Is White Flash still reliable?

[Moko]

Is White Flash still reliable? I don’t see them here recently.
I am planning to purchase something from them.
Why they stop posting here? I really liked John.
All their posts I found on Picescope are so old- almost 10 years!
Does anyone know anything??

Thank you,
Moko

 

[Medical]

Very much so- tons of PS'ers are currently posting beautiful pieces from WF in the show me the bling forum, and Texas Leaguer (Bryan) is the VP and actively posts here every week.

 

[Moko]

Oh.. Great! Thank you, Medical! It’s been a long time.. so probably I missed many posts. I feel more comfortable dealing with them. Thank you again!

 

[m-2-b]

To answer your question, yes they are reliable. I've bought quite a few staple pieces from them recently and keep going back for more, LOL!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Absolutely! Many of us have diamond jewelry from them! I just upgraded my studs with them a couple of months ago!

 

[pyramid]

Yes they are for top super ideal cuts alongside others. However to be honest with you, since 2008 when you were last here things have changed. With the new GIA cut grade most vendors here now carry them as well as AGS and AGS reports cost more. There are two big vendors here B2C and James Allen who used to be dirt cheap diamonds. If you look for ideal specs you can get good GIA specs much the same but without Hearts & Arrows. Crafted by Infinity and Wink who sells those at High Performance Diamonds seem to have fine tuned their Super Ideal even further although I don't know what they have done. Good old Gold is still as great as ever especially with antique newly cuts some are cut by a famous diamond cutter but some of that is secret. Storm is now in the trade and known as KarlK and has designed the Octavia which is patented with the other old cuts at GOG and cut by the same famous person.
Brian who was the cutter at Whiteflash and the creator of their brand now has his own company Brian Gavin Diamonds and has a range alongside his signature ideal cut of blues which have fluorescence he has checked out to give cheaper diamond but no ill effects like oily.milky.hazy.

You mentioned John at Whiteflash , he has left and is now an Executive with Crafted By Infinity and spends some time in Asia where the diamond market has taken off.

 

[pyramid]

Was going to say, for cut grade on a Super Ideal level though when choosing GiaXXX you need to be aware that the numbers of angles are rounded which can make a GIA diamond be outwith the AGS top grade of Ideal0. For a nice looking stone with no leakage or dark areas without light return, pricescopers work with getting asset scope images from the dealers before buying.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I just wanted to add that WhiteFlash has strict specs for their H&A stones. I once bought a GIA XXX, but I sold it and went back to superideals for modern round brilliants. H&A stones have always been graded by both GIA and AGS (I came here in 2006 and bought my first H&A stone that year and it was GIA XXX), but the vendors here who have H&A stones cut for their inventory seem to be using cutters who use AGS primarily at this time. I rarely see true H&A graded by GIA now. Since you were specifically asking about WhiteFlash, they have grown and now have a beautiful showroom in Sugarland, TX in the Houston area.

I was at the PS get-together in Las Vegas Saturday night, and several vendors were there including John Pollard (Infinity) and Debi Wexler of WhiteFlash. Debi has been at WF since it began. It was delightful to see both of them and all the other vendors who were present.

 

[Moko]

m-2-b, diamondseeker, Pyramid,

Thank you for all your help! Diamondseeker and Pyramid, I am so happy to see you here again! Thank you again for all your help on my E-rings and other items in the past.

Wow! Thank you all for summarizing what happened during the last seven years I was gone. It helped a lot.
It seems that everybody is growing and the jewelry world has changed a quit bit.
And I am happy for John, Brian and Storm!! Congratulations to them!


I found below. Of course you read this long time ago, but just amazing...

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091008006016/en/Jewelry-Industry-Evolves-Internet-Due-Bold-Move#.VW-y589_NHw


I went back to business world, but not in jewelry world unfortunately.

Thank you for all updated vendor info. Also, thanks for the GIA specs that I need to watch out, such as cut grade on GIA. I am so happy to know to know that White Flash keeps strict specs for their H&A stones. Then I don't need to spend too much time worrying about the quality. I would rather pay more with real H&A even though I have pay little more for AGS cert.
I wish I could physically visit their show room. I feel that I trust their diamond quality more than big brand name jeweler. I hope I can find what I am looking for, or they can make one for me!

Thank you again for all the information.
Once again it was very nice catching up with all of you!

 

[denverappraiser]

1) Yes, Whiteflash is still reliable.

2) John now works for Crafted by Infinity. He still posts but his user name has changed in order to avoid confusion with the companies. He now posts under the name 'John Pollard' instead of 'John Quixote'. You can use the search bar at the top for his name and you'll find lots of pearls of wisdom from him.

3) The primary representative of Whiteflash now is Brian Boyne. He posts under the name 'Texas Leaguer'. You can look him up the same way. His style is different from John's but he's definitely an expert and he's a regular here.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Is White Flash still reliable? I don’t see them here recently.
I am planning to purchase something from them.
Why they stop posting here? I really liked John.
All their posts I found on Picescope are so old- almost 10 years!
Does anyone know anything??

