Bluenile

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ADMIRALSTOCKDALE

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I hope the resident expert will chime in here, but what is the hornfans opinion of bluenile.com?
 
Great quality. Great customer service. I highly recommend them. I got a very nice engagement ring for $8k that was appraised for around $14k. The same ring would have cost me $12k at a retailer. They will mail it to a UPS or USPS so you don't have to have it delivered to your house. I will certainly use them again in the future. PM me if you have any other questions or feel free to email me at [email protected].
 
I was happy (as well as the bride to be) with my purchase from there. I did not want to hoof it around and check out multiple local diamond places and get 'sold' on something. You pick a diamond, pick a setting and they send you a ring. If you are happy with the price, then you win.

This was 6 years ago, fyi.
 
I got an engagement ring there six years ago. My experience was the same as busterbrown's and UTinBigD's - I got a great deal. I have subsequently bought a couple of watches from them, always a great deal and great service.

Don't forget how much you'd be saving by not paying sales tax.
 
the best community in the world! thanks
hookem.gif
 
i am completely clueless here - at what level do lower color & clarity become noticeable to the naked eye?

i always figure you need to keep it above vs1/2 and an i color, but that is really an assumption.
 
I did this back in Oct/Nov 07 and it was a breeze. The hardest part, of course, is figuring out what you want.

It's not a bad idea to go to a jeweler and just have them show you a lot of things so you can see some stuff in person. Especially since you're gonna drop a hefty chunk of change on it.

I will definitely use them again though, the next time I get engag....uh, I mean for diamond earrings or something.
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I didn't buy from them but checked out their prices before buying a ring at a local reputable dealer. After I showed the dealer what I could buy the diamond for, he worked with me on the price. I still paid slightly higher than the BN price, but it was worth it for me at the time to buy the whole ring/stone setup from a local jeweler.
 
The sales folks at Bluenile can talk you through all the color and clarity stuff. I bought my engagement ring about 6 months ago, but to be honest, I forgot all that crap about 2 minutes after I completed the purchase and hung up the phone. I just know I wanted the best of the best even though they told me the differences could not be seen by the naked eye. Good luck searching!
 
well, it sounds like this is the way i'll go. and i am def. gonna go look at a few rings at a store first, just so i have a better idea when viewing on the computer screen.
 
Blue Nile is an excellent starting point because the prices are very reasonable. A couple friends have used them to purchase engagement rings and they have had good luck. As for diamond prices, most jewelry stores will match Blue Nile prices. Just bring in the print out.

However, go to a store and compare diamonds before you decide what you want to buy. The '4 Cs' is just a b.s. marketing scam to get you to buy a 'nicer' diamond. First off, there are several different agencies that certify diamonds. They don't all follow the same testing specifications. GIA for instance is known to be the strictest. A GIA certified diamond will typically be valued for less than an EGL USA certified diamond of exact quality. Believe it or not, but an EGL USA certified diamond will be judged more strictly than an EGL Belgium certified diamond. It is all a big joke that the average consumer won't pick up on.

My gf inhereted a diamond that we will eventually use in an engagement ring. It is beautiful, but it was certified by GIA as 'Imperfect' in clarity. That is about as bad as it gets. I took it to a store to compare to a perfect diamond and I couldn't tell a difference with a naked eye. Only at 10x magnification could I notice some 'inclusions' which are white specs in the diamond.

To me, the 'cut' and 'color' of the diamond is the biggest deal. Unless they are side by side it is tough to tell the difference between a .9 carat diamond and a 1 carat diamond, but there is a huge difference in price. And as my example above shows, clarity is the biggest joke of them all.

If you can't tell, I've spent the last couple months researching this. It is all a huge scam I tell you.

Oh.... and check out Palladium as a metal option. It looks exactly like Platinum and is as cheap as white gold. If you go down the Palladium route, make sure you get 950 Palladium alloyed with Ruthenium.
 
Use BlueNile to negotiate a lower price with a jeweler. Most places will even mail an empty box out of state so you can avoid tax.
 
If you are buying a VS-1 or higher clarity ROUND stone of a highly rated cut Blue Nile is a very good option. I know a lot of wholesalers who list their goods on Blue Nile because they get paid very quickly and get very few returns.

If you are buying anything under vs-1 be careful of the cheaper stones blue nile has in the listing. Remember a vs-2 can be a small white feather on the side but it can also be a small grouping of black specs in the middle of the table. Likewise, an SI-2 can have white twinning whisps in the stone or can be a large black inclusion which your GF will be able to see with her eye. Also, on NON-ROUND shapes be careful. I know more than a couple of wholesalers who use bluenile as a clearing house to move stones that "look good on paper".

I would recommend finding a few stones on bluenile and being honest with a jewelry store and allowing them to compete. If they can match the price its wonderful and if not buy the stone on bluenile. Also, if you want me to look at the certificate PM me and I'll send you my email address.
 
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