Brian Gavin proudly announces the release of his new mobile device application (app), intimately connecting mobile users with Brian Gavin Diamonds (BGD).  Brian Gavin commissioned the development of the app to facilitate a personal connection between BGD and its customers and fans. The app is free to iPhone, iPod and iPad owners and delivers VIP status to users.

The interactive nature of the BGD mobile app allows one to search for individual diamonds through its Diamond Search function. This advanced search design allows users to find diamonds that meet individual wants or needs by facilitating sorting through a variety of specific user-defined categories. In addition, the application allows users to search through BGD’s extensive inventory of fine jewelry, which includes engagement rings, pendants, eternity bands, bracelets and a variety of custom designed pieces.

The mobile app contains further features, all designed with the concept of creating a bond between BGD and mobile users who are customers, associates and friends. Some of the apps sections include:

• Special Offers – Becoming a VIP with the BGD app entitles one to exclusive special offers. Via one's digital device, offers and sales are sent directly to the member. These offers are not available to the general public, and represent deals and savings of a significant nature.
• News – In the News section, users are kept current with all new developments at BGD, including the hottest trends in the industry and any news items affecting the jewelry industry, in general and BGD, in particular.

• Education – Through the mobile application, Brian Gavin and his team share their many years of experience in the diamond and jewelry industry. Educational details about every aspect of selecting and buying jewelry is provided, allowing VIP users to become intelligent shoppers.
• FAQ – The FAQ section covers basic and detailed information regarding BGD
• Blog – The Brian Gavin Diamonds app keeps users connected with the BGD blog. Along with details about the industry, the blog features interesting articles that detail the process of having jewelry custom created, as well as fun and sometimes heartwarming tales of specific marriage proposals.
• Contact – The blog facilitates contact with Brian and his team at every level, using electronic and conventional methods, as well as providing an interactive map of the BGD location.
• Sharing – The Sharing feature of the application allows users to share details of the jewelry available or any other details within the app via email, Facebook and Twitter.

The Brian Gavin Diamonds mobile application is designed to take users to the next level, educating and informing them while forging a direct and personal link to Brian and his team.

© 2011, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.

With the launch of our Diamond Search on Facebook today,  Brian Gavin Diamonds is the  first internet diamond company to offer consumers a way to shop for diamonds and share with friends on Facebook. With consumers feeling increasingly comfortable with the “Click and Buy” approach to high ticket items like diamonds and jewelry, it was a natural step to launch a Facebook Store where our Facebook fans can search for diamonds by clicking on the tab at the top of our Fan Page :

http://bit.ly/cBEBYK

Clicking on the VIEW button in the diamond details leads to the actual website where more details of specific diamonds can be viewed and diamonds can be purchased. Clicking on the SHARE button allows you to easily share details of a diamond with your Facebook friends and ask them for their opinions.

We would appreciate your feedback on this new feature on our Fan Page.

© 2010, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.

On January 1 we were contacted by a local customer who was considering a Nouveau setting at Blue Nile and had seen our Novela setting featured on the blog. He was originally planning on purchasing his diamond from a family friend, but did not realize that we were located in Houston. When he came in to meet with Brian about the setting and he saw Brian’s Signature Hearts and Arrows diamonds he was blown away. He ended up purchasing a 1.50 ct. Brian Gavin Signature H & A and requested that we set it into the beautiful platinum Novela. Due to the popularity of the Novela, he had to wait patiently for over a month.  It was a hard wait but well worth it as he so proudly shows in his videos and pictures. He was totally blown away by the performance of the diamond, and the perfection and fine finish of the ring.

His ring is featured below in his home videos and in the pictures. Feast your eyes!

© 2010, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.

© 2009, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.

"Dreams of Africa^* is beautiful, and Brian's idea is wonderful and refreshing." Marjorie Andrade, UN Goodwill Ambassador, Brazil.

In 2006, interest in the origin of diamonds was fueled by the new Hollywood movie, "Blood Diamonds" which denounced the illicit practices of the diamond industry. In 2006, I went back to South Africa twice to visit my terminally ill mother, Femma, with whom I had an extremely close relationship and who passed away in September 2006.

My late mother Femma with my father Ben, 8 months before her passing.

She was an internationally renowned artist, had a deep connection with the land and had a particular flair for incorporating "all things African" into her work. During the first visit we discussed the whole concept of how the people of Africa have suffered through the civil wars, many of which have been funded by the trading of illicit raw materials, whether it is wood from forests, rough diamonds and even humans at times.

My mother inspired me to come up with a jewelry design that would reflect the whole essence of Africa and what was happening in Africa regarding the illicit diamond trade.

"Dreams of Africa"^TM * was born. The pendant's sparkling conflict-free A Cut Above diamonds symbolize innocence. The bold sapphires symbolize truth. The beautiful center stones represent mother Africa, and the sweeping spirals portray the dream of expanding awareness of the plight. The pieces were artfully hand crafted and finished by Frieder, a talented designer/jeweler, my good friend and colleague for over ten years..

During this process, we discussed that another way of getting the message out was through music. I tapped into my lifelong contacts and got in touch with Cedric Samson, a two time Grammy nominee and a man who I have known since I was a young boy. We worked closely with him and he wrote and produced a beautiful song in Cape Town, South Africa, which featured an African children's choir who had never sung professionally before.

My late mother was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1935, and with the creation of this song I personally felt like I had come full circle and created something in her honor. For $1 the song is available for purchase as a download and all proceeds of the sale of the song are donated to a worthy cause.

Most people are unaware of the role diamonds play in bringing real benefits to people in the countries around the world where diamonds are sourced. Nowhere is this more evident than in Africa. It is also in Africa that this same resource has been used to fund conflict. The diamond industry maintains it has safeguards to guarantee most rough diamonds come from areas free of violent conflict through the Kimberley Process, a tracking system implemented in 2003. The World Diamond Council, which represents producers and dealers, stresses that more than 99 percent of diamonds now come from conflict-free sources, and that diamond revenue today is mostly used in African countries for health care, education and other benefits.

*Dreams of Africa^TM is a registered trademark of Whiteflash.com, Inc

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© 2009, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.

Brian Gavin and Martin Rapaport discuss Conflict Diamonds.

The JCK Jewelry Show in Las Vegas, the industry’s annual premier buying event, takes place over the first weekend of June every year.

On the Monday morning of the show, Martin Rapaport, delivers his “State of the Industry” address to a standing room only crowd.   On Monday, June 5, 2006, Martin Rapaport addressed an international audience on the plight of artisanal diamond miners in Africa. Rapaport's JCK proposal centered on the diamond industry using economic purchasing power to create market forces which can drive out exploitation and poverty in Africa's poorest countries.

Beyond what the protectionist work Kimberly Process, the USA Patriot Act and the Council for Responsible Jewelry Practices are doing, he discussed whether the information age presented an opportunity to work toward more people-centered solutions.

Being born and raised in South Africa and having traveled extensively in the war torn areas of the African continent, Brian Gavin was in a unique position to add his comments resulting in a passionate and animated discussion.

© 2009, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.

© 2009, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.