Is BlueNile really overpriced?

[soupcxan]

Let me first say that this is a great forum and provides extremely useful information for what can seem to be a bewildering subject at first. In searching through the forums one common thread I picked up on was that BlueNile seems to be regarded as pricey compared to some of the other PS vendors. In my recent experience, that seems not to be the case - was this just a fluke? Would appreciate your thoughts on this to see if I am missing something. The ring hasn''t arrived yet so if I have made a huge mistake I can always send it back, appreciate your insight.

I set out to buy a three stone trellis setting in platinum with 1 ctw princess cut stones of decent visual appeal. Didn''t feel the need to pay for flawless/colorless but didn''t want something that was included and yellow. Here is what I ended up purchasing from BN for $2950 total:

$1300: Platinum three stone trellis setting
$950: Center stone + $350x2: Side stones (all GIA cert, all VG symmetry and polish, no fluor)

Here are the specs for the center/side/side stones:
Weight: 0.50/0.25/0.27
Color: H/G/G
Clarity: VS2/VS1/VS2
Cut: Very Good/Very Good/Very Good
Depth: 72%/73/72
Table: 70%/75/76
L/W ratio: 1.00/1.03/1.02
Dimensions: 4.39x4.38x3.15 / 3.59x3.49x2.54 / 3.65x3.58x2.59

Before buying, I priced out similar arrangements at some other stores that PS recommends. James Allen had a plat trellis setting with 0.5/0.25/0.25 GIA stones at an average of H/SI1 but they were asking $3865. You could build your own ring in a similar setting, but they wanted $1830 just for the setting, and by the time you added stones you were right around their pre-set price.

http://www.jamesallen.com/item.asp?cid=60&item=474&name=1526p
http://www.jamesallen.com/create-your-three-stone-ring/default.asp?module=setting&cid=260&item=503&name=1126p

Next up was WhiteFlash. Their setting looks beautiful on the website and costs $1675. Their 0.5 center stones were in the $1000-$1100 range for G/H-VS1/VS2 but most of them were more rectangular whereas I wanted a square L/W ratio. Their "ES" stones looked much nicer but were +$1200 for the center stone. Their side stones were running +$600 each, so by the time I had finished the setting it would''ve equal the James Allen price for 1.0 ctw, if not closer to $4000. With the exception of the ES stone, these were mostly rated "two stars" on their WF rating system. I tried to price everything out in similar cut/clarity ranges as BN, maybe their stuff is actually nicer but all I had to go with was the GIA ratings.

http://www.whiteflash.com/Engagement-Rings/Styles/3Stone/3-Stone-Trellis-Ring_1135.htm#
http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-202833.htmhttp://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-202836.htm

The third stop was Excel Diamonds. They offered a nice Vatche setting bundled with 0.30 ct sides rated G/VS (no numbers on the VS, kind of strange) for $2240. Then add a 0.47 ct G/VS2 center stone for $775 and you''re slightly over 1.0 ctw and right around $3k. But again some of these stones may be more rectangular than I wanted. This seems to be the closest match to BN in price but not sure exactly how the stones would compare.

http://www.exceldiamonds.com/-Engagement-Rings-5/3-Stone-Diamond-Engagement-Rings-13/Vatche-Platinum-3Stone-Princess-Diamond-Engagement-Ring-Setting-664.html
http://www.exceldiamonds.com/diamond/66234.htmlhttp://www.exceldiamonds.com/diamond/62456.html

Finally I looked at Costco and they had a similar setting for $3000 with a minimum of I color VS2 clarity and a ctw of 1.0. However, the band had some channel set diamonds in it which was too much bling for me, and took away from the three main stones. Plus I would''ve had to pay sales tax which is another $250.

 

[peridot83]

I think the key here is that one cannot evaluate the type of light return (sparkle, fire, brightness) of the diamonds that Blue Nile provides, with a few exceptions. They will NOT bring in the diamond, take pictures, do an idealscope etc.

However, the other vendors you mention do ...and provide ways for you to evalute such specs. Also, whiteflash gives ratings based on the light return potential etc. Whereas Blue Nile just provides whatever is on the cerficate. (Some also provide a lifetime upgrade policy which can be useful)

Does it matter to you how good the light return is on your diamonds? For some it doesn''t, but for most on here that is what''s most important to them. The performance quality of the diamond and therefore they are not willing to buy from Blue Nile.

Based on the limited experience I have had looking at jewelery and diamonds, I would say unless you are extremely lucky...marketforces work for a reason. Because of the extra guess work with a Blue Nile diamond, certain diamonds at certain price ranges may be cheaper since they don''t provide idealscope images or call diamonds in to be evaluated.

 

[Ellen]

Peridot makes good points.

When it comes to diamonds, cut is key. A good price may be just that....You really do get what you pay for.

AGS grades on light performance, assuring you get a nice sparkly diamond. Unfortunately, GIA doesn''t. So putting the stats up for your stones won''t help much.

As far as pricing, on the whole, in searching for stones, I''ve found BN a bit more expensive, but, sometimes they are cheaper. So it just depends.

I can''t say you made a huge mistake on your purchase, buy I can''t say anything else really either. We have no IS or ASET to look at, and they''re not graded by AGS.


