I spent 80+ hours reading all I could to educate myself about getting the best possible diamond for my money before purchasing an engagement ring. I realized I could never learn everything there is to know about diamonds, so I contacted Katy at The Diamond Pro. She helped me find the perfect diamond. She emphasized the fact that the only important aspect of a diamond's clarity is that it is EYE CLEAN and not to waste my money on a higher clarity grade. She also told me that since I was planning to set the ring in platinum, I would be perfectly OK going with a J color diamond. I was prepared to purchase a stone at James Allen that had a clarity of VVS1 and H color, but Katy found a perfectly eye clean diamond here at Brian Gavin that had a clarity of just VS2 (three steps down in clarity) and J color (two steps down). I never thought I would be able to afford one of Brian Gavin's amazingly well-cut stones on my budget, but bumping the clarity and color down brought a beautiful BG diamond right into my price range. I could not be happier with my purchase. Everything positive you have likely heard about BGD is absolutely true! If you'd told me a year ago that I'd be able to afford this absolutely brilliant diamond, I'd have never believed it! Thanks to the help of Katy at The Diamond Pro, along with Anthony Hughes from BGD, I could not have had a better experience. A++! My ONLY complaint is that the ring does not come in a traditional hinged engagement ring box. The box slides out of its sleeve, and while it is a very sharp and sleek look, there's something missing in a proposal if you can't open that box by the hinge while down on one knee. Not a deal breaker, but still... kind of an awkward way to present the ring if you're going for a traditional proposal. Luckily, once she sees this amazing diamond, she will forget about the box completely!