Ian contacted us by e-mail in mid November interested in having us create a custom setting for him. He was away from home when he wrote in and described it verbally: I wanted to see if you could line up 2 hearts that would twist head to head. Within each heart the .25 carat diamond would sit and right in the middle where the hearts meet, the larger diamond would sit. Also I would like to put some small diamonds into the band.

When he got back to his PC he sent us a rough free-hand sketch of what he had in mind. Jamie discussed the details with Brian Gavin and then e-mailed Ian a quote. He approved the quote and then Jamie worked with him to select a beautiful one carat K VS2 Brian Gavin Signature “Blue”.

We e-mailed him the first rendition of the CAD and he requested that the head be integrated into the shank. We fine tuned it and sent him the second and final rendition which he approved. We cast, set the and shipped his beautiful ring. He e-mailed us, thrilled with the result:

Jamie! This is even better than I thought it was going to be! I can't express how great of job you and everyone else did on my journey to get this ring made. Thanks for all your hard work. You guys truly have a gift of not only designing but bringing stories of love to life! Although it was a lengthy process it was very much worth it. Please express my gratitude to everyone else who played an important role in this wonderful ring. I look forward to working with you in the future and I know alot of people will also too! If I have any more questions I will contact you. Thanks a bunch again! I'll keep you posted. Take care! Ian

Customer's sketch, CADs and Glamor Shots:

© 2012, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.

Anthony contacted us in October. He had been shopping at several internet companies and wanted to come in and meet with Brian and look at several Brian Gavin Signature Hearts and Arrows diamonds in the 0.80 – 1.00 carat range. After a couple of visits he selected a beautiful 0.918 H VS2 Brian Gavin Signature H & A. We then started discussing the setting and he wanted to know if we could custom make a diamond wedding set comprising a cathedral style fishtail pave setting with the Truth head and a matching fishtail pave band using our Brian Gavin Signature Melee. He e-mailed us the specs and some inspiration pictures and we set to work to create the CAD. Once he had approved the CAD, we cast the setting in 18K White Gold and set the F/G VS Brian Gavin Signature Melee. We set one "surprise" diamond and one "surprise" sapphire on the inside of the engagement ring shank. A few days after he had received the rings, his fiancee Erika e-mailed us this wonderful testimonial:

Hi Lesley,

This past Saturday on Dec 17th, Anthony asked me what I wanted to do during the day. I noticed that he was looking at his phone for the weather updated and said, "Oh good, it's sunny." I told him I wanted to go to the museum. He was opposed to that. So I thought of another idea-the Houston Zoo, which was one of our most fun dates ever since we've been dating. His reply was, "Actually I was thinking about that too." Sometimes I like to get all made up on the weekends. I curl my hair and/or wear my "weekend" outfits. As I was curling my hair, I heard Anthony shuffling in his study closet and I was a little suspicious that he was messing with the engagement ring. It was a beautiful and fun day at the zoo. I had the best time there. After a while, Anthony asked me what I wanted for dinner. I told him I wanted some hot pot, which would require us to go to Chinatown. He was not up for it. He asked me if I wanted Italian food. I was neutral about it at the time until I was starving a few hours later and didn't care where we were going. While he was driving, I asked him where we were going to eat. He played dumb and said, "I don't know where we are going?" I replied, "TELL ME!" He again said, "I don't know where we are going?" As he turned onto Ella Blvd., I knew right away where we were eating. He was taking me to our first date restaurant called Cavatore. As we walked into the restaurant, he asked the owner if we could sit by the live music. There was a live duet playing that night-a guitarist and singer who were a couple. Since it's around Christmas time, they sung Christmas songs. Throughout our delicious Italian dinner, I noticed that Anthony had his "thinking face" on. I asked him a few times if everything was okay. He just gave me a short, "yeah" reply each time.

After dinner was over, I had to run to the restroom before we left. I came back and Silent Night was being sung live. As I sat down, Anthony looked at me deeply into my eyes and said, "It's a silent night, isn't it?" I looked at him funny and said, "Yeah…sure is…" As he reached out for his glass of water, I then reached out for mine and noticed that the engagement ring was sitting right on top of an ice cube. I was shocked and said, "OH MY GOD!" I looked at him and he got down on his knees and proposed.  He made me cry. It was a very emotional moment. After I said yes to him I had to remind him that he had to put the ring on my finger (it was still in the glass after all this time). The live singer came up to us and told us that nobody has ever proposed while she was singing and congratulated us. Shortly after, the owner of the restaurant came up to us and congratulated us. He surprised us with some champagne on the house. We both told him we didn't think anyone noticed the proposal, but he claimed that everyone in the restaurant did. After dinner, we called it a night and left the restaurant as a newly engaged and very happy couple. =) Erika O.

© 2012, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.

VIDEO

A Gallery of Some of Brian Gavin's Jewelry Highlights…

© 2012, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.