If you want to ensure you get the spakliest stones you can, you might want to rethink this.

 

[BigDiamonds]

What everyone said here is true, but just to be the contrarian...

If having a diamond that is cut better than 75% of the people you will see on the street is important, but having one cut better than 98% is not, then I think you''re probably fine. If it shows up and you think it''s beautiful, then you found a winner! That said, you could probably find better cut stones out there, so if that''s what you want, you might want to keep looking.

(in fairness, I have to note that I TOTALLY made up those numbers.

)

 

[gailrmv]

I've been watching BN's inventory and WF's for a small pendant stone. I agree with the OP that I have not found BN to be overpriced. I've found their prices similar to WF and perhaps somewhat cheaper (for the reasons discussed - PLUS NO UPGRADE POLICY AT BN). And, of course, at WF you get to work with someone extremely knowledgeable and it is much more personalized service. I think that you do get what you pay for, but also, I think sometimes you might not need all that.

It seems that BN has more selection in the small stone sizes, which is why I am watching them. They also have many smaller stones to choose from in the $300 ish range whereas the ES and ACA stones I've seen on WF start in the low/mid $400 range, with most in the $500s and up.

Anyway, I was under the impression that if one buys an AGS0 diamond, one would get a good performer. maybe not the absolute most primo out there, but very good. Is this right? (Interestingly, it seems like BN charges a little more for an AGS certed stone over a GIA certed stone, although I may be wrong).

Also, I thought that if you use the HCA, this gives a much better idea about light performance for a GIA certed (or other) stone. I had thought that if my selection did well on the HCA it was a safe buy. Am I wrong?

I guess it is harder for the OP since they are looking at Princess and the HCA is for rounds.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 5/22/2007 9:36:56 AM
Author: BigDiamonds
What everyone said here is true, but just to be the contrarian...

If having a diamond that is cut better than 75% of the people you will see on the street is important, but having one cut better than 98% is not, then I think you''re probably fine. If it shows up and you think it''s beautiful, then you found a winner! That said, you could probably find better cut stones out there, so if that''s what you want, you might want to keep looking.

(in fairness, I have to note that I TOTALLY made up those numbers.

)

But how do we know those stones ARE better than 75%? we don''t have anything useful to go on.

Gail, yes, if you get an AGS000, you will get a great stone. They DO vary a bit, I''ve seen some better than others, but even the "worst" are still going to be a pretty stone.

THE HCA helps, but it can''t know everything about how any one diamond is cut. That''s when you need more info, i.e. IS or ASET. (again, unless you''re buying an AGS000, and then it''s probably fine)

 

[neatfreak]

There are a few things going on here (IMO):

1. People LOVE the tests, services, images, and customer service that you get working with GOG, Whiteflash, etc. If you buy from one of these vendors they''ll inspect the stone personally for you, take pictures, do tests, and match stones for earrings perfectly. BN just drop ships so you are COMPLETELY on your own with cut quality, light return, matching stones for a piece, EVERYTHING.

2. BN has NO upgrade policy, which many people on here want.

3. Often, but not always, they are about the same price as the other vendors give or take a few dollars. When you can get much better service elsewhere, why buy from BN?

4. I won''t repeat it but, CUT CUT CUT is important on your diamond!!! You''re guessing with many BN stones.

5. With settings, you often get what you pay for too. Unless you''re comparing apples to apples (i.e., the SAME VAtche setting from different vendors), there are often workmanship differences in some settings that make SOME worth more $. So before you plunk down your hard earned $ on a random setting, inspect ALL the pictures you can and try to make sure the workmanship is there.

Since so many people have settings from WF and GOG, we''ve seen lots of pictures and can be pretty assured that their stock settings are good quality. PLUS if you have a problem with your setting or diamond once you have it, you can go right back and talk to the SAME PERSON you''ve been dealing with all along, which makes everything just that much smoother.

Just my 0.02! Hope it helps!

 

[gailrmv]

I also wanted to say that I''ve found BNs prices on silver jewelry to be very competitive. I''ve bought several pieces as gifts and received several as gifts and I''ve been very impressed. There might be other places to buy high quality silver jewelry at good prices but I haven''t found them!

 

[elmo]

I agree with you soupcxan - in many cases, larger fancy shapes for instance, BN is extremely competitive. Looks to me like their high volume might be resulting in negotiated pricing with some suppliers, part of which is passed along to the consumer. Agreed that service is anonymous, there are no photos (except on signature stones), and there is no tradeup; but the 30 days to decide is extremely generous, returns are quick and zero hassle, selection is outstanding, and almost nobody provides tradeups on most fancy shapes anyway.

I wonder if the level of information provided will improve with time - for instance now they provide reports for everything they list where most folks here don't; I can see where they could leverage their market position to require their suppliers to offer virtual models as well, sort of a holy grail of internet diamond info to some folks here. If anyone in the industry is in a position to do this, it is Blue Nile.

Of course there are compelling reasons to purchase from specialists. But it looks to me like they've earned their market position with a good product.

 

[shel]

Since you already bought it, I would go to an independent appraiser and if things check out, be content and pocket the savings, especially if the chances that you''ll upgrade are low.