Engagement Rings??

[jesseboston81]

Originally Posted by chippewastud79

Avoid online jewelers like Blue Nile. They loosely group their diamonds into far more broad ranges than a jeweler would. They buy diamonds in bulk that are all 'similar' to the type that they are selling, they could be anywhere from 2-4 steps off of what you think you are buying. You could end up paying $1000 for a diamond that was supposed to be a certain weight, color and clarity but they send you a diamond that was close enough to the untrainned eye but ends up being worth $800 when appraised.

I'm not sure I agree with this statement. I just bought an engagement ring from Blue Nile a little over three months ago after a long time comparing both online and B+M options. My fiancee wasn't concerned about any fancy setting, so I got her a solitaire diamond in a "plaint" platinum setting. I found that, since I was largely just paying for the diamond, Blue Nile gave me the best price. According to my "research," a similar diamond to what I got from Blue Nile would have cost me around 30-40% more from any other store. Blue Nile made it easy to pick exactly which diamond I wanted, it came with certification, and the appraisal was right on. When buying from Blue Nile you lose a lot of the other services a B+M will provide and the sales relationship, but I'm convinced that I got what I paid for and could not have gotten that I would have gotten less diamond for my money had I gone anywhere else.