Alani contacted us at the beginning of November with a reset project in mind:

Hi Denise, Leslie, Brian and friends! Hope you are all well and nice and busy leading up to Christmas. I am currently researching the idea of resetting my engagement ring (1ct, in a simple solitaire setting) as I recently broke my wedding band and I'm not too sure if I want to stay with the traditional e ring / w band. I'm pretty hard on my rings and everything that I am drawn to with a lot of bling (pave, halos) isn’t really right for my lifestyle.  Anyway, I was thinking of resetting into a 3 stone, but then I'm not sure if that will be enough bling so I'm looking at a Graduated 5 stone using my current 1ct stone as the center.

Denise worked with Alani to come up with the best combination of diamond sizes to get the flowing, graduated look she was after and also worked on several different ideas for the setting. The final diamond specs were as follows:

• Center stone 1.05ct F SI1 is a GIA XXX round diamond.
• 2 x 0.423ct F SI1 Brian Gavin Signature Hearts and Arrows diamonds.
• 2  x 0.20ct F VS Brian Gavin Signature diamond melee.

Alani decided not to ship her center stone to us and searched to find a qualified local Australian jeweler to set it. We had all the measurements of the stone and were able to create the CAD with that information. We tweaked the center prongs to make sure that only the prongs showed from the top view, and that the trellis wires were not visible from the top. We sent the updated CAD, received approval and proceeded to caste the ring in platinum and then set the 4 side stones. We e-mailed Glamor Shots of the almost finished ring and then shipped it:

I picked up the package and the ring is beautiful! I can't wait until I get the center stone set…

A few days later we received this e-mail:

Hello Denise, Lesley, Brian and the team at BGD! I am please to let you know that the ring has been completed with the center stone being set today!! I am in love with the ring and it is exactly what I imagined it to be. It's amazing how you guys can take a drawing and bring it to life! The ring is just one ball of sparkle at the moment. It is really unbelievable! I find myself laughing every time I catch a glimpse of it because it is just so unreal. Thanks again, Alani.

Feast your eyes on the picture gallery below!!

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

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.

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

18K Rose Gold Rings and Earrings continue to be very popular here at Brian Gavin Diamonds. The Gallery below features the following 4 products that were shipped in the past few days:

1. Product ID 5437R18 18K Rose Gold Half Bezel Solitaire with a 0.45 ct Brian Gavin Signature Hearts and Arrows diamond
2. Product ID 5409R18 18K Rose Gold Hand Made Bezel Stud Earrings
3. Product ID 5542R18 18K Rose Gold Classic Truth Sleek Micro Pave with 18K White Gold Head and an additional Milgrain Finish set with a 1.35 ct Brian Gavin Quadex (and 6 surprise pink sapphires set inside the shank)
4. Product ID 5540R18 18K Rose Gold Tapered Tiffany Style Half Round with 18K White Gold 6 prong Tiffany basket set with a 0.78 ct Brian Gavin Signature H & A diamond and a surprise garnet set inside the shank

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

In June 2010 Shane contacted us to discuss his upcoming diamond engagement ring purchase. He was planning to propose to his girlfriend of 8 years and wanted to purchase a very high quality center stone and a magnificent setting. He selected the Platinum "Summer" 3 stone open basket setting with a 1.10 ct Brian Gavin Signature Hearts and Arrows diamond.

About a year later he contacted us to get started with the wedding bands. After much discussion he decided to order the Platinum Dream Half Eternity Band and a Palladium 6 mm Men's Three Textured Band. We set a "Surprise" Emerald and Diamond inside both bands and engraved a special note.

About 2 months before the wedding Shane contacted us for the wedding jewelry.  We created a magnificent Custom 18k White Gold Necklace set w/ 0.99 ctw F/G SI Brian Gavin Signature diamond melee for him and he added the 14k White Gold Leverback Huggies to his order.

The wedding was on Saturday, October 15 and we received this e-mail and the beautiful pictures below:

Hi Lesley,

Thanks for making stunning pieces of jewelry for my wife and I.

Your helpful advice helped us choose the perfect combination for our BGD wedding

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

Beth called in towards the middle of July with questions about having her approx. 2 carat radiant cut diamond recut. It was a very long shaped radiant and she did not like the stone. She wanted Brian to do his magic! Brian did his predictions and recommended that he recut it into a cushion cut and that although there would be significant weight loss to recut it into a cushion cut, the size loss would not be severe.  The result was fantastic!!

We created Beth’s ring using CAD and sent her the CAD files for approval. We then proceeded to cast the Split Prong Grace setting in 18K rose gold with F/G VS Brian Gavin Signature melee set into the gallery. We managed to ship it out to her in time for an important weekend. We received this heartfelt e-mail from her after she had received the ring:

Dear Lesley and Brian, It's never too late to realize a dream. Here I am, a grandmother, finally being granted a wish made when I was just five years old and my father and I would exclaim together over the starry gems in the jeweler's window. I just knew my fairy godmother would grant me just one. Well, thank you Lesley and Brian for spreading some of that magic my way. It was worth the wait. The best to you and yours, Beth

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

The rings look awesome and I have already received many compliments at work. They are a lot heavier than I thought they would be. They look so delicate but the platinum makes them feel strong. Really really  really impressed with the crazy detail on the engagement ring.

I think I have some serious issues but the one thing that I loved the most is the Brian Gavin fridge magnet. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's because it's the one thing I get to keep for myself. I don't know.

I asked my girlfriend today if she wants to see a video demo and when she said yes I sent her a video where I opened up the box and using the provided gloves I took out a paper ring we put in there instead of the real thing. She wasn't impressed. You can see it here (as well as my love for the magnet)

Thank you very much for all of your help Denise. You and Brian have made it pretty painless. The service was excellent and I'm very glad I made the choice to work with you guys to create these rings. I'll send you pics of the ring on her finger once it's on there. It will hopefully be very soon. Stay tuned. Mike

We will feature the ring pictures and proposal as soon as Mike has proposed. Stay tuned!!!

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

Rusty contacted us with a very special project. He wanted us to create a custom rose gold setting for an approximately 2 carat pear shape diamond with 2 matching diamond bands. He e-mailed us a worksheet of what he had in mind design wise and Denise set about helping him to find the stone. She sourced a 2.27 black pear shape diamond and we shipped it out to him for his approval. He then shipped it back and we set to work to create the CAD for the ring and bands. He approved the CADs and we caste the settings in 18K rose gold. All the diamond melee used was F/G VS Brian Gavin Signature melee. The result was spectacular!!!

Hi Denise, I just called you to tell you that I picked up the ring during my lunch today. There aren't any words that can express how excited I am about the ring. It is so beautiful. I can't wait to see it on Marie's finger. She is going to love it. Take care – Rusty

We received this e-mail a couple of weeks ago:

Hi Denise, OK wow! I have been so busy lately. It has now been 1 month since I popped the question and gave Marie the ring. She said yes . She absolutely LOVES it… I really appreciate the great customer service that you and your team provided. The ring speaks for itself. It is amazing. Everyone that see's it is just in awe. It truly is one of a kind. I hope all is well and I know your making other couples very happy – Rusty

The CAD and breathtaking gallery of Glamor Shots follow!

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