Blue Nile– A Review

Blue Nile offers clients a modern take on engagement ring shopping, with a wide range of engagement ring settings, diamonds, gemstones, and other jewelry. Blue Nile is well-known for offering diamonds at nearly 40% lower than normal retail prices, which may raise questions as to the quality of the diamonds and jewelry on offer.

Our Rating: 4.8 out of 5. 

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The answer to this is that Blue Nile offers some of the highest quality certified diamonds, and exceptional engagement rings made with the most expert craftsmanship.

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If you are looking to purchase an engagement ring online, Blue Nile might be the perfect retailer for you.

A Brief History

Founded in 1999 by Mark Vadon, Bluenile.com was created as an answer to the lack of engagement ring options which stumped its founder. Mark Vadon decided to create this online store to cater to consumers such as himself, utilizing the demand for diamonds and then shopping around for the best price to offer customers value for their money.

Through a partnership with the owner of internetdiamonds.com, Blue Nile was created, and the site has continued to see success after success since then, now boasting its position as one of the largest, if not the largest, online diamond and jewelry retailer.

What Blue Nile Offer

Blue Nile proudly hosts the largest online diamond inventory, showcasing over 140,000  loose diamonds in all shapes and sizes, from a small ¼ carat diamond to diamonds weighing in at over 20 carats. Their site promises a diamond for every taste and budget, at the lowest prices available online. All of these diamonds are sourced by Blue Nile engaging in contracts with diamond wholesalers from all over, and each loose diamonds comes certified either with an AGSL (American Gem Society Laboratories) or GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certificate.

Driven by the need to provide diamonds at the lowest possible cost, Blue Nile will match the price of a certified diamond if it is found cheaper at another retailer.

To add to the authenticity and quality of their diamonds, Blue Nile ensures that each of the diamonds featured on the site is ethically sourced and conflict-free, by subscribing to the “Kimberley Process”, which is an international tracking method to ensure the authenticity of the diamond from the mine to market.

What Makes Blue Nile Stand Out?

Diamond Display – Previously, Blue Nile only featured sample photos of the diamonds in their inventory. However, keeping up with the times, they now offer a 360° Diamond View feature. This allows customers to have a comprehensive view of any diamond they are interested in, as well as access to a summary of the properties of the diamond such as diamond cut,  diamond color, diamond clarity, and diamond carat.

Certification – All of the diamonds featured in Blue Nile’s inventory come with either a GIA or AGSL  diamond certification, proving the authenticity and quality of the diamond, all which are conflict-free.

Large inventory – Blue Nile definitely has one of the largest inventories of diamonds found anywhere, however, they also have a wide variety of engagement ring settings for all tastes, from platinum to rose gold, there is a setting on the site to match the diamond you choose.

Designer options – Blue Nile has a range of jewelry created by popular designers available on their site, featuring designers such as Zac Posen and Monique Lhuillier.

Jewelry – Other than a wide range of diamonds and unique engagement rings, Blue Nile also features wedding bands and a wide selection of other high-quality jewelry items, such as pendants, earrings, and bracelets.

Blue Nile Pricing

Blue Nile base their business on being able to provide their customers with the lowest prices possible on exceptional quality diamonds. While you can be sure to find a diamond that suits your budget, Blue Nile also offer a wide range of engagement ring settings to suit every budget. Some are simple and sit at the lower end of the price range, and there are other more intricate designer options that can cost quite a substantial amount more.

In short, Blue Nile will be able to suit your budget with their many pricing offers on both diamonds and engagement ring settings.

Custom Orders

Blue Nile offers customers the opportunity to custom design their own ring or other pieces of jewelry. The ‘build your own ring’ feature allows you to choose your stone and setting, specifying the details to match exactly what you want to achieve in a ring.

You will not be able to see the exact picture of the custom ring you design, but there are generic pictures available of certain diamonds set in different mountings. However, there is customer care to help along the way, tending to any queries that may arise.

Website Ease of Use

A clean and crisp homepage welcomes customers to the site. High-quality images are available on the home page, adding the allure of dazzling diamonds at first glance. The different tabs are easy to find, guiding customers through to the page or product they are looking for.

The engagement ring settings found on the site are also able to be viewed in a 360°, which helps prospective buyers feel confident in the ring they are choosing.

To make the online shopping experience fairly fuss-free for users, the website is left quite simple with easy navigation and checkout.

Customer Service

When shopping online, especially for something holding a price tag as large as a diamond engagement ring, clients want to be sure the site they are using has a reliable customer service that is available to help 24/7. Blue Nile is one of those sites that have exceptional customer care and service, giving clients the peace of mind they need to guide them through the purchasing process.

Fulltime Customer Support – Blue Nile have a dedicated 24/7 customer service with agents who are knowledgeable in all things engagement rings.

Return Policy – Offering a 30-day money-back guarantee, Blue Nile ship their rings fully insured with all product documentation. Products all come with a lifetime manufacturer warranty.

Buyback – Blue Nile offers a diamond buyback program, facilitated through Mandiamo, based on market value.

Blue Nile Financing Options

If you are unable to purchase your engagement ring cash, Blue Nile offers a few financing opportunities to their customers:

• The Blue Nile Credit Card offers a no-interest plan and provides special financing on your purchase, without annual fees. This is a good option for those who are looking to purchase regularly from the site.
• The Blue Nile Credit Card equal payment plan. It offers an APR of 9.9%, and different value purchases have different time frames to be paid off.

Why You Should Choose Blue Nile

• The largest inventory of diamonds online with affordable price tags.
• 360° imagery of diamonds and engagement settings.
• Helpful, knowledgeable 24/7 customer service.
• Custom design option to create individual pieces of jewelry.
• 30-day money-back guarantee and lifetime warranty.

Blue Nile – A Cut Above The Rest

Blue Nile was created to help customers find quality, affordable diamonds, and the perfect setting for engagement rings. The craftsmanship of the pieces on their site is exceptional, with the option to choose between designer rings and Blue Nile jewelry.

The comprehensive site offers a complete experience and can be trusted by prospective clients to help them find the perfect diamond engagement ring to suit their tastes and budget.