Nowadays, everybody’s buying all kinds of stuff via the internet. Engagement Rings are no different!
If you want to buy diamonds online, you will find numerous websites offering their services.
Most likely, you’re not diamond-shopping on a regular basis, and so you might have no clue where to find them. Although most online vendors are legit, the question is if you’ll be able to make a good purchase. And this comes down to the quality of the online store and the kind of services they offer.
What to Look Out for in an Online Diamond Store
The most important aspect you should be looking for is how much you get to see the diamond you are about to purchase.
Buying diamonds online offers huge price advantages, but these advantages are quickly set off if you don’t know what kind of gem you’ll be getting. After all, you can see the diamonds in person in a physical store.
For this reason, it is important that you get to view as much of the diamond as possible. Just knowing about the cut, carat weight, clarity, and color of the stone is not enough. It won’t give you an idea of what the diamond looks like. This issue is of particular importance to clarity grades but also, for example, to check whether an oval diamond exhibits a bowtie effect or not.
A superb diamond store shouldn’t just display a generic image or some animated picture of their gems. They should offer high definition photos from different angles or better yet, provide actual videos. This way, you can be sure that the vendor is not hiding anything from you!
You should easily be able to access a grading report; preferably one from either GIA or AGS. And there should be a customer service staff in place who can answer all of your questions instantaneously just as in an offline store.
At the moment, James Allen is the only vendor that offers high definition 360 ° videos of all the diamonds in their inventory, topped with an excellent customer service. See it for yourself!
Advantages of Buying Diamonds Online
For one, online diamond stores don’t have to hold their inventory of diamonds. An online store can simply list a diamond from one of its suppliers and still provide you all the information that you need.
Plus, they don’t have to pay for fancy showrooms and sales force. This means massively reduced costs which can then be passed on to you. In fact, when comparing online and offline prices, you’ll see that offline vendors charge around 30% – 70% more for a diamond with the same 4Cs.
An online store can also offer you a greater variety of diamonds than an offline store. For rare fancy colored ones, you get to have some choices which you would hardly see in a regular shop.
For white diamonds, the selection might seem too many because of the phenomenon of the paradox of choice. Meaning, when we’re faced with too many options, we tend to be overwhelmed. However, good online shops exhibit filters, so that you can narrow down your search in a significant way!
Top online stores also display 20x magnified HD videos of their diamonds. This way, you get to see the diamonds even better than in a jewelry store where you would only have a 10x loupe.
Another advantage is that there is no salesperson subtly pressuring you into buying a diamond. I used to be a salesperson in a brick and mortar store, so I should know what I am talking about. 🙂
My Online Diamond Store Reviews
James Allen – The Current #1 Diamond Store
James Allen has revolutionized the online diamond industry as the first company that has introduced magnified HD 360 ° videos of ALL their diamonds! This means that you know what you’ll get in advance. Discover why James Allen is currently your number one choice for buying diamonds online!
Blue Nile – The Old Master that has Lost its Lead
Blue Nile is known for pioneering the online diamond business. They still have the largest selection of diamonds and the company with the biggest turnover. However, Blue Nile has lost its power and is losing increasing market shares because of customers who are not willing to buy diamonds blindly anymore. Read on to find out why buying a diamond at Blue Nile is not the best idea.
Brian Gavin – The Diamond Cutter with an Obsession for the Perfect Cut
Brian Gavin, the founder of Brian Gavin Diamonds, is a 5th generation diamond cutter from South Africa. Being one of the major influencers in developing Hearts and Arrows Diamonds, Brian Gavin fully committed himself to selling only diamonds with the best cut imaginable. Read my in-depth review to find out how Brian Gavin has lived up to his promise.
Whiteflash Diamonds – Diamond Cut Precision at its Finest
Whiteflash is the fiercest competitor of Brian Gavin and is actually on par with Brian Gavin. They offer Idealscope, ASET, and Hearts and Arrows images for all of their in-house diamonds. Their signature line “A Cut Above” is considered as among the very best diamonds ever found!
Leibish – The Top Choice for Fancy Colored Diamonds
Leibish & Co. is deemed as “one of the largest buyers at the annual prestigious Argyle Tender.” They also pioneered online diamond selling in 1995 and consistently supply some of the biggest luxury jewelers such as Graff. The fancy-color expert is today’s leading supplier of Fancy Color Diamonds with global headquarters in Hong Kong, Israel, and New York.
What are you looking for in a diamond? Is it the best cut in the world? The most affordable line? Or the one with a complete set of information? Be a smart shopper and get to know the diamond shops above before making a choice. And if you want to know more, check out my post on the best places to buy an engagement ring online!
Should you have questions about online diamond stores, feel free to comment below or drop me a mail. My advice is free! 🙂
2 thoughts on “Online Diamond Store Reviews”
Thanks for your informative diamond store reviews. I enjoyed them a lot!
Regards,
Jeff
I am glad you like them, Jeffrey!