Is it safe to buy diamonds on the Internet?

“Diamonds on the Internet” should be a meme. Here’s why: Diamonds may be the perfect item to buy on the Internet. And the Internet may be the perfect way to buy diamonds. (Ok, spoiler alert … it is.)

This thorough yet brief article makes the case for why it’s safe to buy diamonds on the Internet.

Not only is it ok to buy diamonds online. It’s safe, efficient, and at your own pace. Plus, you won’t overspend on the exact same grade of diamond.

But there are a few conditions to follow to make sure you buy diamonds on the Internet safely.

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Buy diamonds on the Internet only from reputable retailers

The most important rule for safely buying diamonds on the Internet is to choose only highly reputable retailers.

Readers often write and ask, “What is the best website to buy diamonds?” And, “Where should you buy diamonds on the Internet?”

But there’s not a single best website to buy diamonds.

I have my favorites. But there is not a single best retailer for everyone.

You just have to look at the whole picture. Check out any online retailer of diamonds on the Internet with this quick test of 5 questions.

Five questions to ask about any diamond engagement ring retailer on the Internet:

What is their BBB score? (Best way to check that is to use Google, not the BBB.org site. Google is much better at search. Simply search, for example, “James Allen BBB score.” Or “Blue Nile BBB score.”)
What is their TrustPilot score? (Again, Google is the best way to look. Simply search, for example, “James Allen TrustPilot.” Google will drop you directly onto the right TrustPilot.com page.)
Do they have a no-questions asked return policy?
Do they have their own extensive website (not just a storefront on eBay or Amazon)?
Do their diamonds have certificates from the GIA, IGI, or AGS?

Do you see excellent scores for them at the BBB and at TrustPilot?

Can you answer yes to the last three questions?

If so, then you’ve found an online store where it’s safe to buy diamonds on the Internet.

What is the best website to buy diamonds from?

There isn’t a best website to buy diamonds from, for everyone. It depends on what you like, what diamonds and settings you find in inventory, and on any sales on the settings at the moment. (Diamonds themselves rarely really go on sale. But the settings are sometimes discounted. “Settings” in this case means the rings themselves, apart from any gemstones you have mounted on them.)

But I can say I have two favorite stores for shopping for diamonds online.

Why do I love them?

The answer is that the shopping experience at these two stores is extremely enjoyable.

I often go to the sites for the pure pleasure of sorting through the 3D imagery of diamonds in their inventory. It’s more relaxing than YouTube in many moods.

These two stores are:

James Allen, for their incredible 3D imagery and overall friendly shopping experience. Check out all the filters which are so easy to use when shopping for any loose stone at all on that page!
Blue Nile, for their also excellent imagery and friendly shopping experience. The filters and experience are very similar to James Allen’s. Plus, each store has a slightly different inventory, since every diamond is unique!

They’re both pretty awesome. I do prefer James Allen because the user experience is slightly better in my opinion. That said, both stores are continually improving their UX. Also, any individual user might prefer one over the other.

My advice is to try both of them.

You’ll find strengths and discoveries in each.

You’ll also find forests of individual, beautiful, unique diamonds. Each one is unique. You can learn much just by sorting through them, and enjoy every minute.

Even though I don’t plan on buying a diamond online or in a store at any time in the near future, I love “window shopping” at these two stores. Plus I know that if and when I do decide to buy, I’m in good hands at either one of them.

Want my free, no-email-required, quick-start course on know to buy a diamond on the Internet?
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Buying diamonds on the Internet is less expensive

Because buying diamonds on the Internet means you avoid the higher costs of brick and mortar, you’ll save money. They can afford to offer lower prices, especially on settings.

Even on diamonds, the prices are somewhat lower. And you’re getting the exact same value and quality, as long as you choose a loose diamond with a diamond grading report from the GIA or AGS or IGI. A diamond “certificate” or grading report tells you the exact qualities of the diamond.

This really evens the playing field. Retailers then must compete on service.

Buying diamonds on the Internet is easier

Remember when you used to go to a local hardware store and sort through the offerings, looking for whatever it was you wanted?

Or, say, going to a big box store, looking everywhere for whatever it is you were shopping for?

But now you just go to Amazon, type in a search phrase, and you can find exactly what you want, look for alternatives, and see the price right away.

