between the WF and BG pairs! I think the white metal bezel also helps them look larger from a distance since the rg kind of blends in with the skin color more.

Smith, you really are!!

The size difference is definitely unexpected - I too am having a hard time attributing it solely to metal thickness, but it seems odd that two vendors who specialize in specialty-cut melee would cut their melee so differently... I'd actually have thought they'd use the same manufacturers and specifications! And you wouldn't think there could be such a big size difference in well-cut melee of exactly the same carat weight. I'm not sure I could say that WF's melee is less well-cut though - I can see chunky arrows in the one-pointers in my new bangle! And I'm sure bigger stones are similarly precise - but I wonder if *very differently* would explain it? Or are they not exactly both 0.15ct? I know that in these sizes a small carat weight difference can make a big mm difference...


WF's melee, one-pointers - hope it's okay to post here -

 

[ame]

Oh yes, I love my bezels! If I get my stud upgrade, I'll be bezeling those babies!

Yeah, those BGD earrings were a mystery. They were supposed to be 0.15 each and they looked SO much smaller than my Tiffany 0.12, and smaller than the WF 0.15 as you can see from the pics. For a thousand dollars I was so NOT impressed! BGD did agree to take them back, after some back and forth. I think BGD is an honest vendor and I totally trust them - I just think that their melee must be cut differently from others, in a way which maximizes sparkle and this results in a smaller spread. There's no other explanation - esp. since I have heard others have this issue with the BGD melee, such as the person on Purseforum.

I know which thread/poster you are referring to, and that was a VERY bizarre situation. I got to see that all in person and it was very...strange. It was noticable in person, and for the pricepoint it would bother me a great deal as well, but I am someone that thinks this design SHOULD be dainty I guess, so as long as I knew that I was getting the stone that was matching the report (if it came with one) and the measurements were right for the carat weight, would probably not think much of it, and would probably question what Tiffany or Blue Nile and whoever else was compared in that example was cutting the stones for that design shallower or something.

For the studs, I am not wanting them to look bigger, or disappear so much as I think the bezel looks neat, different and has no sharp edges/prongs for snags and is a more subtle overall look.

 

[Jax172]

Well I ordered the BGD preset in white gold so we will see what they look like!
Thanks for all the pics!

 

[Jax172]

Also the BGD ones are only quoted as being 0.25 ctw. That may be the difference right there.

 

[stargurl78]

I actually really like how thin that bezel is a great deal. I wonder though if in Plat they'd be that thin.

Ditto, I prefer the look of the BGD bezels. Thank you for the comparison pics Smith1942, very helpful!

 

[Smith1942]

Also the BGD ones are only quoted as being 0.25 ctw. That may be the difference right there.

Mine were actually a custom product, not a pre-set one, so they might be different to the ones you ordered. The custom order was for 0.30 ctw, same as the WF ones, yet they looked very different.

If you're wondering why I ordered two pairs of baby bezels (!) it was because I have the rose gold DBTY bracelet and necklace from BGD so wanted matching earrings for that set, and the WF pair with white gold bezel was for everyday wear. The Tiffany rose gold DBTY earrings have a lovely thick rose bezel and really make the earrings look lovely on the ear, but they cost almost $2500 for 0.34 ctw!!

I still don't have a pair of small everyday studs set in rose gold, and I like things to match so I always feel it's a pity to wear my rose gold DBTY set with white gold bezel earrings. But I don't want to take another risk on custom and I'm not paying Tiffany's prices! I think I've probably got enough pairs of diamond studs anyway! I do have a lovely pair of baby bezels with a nice thick rim of yellow gold that I got at E.B. Horn in Boston, so perhaps I'll wear those with the rose set. Those earrings do not have certified diamonds but they're sparkly enough for me, about 0.30 ctw, and cost $430 pre-owned!

 

[Smith1942]

I actually really like how thin that bezel is a great deal. I wonder though if in Plat they'd be that thin.

Ditto, I prefer the look of the BGD bezels. Thank you for the comparison pics Smith1942, very helpful!

Remember though that the photo is very close-up, and IRL they're even thinner. BGD explained to me some process by which they use wire in their bezels and suggested maybe that's why they weighed so much less than the WF ones. I didn't really understand it. So if they use the same process, maybe the plat ones would be as thin, too.

 

[ame]

I actually really like how thin that bezel is a great deal. I wonder though if in Plat they'd be that thin.

Ditto, I prefer the look of the BGD bezels. Thank you for the comparison pics Smith1942, very helpful!

Remember though that the photo is very close-up, and IRL they're even thinner. BGD explained to me some process by which they use wire in their bezels and suggested maybe that's why they weighed so much less than the WF ones. I didn't really understand it. So if they use the same process, maybe the plat ones would be as thin, too.

