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Blue Nile Diamonds Quality, Price, Shipping Reviews
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Few companies have changed the jewelry industry as Blue Nile has.
But what makes this company special?
And are their claims to low prices and high-quality diamonds too good to be true?
I’ll dive into the brand’s history and the truth behind their claims in this Blue Nile review so you can see for yourself whether or not this brand is a good fit!
The history of Blue Nile
The year was 1998, and Mark Vadon was frustrated. He wanted to buy a diamond engagement ring for his girlfriend, but the local jewelry stores’ options were complicated and expensive.
He turned to the internet and found a website called InternetDiamonds.com. Thrilled with the idea of an online jeweler, he bought it and turned it into Blue Nile—one of the first companies ever to sell jewelry on the internet.
Today, Blue Nile is the largest eCommerce diamond seller in the world.
Source: Blue Nile on Instagram
What does Blue Nile sell?
The most obvious answer is diamonds, but Blue Nile has a broad selection of fine jewelry of all kinds.
Their biggest market seems to be wedding rings and diamond engagement rings, but they also sell earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and other ring styles.
If you buy an engagement ring or wedding band, you can choose from precious metals like sterling silver, yellow gold, white gold, rose gold, and platinum.
They also specialized in creating custom rings with Blue Nile diamonds.
Blue Nile also has a large market of loose diamonds. Most of these are transparent, but they also sell colored diamonds. Their website has several sorting features, so you can find what you’re looking for based on cut, clarity, carat weight, and more.
They have all different cuts and styles of diamonds, as well as their own Astor Collection. The Astor Collection ensures an extra level of quality and symmetry but does cost more than standard gems.
Blue Niles services and offers
Blue Nile offers many services for its customers.
For example, their orders include free shipping, free returns, and a lifetime warranty on your purchase. Blue Nile also has live customer support, either by phone or chat.
They also offer a price match program, where they’ll match or beat any competitor’s price.
(Note that only certified diamonds by GIA are eligible for this—I’ll explain why in a minute.)
If you’re looking for ways to save, Blue Nile has a 1.5% discount for bank transfers (instead of paying by credit card).
They also have their own credit card. It isn’t a great deal based on reviews I’ve read—it has a lot of fine print that can hit you with charges if you pay late or miss the 0% APR window—but it’s an option if you need it.
Several sites list Blue Nile coupon codes, including Retail Me Not, Groupon, and Offers.com.
Source: Your Diamond Teacher
What makes Blue Nile diamonds unique?
There are dozens of other online diamond stores out there, so why does Blue Nile stand apart?
First, they only certify diamonds through the Gemological Institute of America. GIA is the premier gem certification agency, and they use a rigorous grading process.
Most mall jewelry chains—think Kay Jewelers or Zales—use an inferior gem lab, which over-qualifies most gems so the retailer can charge more.
Each Blue Nile diamond is also certified through the Kimberley process, so they don’t stock any conflict diamonds.
Next, Blue Nile has interactive videos for about 60% of its diamonds, allowing you to see precisely how each gem looks before buying it.
But the main difference between Blue Nile and competitors is that Blue Nile has almost zero inventory. Instead, the gems they list on their website come from jewelers around the world.
Whereas other stores spend millions to buy jewelry to keep in stock, Blue Nile only buys a diamond when you place an order, then ships the product to you.
As a result of this innovative system, their markup is around 18% instead of the industry average of 100%.
Source:Blue Nile on Instagram
What do the reviews say about Blue Nile?
The jewelry industry is mostly in favor of Blue Nile’s diamond quality and prices. But quality and price aren’t the only factors to consider.
Blue Nile only has 2 of 5 stars on Consumer Affairs. Most customer complaints are about shipping problems, unexpected credit card charges (like I mentioned earlier), and their low-quality earrings and gold lockets.
After reading dozens of reviews, some problems are the fault of FedEx or the customer. Still, there also seem to be shipping delays due to their unique diamond wholesaler model.
If you order from Blue Nile, the shipping estimate you get might be off because of the time it takes to ship from a third-party jeweler.
Blue Nile has an A+ rating at the Better Business Bureau and mostly positive opinions from jewelry reviewers.
Source: Blue Nile on Instagram
Diamond expert Michael Fried at The Diamond Pro gives Blue Nile 4.5 of 5 stars, commenting on one engagement ring that was 60% cheaper than Tiffany & Co. and another 30% less than Costco’s price.
Paul Gian at Beyond 4Cs rates Blue Nile 4 of 5 stars, complimenting the website’s easy-to-use filtering features.
Richard Jenkins at Your Diamond Guru has a mixed review of Blue Nile, criticizing high prices compared to James Allen, plus a lack of gem images. (Since Jenkins wrote this review, Blue Nile has added the diamond video feature mentioned above.)
Sebastian Naturski at Your Diamond Teacher also gives Blue Nile a positive review for their certification process and prices.
And finally, Alastair Smith at Ringspo gives Blue Nile a rating of 4 out of 5 stars for their quality, pricing, and website listings.
The final word on Blue Nile diamonds
If you’re looking to buy fine diamond jewelry on a budget, Blue Nile is a good choice.
Their wholesale system and price matching allow you to find some of the best prices if you’re buying a loose diamond, diamond ring, or other jewelry.
While Blue Nile has a few sales process issues, like a flawed credit card offering and occasional shipping problems, they’re one of the best online retailers for fine jewelry and diamonds in particular.
