BRIAN GAVIN
Diamond Score: 4.5
WHAT WE FOUND:
Immediately you are hit with a more upscale and luxurious feel on the landing page in comparison to the major competitors. Less E-commerce and more visual appeal. However, after we entered the site, we hit a bit of a bumpy start on the iPad. Instead, we ditched the pad and headed to the computers. This made a world of difference in regards to search functionality. However, let's hold off on the search for a moment.
When your cursor hovers over the "diamonds" tab, a lot of words appear in a dropdown box. It's not so visually pleasing and hard to understand exactly what is happening at first glance. You have to really take your time to understand what it is they are offering and where they want to take you. That being said, we clicked the "diamonds" tab instead of hovering, and bam, we were taken to the search page.
Very similar to the other sites, you first choose between a Natural Diamond or a lab-created diamond. Then there are slider scales to drill down and boxes to type the weight or budget desired. However, there are sections to fill in which you have to be a little more knowledgeable in order to understand.
1st Impressions:
4.5
User-Friendliness:
4.5
Inventory Selection:
5
Customer Service:
4.5
Price:
4.7
Bells & Whistles:
4.5
You can leave those blank if you like, but some users may not understand what is being asked here at first. You also have to be aware that Brian Gavin offers GIA-certified diamonds, AGS-certified diamonds, and IGI-certified diamonds. Our preference is to stick with either GIA or AGS as they are the two strictest of the bunch.
Live Chat Feature:
Connect almost immediately to a live person. They could see what we were looking at without having to find an SKU number or copy and paste anything. That is quite helpful and you can avoid wasting time and getting frustrated trying to convey what it is you are asking about. The customer service representative was friendly and quick to respond. We tried throwing a tough-to-answer question out there and overall we felt the response was handled well. The question was, "Should I buy a smaller F color diamond or a larger I color diamond?". Initially, the answer was a bit general, but then when gently pressed, they did come back with a pretty solid answer and felt we could drop, but not too much, in color.
They wanted us to stop at H color(obviously feeling the drop of 3 color grades may be too much of a concession when we were originally looking at an F). We say you can push me in most cases, but they are right there in their response. They even went so far as to provide us with other options for larger diamonds. This way we could compare it to the smaller F we were considering. They also had a good knowledge and understanding of price increases/decreases based on weight categories and the nature of imperfections. So well done on that front!
Back To Shopping:
We slid the sliders and we clicked the boxes! We then honed in on the 2 diamonds that we were considering. They have an easy "wishlist" heart that is under "add to cart". Or you can check a "compare" box on the screen where your options are provided. The site allows you to compare up to 4 diamonds at a time. 4 is really enough because more can get really confusing. They do a side-by-side comparison and it's actually pretty easy to look at. Some will have pictures with it and some won't. Just depends if the diamond is on the premises or not.
One of the diamonds was on the premises and one was not. In the one they had, we were able to have all sorts of fun stuff to play with. You can see multiple types of videos showing brilliance, high-resolution imaging so you can see the inclusions, an ASET picture, a Hearts and Arrows picture, and more. These are some really great tools for the consumer. However, if they do not have the diamond, you may or may not get a single high resolution video. So far, the only player who had all their diamonds on video was JamesAllen.
Brian Gavin also offers his highest-end patent pending cuts that he believes set the world of diamonds on FIRE. These cuts include a round, cushion, square and oval. He is also offering a specially cut emerald with the strictest of parameters. These diamonds are cut with extreme technical precision...we know..we read the schematics on the patents!
Once we decided which diamond we wanted, we selected "add to setting". From there, we were taken to a page that offered categories of settings. From engagement rings to earrings and more. We selected engagement rings and were brought to a very clean looking page with many options. Brian Gavin carries brands such as Furrer Jacot, Frieder Lauer, Steven KretschmerSylvie, Sholdt, Jeff Cooper Designs Parade and Kelim along with Brian Gavin's own private labels a Brian Gavin Select and Brian Gavin Signature.