We met Brian and Lesley in 2009 and they created what can only be described as a “dream pair” of matching engagement and wedding bands – http://bit.ly/ydfDTp . Stephanie is originally from Texas and so when it came time this year to counter-balance those with a little “fun” stone that is the official gemstone of Texas, well, we knew there was only one couple that we could fully entrust with the job. I can only say that Brian and Lesley not only came up with an amazing looking ring but also one that it is also eminently comfortable and wearable on a daily basis just like their original engagement and wedding band duet. The only remaining question is what color gemstone is next? Ian

At the beginning of October Ian contacted us about creating a unique setting for a topaz he was considering purchasing. He had visited John Dyer’s website and was fascinated by the magnificent colored stones he had been cutting. He specifically wanted the topaz to be a deep “windex” blue. The first stone he liked was sold but he managed to secure a magnificent 22.01 carat cushion cut blue topaz.

Pretty basic ring design. Could be "no stones" modern and a little clunky to some nice side stones

We got to work on several sketches and e-mailed him out 4 different options (see below in gallery). He selected design #2. We then created the ring on CAD, e-mailed it to him for review and then cast the ring in platinum.  Ian had said that he would need it no later than February 8, but we wanted to make sure he had it in time for New Years Eve. The ring took many hours to clean and prepare for setting and we thankfully managed to ship it out on Friday evening – our last shipment of the year.

She loves the ring, fits perfectly! The pics were spectacular but also showed just how much work goes into these and that they don’t pop out completely done. Nice to get an appreciation for all of the craftsmanship. Happy Holidays! Ian

The process and magnificent Glamor Shots are chronicled below:

© 2012, Brian Gavin. All rights reserved. Including all photographs, written word and video, but not limited to unless noted.

Our customer from Hong Kong, Brian, had purchased his magnificent platinum wedding set in February 2011. He contacted us again in July having purchased a magnificent 5.75 carat (10.3mm) square cushion cut aquamarine from Jeff White and wanted us to create a pendant as a wedding gift for his future wife.

 We are looking for a pendant with a back that allows the chain to slide through, and a front that is free of distractions.

He originally wanted the Barbara pendant with a bezel finish but aquamarine is a soft stone and if we bezeled it there was a 50/50 chance that we would either scratch it or it would break when heat for the bezel process was applied. We explained this to Brian and he wrote back:

We have been browsing through the website to look at more prong settings for ideas and came across the V-Prong Lever Backs<http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5373>. We like how smoothly the prongs and basket fit together. Is it possible to adapt the basket and prong design for our pendant?

After some discussion we decided to create the back basket similar to that of the v prong lever backs and set it with 4 split claw prongs. In addition, Brian wanted her to have the option to wear the pendant both straight and kite set. We explained that the design would not allow for it and so we created it to be kite set with an invisible tube like bail to allow the pendant to move on the chain.

We set about creating the wax model for the pendant, cast it in platinum and then very carefully set the magnificent aquamarine.

Hi Shandel, We picked up the pendant last night and it looks absolutely amazing. Please send our most sincere thanks to Jamie, Lesley, Brian, and everyone else involved in the process. Thanks, Brian

The process and results are in the gallery below.

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

Mark called in wanting to discuss a very special push present for his wife, Debbie. She had given birth to a baby boy a few weeks earlier and he had promised her a full eternity asscher cut diamond band.  Our challenge was to be able to secure enough asscher cut diamonds of exactly the same size, color and clarity. We decided to custom cut a matching line of 0.40 ct F/G VS asscher cuts and the total diamond weight came to approx. 6.5 carats. We e-mailed a picture of the diamonds lined up to our customer who was just blown away!!

Mark told us that Debbie wanted the diamond to be set as low as possible. We proceeded to create a custom platinum full eternity u-prong setting to house these beautiful stones. The CAD was e-mailed for approval and the results can be seen below. Needless to say his wife, Debbie, was speechless. She called in to speak with us and just could not believe how her husband had spoiled her!!

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

Ben contacted us via e-mail at the beginning of July looking for a 0.75ct Brian Gavin Signature Hearts and Arrows diamond and a custom setting too. He had about a month before he was moving from California to Massachusetts and wanted to propose before he left.

Denise helped him to select a beautiful Brian Gavin Signature H & A diamond. He e-mailed inspiration pictures of the style he wanted us to create for him. It was a platinum custom solitaire with Brian Gavin Signature diamond melee accents and our popular Novela Head, with a pink diamond set inside the shank right under the head.  We e-mailed him the CAD rendering for approval and then proceeded to cast and finish up the ring.

