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Jeff White Sapphire + Brian Gavin custom ring =

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arjunajane

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 18, 2008
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9,758
Earlier this year marked the 5 year anniversary of my relationship, plus I also landed my ideal job.
So to mark both these occasions, I started looking for a special gem to create a custom ring.

I had never considered myself a “sapphire person” before, just didn’t really see the appeal. But that was before I saw the awesome ones sourced and cut by Jeff White (http://www.whitesgems.com/) and owned by fellow PSers. But I had also just kinda assumed I couldn’t afford Jeff’s work in the past..

After speaking to a couple other cutters who didn’t have the suitable material, I went ahead and contacted Jeff.
I was inspired by the colour of TropicMaster’s (thread) beautiful sapphire - I asked Jeff for an elongated cushion cut in this colour, at least 7 - 7.5mm, and preferably with a violet tinge.
Fortunately for me, he had something that matched my requests perfectly and he came back with an ideal match re-cut candidate within days. Other CS‘ers will tell you how rare this is, to find a sapphire that fits all your desires perfectly. In that regards it is not at all like ordering a diamond, and many people wait months or even years for just the right sapphire to come along.
So I felt very fortunate and decided this stone must be “the one”. Also, to my pleasant surprise, Jeff’s quote came in under budget.
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So, after a number of weeks on the edge of my seat, my Jeff White “blue beauty” was finally complete, and I couldn’t be happier with the result.
The specs are:
2.02ct, heated Sri Lankan sapphire, flawless, measures 6.4 x 7.3mm. It is a slight colour shifter, with the colour an incredible bright rich brilliant blue, which turns a more violet silky deep blue in some lights.

I can’t possibly say enough nice things about Jeff. He is a real master of his craft. Plus is also fun and easygoing to speak with and is a true gentleman. I can’t recommend his services highly enough.
This stone is undoubtedly my favourite coloured gem, and I cannot wait to work with him again.

Here are some photos to show the before and after results of the re-cut – I found it quite incredible how little weight and even less mm that Jeff could cut off to achieve such an amazing change in appearance:

sapp compare JW aj repost.jpg
 
Very pretty!!!
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..

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And here is Jeff''s awesome "glamour shot" :

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Once I had such a gorgeous sapphire, I knew I only wanted to work with BGD on the custom setting.
Working with Brian and Lesley was everything it is famed to be.

Brian was attentive, generous with his time and knowledge and a great listener. He took all my feedback into consideration and made every effort to get the tiny details of my setting just right, including a number of lengthy phone calls to Australia.

Lesley is one of the hardest working people I know! Her customer service is impeccable – she was always efficient and I was never left “hanging” for updates or further info. Plus when I was being worrisome about the little things, an email from Lesley was always reassuring - I was never made to feel like I was being a pain in their you-know-what..(even though I likely was)
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I know “the experience” when going custom isn’t important to some folks – some say “as long as the quality is there, I don’t care how I am treated”. Well, I’m not one of those people – yes, I may need a lil hand-holding.
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In my opinion, with BGD the quality is there in spades, plus during the process you get to become familiar with some of the most genuinely nice and most passionate people I have met in any industry.
To me personally, the experience (and also after-service) is one half of the whole equation.
I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with and get to know both Brian and Lesley and can’t wait to find a new excuse to contact them.
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So, here is the first CAD that we came up with:

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And after feedback and tweaking, here is the second one that we went with..

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And, dum da da dum...
The final product!
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It is platinum, with 0.28ctw of F-G VS Brian Gavin signature melee, size 5.25.
It has milgrain around the diamond "shoulders", and a delicate platinum strip that transitions down the shank from the diamonds.

Here are a couple of Brian''s photos:

brians photo 1 aj.JPG
 
second..

brians photo 2 aj.JPG
 
and third..

There are more from Brian, but I''d better leave those here...
as I have taken a completely silly amount of photos, lol!

I love everything about my ring - the design and proportions were executed just perfectly.
The finish on the platinum and the milgrain is awesome.
And what really stands out is how incredibly comfortable the ring is on - it''s like they had my hand in the workshop whilst they made it
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But honestly, it fits like a dream - just that tiny bit larger/longer with the diamonds and they would have been uncomfortable... And the platinum strip down the shank is delicate enough that I don''t feel it, yet it still has presence as a design feature.
I think this is really where Brian and his team''s experience shows, in those kinda details..

brians photo 3 aj.JPG
 
Love it, love the color
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I responded before I saw the ring! WOW! Gorgeous!!
 
I love it!! Please post handshots!!
 
I hope you guys are ready for a mountain of photos
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Oh, and Lozza and those that know my prior antics... - no, I didn''t go round the whole neighborhood climbing fences etc to get all these, ha ha..
Luckily, my work has masses of trees and landscaped gardens with fun native plants, so is a photo-taking paradise
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oh, and any pink/purple reflected in the stone is from my fuschia camera - this baby''s all blue!

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...

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OMG, it''s gorgeous!!! I am getting so antsy to buy and set some colored stones. Lovely!! Just Lovely!! I love the milgrain
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okay...you asked for handshots
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..

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Wow. It''s just perfect. I love it so much! I''m happy for you that everything turned out well and you enjoyed the experience.

Enjoy that beauty!!!!
 
whoa..big hand! sorry about that...

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I could keep going like this all day...
took waayyy too many pics
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some sapphire fire..

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This is the kinda colour it looks most often..

(oh, and a couple of these will be repeats from my CS thread here if anyone wants to go through the whole 14 pages of it
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)..

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..
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Wow! Just wow! I never considered myself much of a sapphire person either but I *love* this!

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showing the shank detail..

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profile view..

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..

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That is a good looking ring!!
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