You can compare like you do the diamonds and the site gives you multiple pictures with different angles and super fine photography to see all details of the ring. Once we selected the setting we liked, we set the ring size, chose the metal type and added the free inscription.
We added to cart and the site very seamlessly took us to check out. We actually liked the checkout process a bit better than the others. It just felt visually pleasing and less "transactional" even though we know it is a transaction.
BrianGavin offers multiple ways to pay. From "Affirm" financing to a discount for wire transfer, you have the pick of the litter. We clicked and off the order went! It may have started off a little bumpy, but once we got our feet on the ground, we were pleasantly surprised. Well done Brian Gavin.
Unbiased REVIEW
BRIANGAVINDIAMONDS.COM
PROS:
- Beautifully curated selection of diamonds
- Extremely strict parameters
- Overall easy to navigate
- Visual Analysis 360 degree interactive video(Mostly on in house diamonds)
- Visually pleasing side by side diamond comparison functionality
- Lots of great tools to make an informed decision
- Financing
- Hassle Free Return Policy
- Upgrade Policy
- Free Shipping
- Worldwide Shipping
- Free ring sizing for life - but you have to pay for the shipping
CONS:
SOME OF THE SEARCH FIELDS CAN BE A LITTLE CONFUSING
- Was not so mobile device friendly at the time
- Not all diamonds not on premises for live visual inspection,
- Not all diamonds have pictures or 360 video
- Not a massive selection
- Return policy is 15 days / most competitors are 30 days
Overall grade 4.58/5
1st IMPRESSIONS 4.7
Luxurious upscale feeling. Felt higher-end than the other sites. Less of an ecommerce feel at first glance with a beautiful picture as the intro. Once you scroll down a bit though, it turns into more of an ecommerce feel.
USER-FRIENDLINESS 4
We hated to give it a 4 diamond review, but at first, we got frustrated with the mobile device interface. Once we moved to the desktops, we felt better. Overall it was easy to use. Some of the search fields would be confusing to the consumer, but we knew exactly what BrianGavin was trying to do. We could really drill down pretty quickly as to what we wanted to see, where other sites make that option a little more hidden.
INVENTORY SELECTION 4.5
Similar to the WhiteFlash Review, BrianGavin aims to offer quality versus quantity. As diamond guys, we appreciate that extra mile. It helps to weed out mistakes.
LIVE CHAT CUSTOMER SERVICE 4.8
Another home run here on the chat side of things. Very personable, easy to communicate with, could see exactly what we were seeing without having to explain to them or cut and paste a link. They seemed to be open and honest and were able to offer us comparable options in real time.
Price 4.5
Pricing is highly competitive in most categories. The BrianGavin Black was a little higher than the other site's top cuts, but if you read what BrianGavin is offering, it may well be worth making a stretch!
BELLS AND WHISTLES 4.3
Another site to get nerdy on! Not as nerdy as WhiteFlash, but they definitely give some nice detail.
- 15 day no hassle money back guarantee
- Free ring size for life
- Free worldwide shipping
- Financing
- Upgrade Policy
BRIAN GAVIN BLACK
Another finaly honed diamond. BrianGavin Black requires some pretty darn specific criteria in order for a diamond to qualify. On the website you will see pending patents that have extreme detail of cut parameters and light performance charts. We ate it up as you can imagine. We are confident that if you select one of the Black offerings, you may just have to buy your fiance a pair of sunglasses!
BRIAN GAVIN
Co-founder of Whiteflash.com, Brian Gavin was one of the first to implement the idea of the super ideal(that was a mouth full). But seriously, this man is a true pioneer. Coming as a 5th generation diamantaire via South Africa, Brian Gavin is regarded as an expert among most and has spent decades honing skills and focusing on the hearts and arrows effect.
5 GENERATIONS INTO ONE BRIAN GAVIN BRAIN
Years and years of development. Trying to find the right cutting combination in his view to make the best and brightest diamonds in the marketplace. Brian Gavin continues to be a pioneer. His Black offering is certainly the technical specs that we like. We vote...check out the site!