Ben proposed and Gabi was thrilled with it. They sent the ring back for a complimentary resize and then we received this lovely e-mail along with the pictures below:

I remember we said we'd email you pictures of the proposal for your blog. On our first date, we went to take pictures in San Francisco since he is into photography and I had just gotten a camera. The last place we went to shoot that day was to a beach near the Golden Gate Bridge. I attached the picture of the first date (a silly picture and blurry because we didn't quite get the correct lighting that night) and the one where he proposed. I also attached a more normal one of us and a photo of the ring! Thank you for all your help. I'm so happy that Ben chose to order the ring from Brian Gavin… it's perfect! Gabi

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

In the middle of May, we received the following e-mail from our customer Doris:

Hi, I was wondering if you are able to convert the Petals earrings into jackets. I have recently had my diamond studs reset with the milgrained bezel setting. I would love to be able to have a pair of flower jackets to go with them.  Please let me know if this is feasible? Thanks Doris

We responded that we were able to make the jackets for her but that we needed her bezel studs to be sent in so that we could make sure the jackets fitted perfectly.

We designed the jackets on CAD and then e-mailed her the CAD file for approval. The finished product, which featured Brian Gavin F/G VS Signature melee looked magnificent and Doris was thrilled.

Hi Jamie and Lesley, I got the earrings yesterday- they are simply exquisite. I can't wait to wear them, although I have to wait until August for our anniversary. My husband, who normally cares diddly squat about jewelry, commented last night that the earrings are beautiful. The melee diamonds sparkled like crazy and the craftsmanship was top notch.

I want to thank Brian for taking on the project. It is so exciting to know that I can commission a piece of jewelry with my own input and preference, and that the quality will not be compromised. This will not be the last time we do business with you. Now every time I look at a piece of jewelry, the wheels in my mind start spinning- how can I make it my own? The possibilities are endless.  In other words, this is very addicting! Thank you once again and I hope you enjoy the long weekend. Doris

The process and final product are featured below:

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

Benjamin found out about us from reading consumer feedback posts on Pricescope. He started off inquiring about the setting only and then decided to go ahead and purchase the diamond from us too. He bought our very popular Platinum Classic Tiffany Style Knife Edge solitaire and a beautiful 0.90 ct round ideal cut diamond and asked us to set a pink sapphire under the culet of the diamond in the shank. We received the following wonderful e-mail and pictures from his fiancée, Cassady, who is a professional photographer – her website is www.CassadyKPhotography.com

Jamie, I just wanted to say thank for the beautiful ring my fiance, Ben, purchased from you! I was a little hesitant when I heard he had purchased it online, but the ring is absolutely perfect and Ben said that Brian Gavin Diamonds was very easy to work with online. You were able to help Ben find exactly what I wanted! I thought I would share our story and some pictures of the beautiful ring!

I live in Pittsburgh and Ben lives near New York City so we have a long distance relationship and only see each other once a month. Ben came in to Pittsburgh June 10th to visit for my sister's graduation party and while we have been talking about getting engaged for a while I didn't think he would do it the same weekend as my sister's party. Ben had suggested we meet in Pittsburgh on Friday night and ride an incline up to Mt. Washington, an outlook over Pittsburgh, to take pictures because I had him recently purchase a camera for me (I'm a photographer in Pittsburgh) and he was bringing it to me. We were supposed to get dinner before Mt. Washington, but we both got stuck in traffic so we decided to go up the incline first because I couldn't wait to use my camera. When we got up to Mt. Washington Ben let me take all of the pictures I wanted and then got down on one knee and proposed! I of course said yes and when Ben asked if I wanted to put the ring on I was like umm of course! The ring is absolutely beautiful and exactly what I wanted. I love the pink Sapphire you put in the band right behind the diamond for Ben. I love the color pink and it just personalizes the ring even more! Thank you so much, your rings are absolutely beautiful and I have had so many compliments on my ring! Thank you, Cassady

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

Esther contacted us several months ago. She had inherited her maternal grandmother’s ring and wanted to consult with Brian to see how she could modify the ring  to make it more modern without losing the basic original design. He kept the gallery the same, created a new wider shank and added a surprise  Brian Gavin Signature melee diamond on each end. The result exceeded Esther's expectations and she sent in the following e-mail:

My Maternal Grandmother, Mama Beulah, never wanted to be called Grandmother as it made her feel old. So she created a tradition that Grandmother’s in the family be called Mama with their first name after it.  She always wore this ring.  We believe it was her wedding ring.  It has been hidden away for many years closeted and unworn.  After my Nephew’s wedding was announced I decided to give it a face lift and bring it and my Grandmother’s presence forward.  This ring brings to mind all the memories, feelings, and positive associations with her.  She had delicate hands and fingers and beautiful long nails.  Her nails used to click the piano keys while she played. I felt the ring was simple but there was magnificence about it like her.  I was cautious not want to interfere with the integrity of antiquity during the remodeling process.

I took the ring to Brian Gavin who I call “Brian the Diamond Man.”  I was amazed at what a creative visionary he is. We put our images together all the while he was drawing in his mind ways to construct it.  I came in for fittings and consultations throughout the process.  Brian is a perfectionist.  The outcome is beautiful and perfect.  It is a juxtaposition of the old with the new.  Now my Grandmother is in view in my mind and her ring can make an exquisite statement for all to enjoy.   I shall pass it on to adorn someone else and to keep the memory of her alive.  Esther

Esther’s Ring is featured below…

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