I just think they capture the daintiness that I would want in them a lot better than the WF one, but with plat I don't know if it would work as well as it's a much more difficult metal to work with.

I say this like it would ever happen or I'd ever wear them.

 

[Smith1942]

Yssie - thanks for your input and the photos. Yes, you can definitely see the arrows in that WF melee!

I once read somewhere on here that when Brian started his own company he changed the parameters of the ACA a little to get to the Signature cut that he has today. Maybe that explains the size difference. Or yes, maybe the carat weight was slightly different. I did notice that on the invoice it said "approx .30 ctw" whereas I had requested specifically 0.30. But Lesley measured them when she receive them back and said they were the right size each for 0.30 ctw. So I just came away with the impression that although the BGD melee is absolutely wonderful in terms of sparkle - unbeatable, really - it just tends to face up smaller than melee from WF and Tiffany.

 

[Smith1942]

Why wouldn't you wear them? Just not a baby-bezel kinda gal?

The thing about platinum for studs is that I'd fear the setting would look dull over time. You know how platinum taken on that greyish patina? Whereas white gold stays shiny.

 

[ame]

Why wouldn't you wear them? Just not a baby-bezel kinda gal?

The thing about platinum for studs is that I'd fear the setting would look dull over time. You know how platinum taken on that greyish patina? Whereas white gold stays shiny.

Platinum or stainless are my only option. I cannot have gold on my skin at all. It makes my skin boil, literally.

I just don't seem to wear any of my stuff, earrings, necklaces, rings. I have a pair of really pretty little Kwiat studs. I've worn them at most 4 times. I just never wear them. I barely wear my rings.

 

[Smith1942]

I think it's all about habit. I've had some pieces that I've barely worn over many years, but made an effort to do so and soon fell in love with them all over again!

 

[Smith1942]

I think it's all about habit. I've had some pieces that I've barely worn over many years, but made an effort to do so and soon fell in love with them all over again!

 

[motownmama]

Your earrings look super on you Smith 1942!!!! (btw - what's the meaning behind your name??)

 

[yssie]

Why wouldn't you wear them? Just not a baby-bezel kinda gal?

The thing about platinum for studs is that I'd fear the setting would look dull over time. You know how platinum taken on that greyish patina? Whereas white gold stays shiny.

I have 0.1ctw baby bezels in plat from Tiffany and I adore them - I'm definitely a baby bezel kind of person I don't like platinum for rings but for earrings it's probably my first choice - I store them separately and don't sleep in them and they're super shiny after three years of daily wear.

Actually my first choice is probably palladium-wg but it seems like a lot of vendors can't make the heads/posts/backs out of those sorts of 'unusual' metals unless they cast everything in-house, and I was told that it's not preferable to cast posts as they're much less strong - and I just prefer all parts of the earring be made of the same metal

Thanks for sharing your bezels with us!! WF and BGD are easy go-tos for this sort of piece so the comparisons are really interesting. Both make beautiful pieces

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yssie, thanks for showing the WF melee! That was incredible!!!

I am thinking I may need a pair of these! So pretty!

 

[Smith1942]

Yssie - have you posted your Tiffany babies? I'd love to see ear shots!

Just had a thought - as a married woman of seven years with no children yet, I get the baby pressure from all directions, including strangers in bars and my six-year-old nephew! When people ask about babies, I should just tell them I already have plenty of babies! Baby bezels, that is!

Motown - there is no meaning behind my screen name, except security! Smith is a very common name and 1942 is a million miles from my birth date!

 

[Jax172]

BGD baby bezels should be here tomorrow so I will post impressions when I get them. I've wanted these for a few years now. They keep going up in price so I decided to just bite the bullet and buy them. I'm actually looking for small and delicate with these. I have large and flashy (well for me anyways) with my 1.47 ctw pair. So hopefully these will fit the bill.

 

[motownmama]

Thanks Smith 1942! I wasn't trying to pry. I wondered if you'd done your thesis on Betty Friedan, who was Smith 1942.There was an article in yesterday's NYTs about the 50th anniversary of her book The Feminine Mystique and it must have just been on my mind.

 

[Jax172]

I got my BGD Preset baby bezels today! They are so cute! They are small, but they give a drop of sparkle on the ear that is so special in it's own way. It's like a drop of glitter on the ear and I like the skinny bezel. It really does look like you just have a diamond floating on the ear from a distance. So all in all I am pleased with my purchase. A very different look than wearing my 1.47 ctw pair or my 0.80 ctw pair with jackets. These will be very nice for super casual days when wearing larger studs would be out of the question. Pics!

 

[Smith1942]

Glad you like them!

 

[motownmama]

pretty!!! Enjoy em!