In just the last few years, buying diamonds on the Internet has made the same leap. You can now go to a store such as James Allen or Blue Nile, and experience this bliss:

Search for exactly what kind of diamond you want by shape
Search for diamonds by color (even Fancy colors of green, pink, blue, etc.)
Search for diamonds by clarity
Search for diamonds by price
Search for diamonds by size / carat
Look at a dozen, two dozen, ten dozen diamonds, as many as you want — up close, magnified, in 3D imagery
Know the price of the diamond right away
Open another tab on your browser and do the same at another entire store
All within literally 10 minutes

So buying a diamond on the Internet is not a strange thing any more. It’s safe. It’s probably safer than buying in person. You can certainly make much better decisions. You can make much better decisions buying a diamond online because you have 1,000% more information at your fingertips:

Price
Quality
Size
Imagery showing all the sparkling brilliance, and any inclusions (flaws)
The competition

Buying diamonds on the Internet is faster

You don’t have to wait for a shop clerk to have time to see you. To get the diamond out. To lay it on the black felt. To hand you a loupe. Shopping in person has its pleasures, of course.

But speed and convenience isn’t really one of them.

Shopping for diamonds on the Internet, you can move at hyperspace as you look at first one diamond, then another.

And at the same time, you’re very efficient.

You’re not going at hyperspace and missing things. You’re catching things. You’re seeing things you’d never be able to see at a local jeweler:

At a local jeweler, to see a magnified 3D image of a diamond, you’d have to put the jeweler’s loupe to your eye, bend over, look at the diamond. And that’s it. You’d have maybe 30 seconds with it. After that it just gets awkward. You may ask to see another diamond. And maybe two or three more. But a dozen? That would be awkward. Ten dozen, as you can easily do at James Allen or Blue Nile? Impossible.
You can’t put two images side by side at a local jeweler. On the Internet you can.
On the Internet you can create a free account at a retailer, and save the diamond as a “favorite,” to look at again and again as you sort through them over days?
On the Internet you can pull up the images of the diamonds at any time. You can compare the cut, the quality, the clarity, the color, in an organized way.
On the Internet you can filter automatically for a certain carat size. Or a certain grade of clarity. Or a certain grade of color. Or a certain shape. Or any and all of the factors mixed and matched.

Locally, you just can’t do these things.

Meeting the love of your life offline is awesome. That still happens. But shopping for a diamond? Online shopping is faster, more efficient, more informative, and more available (meaning you can spend hours, all night, if you like).

It’s a massive change in how diamonds are bought and sold. And it benefits you, the consumer.

You’re gonna get a better diamond, shopping online.

Buying diamonds on the Internet is safe

The two online stores I’ve pointed you to (James Allen and Blue Nile) are perfectly safe and reputable, I’d say they’re as safe or safer than buying diamonds locally.

They have return policies right there in writing on their websites. 30 day returns.

They have the volume to do that. For a local jeweler, a $6,000 return could be painful. They might be a Mom & Pop shop. They’re not doing the volume that allows them to happily, easily absorb a $6,000 return. So that can be awkward.

Plus, at James Allen or Blue Nile (and all the other reputable online jewelers) you’re not seeing them face to face so there’s no awkwardness if you should decide to return the diamond.

It’s personal service but it’s not that personal.

Buying diamonds on the Internet is flexible

You can choose the diamond you want for your engagement ring. You can choose the setting (the ring) you want, for your engagement ring.

You’re getting a custom made ring, for all practical purposes.

Whereas, at a local jeweler, you’re often limited to the diamonds they’ve set in the certain rings they’ve already chosen. (And are trying to sell to you.)

But what if you wanted that diamond in this setting? Impossible, or awkward, or very expensive, at a local jeweler. They’d have to take it off of one setting and put it on another.

At James Allen or Blue Nile, it’s no problem. It’s the way things are done from the beginning. You get what you want.

Go for it. You don’t have to buy. You can window shop and it’s truly enjoyable.

I rarely write so enthusiastically, but this question has been an easy one to answer with full confidence. Buying a diamond online is an easy decision, because it’s safe, it’s efficient, it’s pleasurable, it’s enjoyable, it’s fast when you want it to be fast. It’s also available 24 hours a day. And you don’t have to get out of your sweats.

But seriously, the amount of information, and the lower prices, and the 30-day returns available, make this an easy decision.

So if you’re new to shopping for a diamond online, go straight over to James Allen or Blue Nile and enjoy playing with the filters and looking at all the different kinds of cuts and colors of diamonds on offer.