Thank you,
Moko

Hi Moko,
Given the nature of your inquiry and subject line I think it is permissible for me to pop in and update you about developments at Whiteflash in the past several years.

First, thank you to Neil, Diamondseeker, Pyramid, Medical, and M-2-B for the supportive comments.

As Neil mentioned I am new to Whiteflash since you were here last, having joined the company in the beginning of 2009. It was a time of transition for our company and the beginning of a very challenging economic period. Our mantra in those first couple of years was stability and incremental progress.

I was not very active on pricescope in those days as we were quite busy addressing the various challenges. In the past couple of years I have had the luxury and great pleasure to become an active participant on the forum. As Neil said, I am no John Pollard – those are big shoes to fill! But I do enjoy sharing things I have learned from 35 years in the many areas of the jewelry business that I have been involved in during my career. And I will say without hesitation that I have learned more on this forum than I have taught!

I am very proud of our people and what we have been able to achieve in the last few years. I am happy to report that many of the same talented and committed folks that were on board well before I started are still here doing great work. Some names you may recall from early days: Vera Wages (customer care), Leon Rocha (production manager), Bob Hoskins (senior gemologist) and of course Debi Wexler (founder of Whiteflash). Many on the team have been here longer than I have and their commitment, talent and energy is why we were able to create a stable and strong fabric.

Almost our entire staff now have GIA credentials. In addition to a couple of graduate gemologists, we have two Diamond Graduates now working on their GG, and a dozen or more AJPs. Debi is a huge proponent of personal and professional growth and all gemology courses are fully reimbursed by the company as one of our many employee benefits.

In 2012 we did a relocation and expansion of our operations including our first ever retail showroom. We have since become distributors for some of the top bridal designers, and achieved membership in the American Gem Society. And I am very proud to say that Whiteflash was just awarded the Better Business Bureau Pinnacle Award for 2015 as the top jeweler in the fourth largest market in America. The press release can be found here:
http://www.wtrf.com/story/29186349/the-bbb-awards-keep-coming-for-whiteflash

Our path to constant improvement was propelled by our decision to seek ISO 9000 certification which we first achieved in 2010 and have been recertified each year since. We are the only retail jeweler that we know of anywhere that is ISO certified.

We have leveraged ISO principles and practices to strengthen our A CUT ABOVE® super ideal brand which now includes both Round and Princess cuts, and we have posted every detail about their qualifications and specifications to our website for full transparency and accountability. We also strengthened our Expert Selection brand which now requires the top cut grade from either AGSL or GIA, and rounds in the category must have hearts and arrows precision.

As for what to expect from Whiteflash going forward, I think to a large extent ‘what you see is what you get’. That is, we are keeping our eye on the ball of delivering top quality products and creating a great customer experience. We are comfortable and confident in our incremental approach to improvements (aka the Kaizen method), so you may not see many new bells and whistles from us, although continual innovation is clearly a requirement for success in the modern era. And we do plan to continue contributing educational content to the pricescope knowlege base including more in the diamond grading series co-authored with the AGSL.

I'm sure that is more than you expected to hear, and it may seem like gratuitous promotion to some! But I do appreciate the opportunity to bring you up to date, and to provide a little insight into our company to other returning and new visitors to this forum.

 

[kenny]

Whiteflash is way more than reliable.
Whiteflash is wonderful!


I'm speaking from experience.

 

[baroque]

Whiteflash is way more than reliable.
Whiteflash is wonderful!


I'm speaking from experience.

This!

 

[sarah sparkles]

You absolutely can't go wrong with WF! I'm in the process of upgrading my stone through them right now! This will be my second diamond purchase. It's gone just as flawlessly as the first. Liza is amazing to work with! So kind and patient!! I can't say enough wonderful things about them!!

 

[John P]

It seems that everybody is growing and the jewelry world has changed a quit bit.
And I am happy for John, Brian and Storm!! Congratulations to them!

Hi Moko!

What a positive thread and sentiment.

And you're right Moko - as time moves on, people evolve. I cannot say enough good things about my time at Whiteflash, and what I learned there. Brian Gavin is my sensei, the guy who got me into this business, and I'm eternally grateful to him. When I had the opportunity to move upstream into an actual diamond production situation he and WF were totally supportive. Since then Brian has launched his own business which operates on the same intensely strict standards he taught me.

In my experience Bryan Boyne, the new voice of Whiteflash, is a "10." The quality control and commitment to customer service there, and among the most reputable PS sponsors, is unmatched in the world of diamond & jewlery e-tailers.

On the whole, I feel the caretaking of Pricescope, from the perspective of quality contributions, is stronger than ever - with several people you remember from years ago still promoting quality and value - and a few talented new players on the team.

So nice to hear from you.

 

[marcy]

Yes, Whiteflash is reliable. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. I have purchased several pieces of jewelry from them and couldn't be happier with the quality and their service.

 

[rubybeth]

Another extremely happy Whiteflash customer here. My engagement ring and the band in my avatar are from WF, and I couldn't be happier with the quality of their items and the customer service. I've referred four other friends to them for engagement rings, and they are also all very pleased with their purchases.

 

[AGBF]

I was very pleased to read this thread. I have had wonderful experiences with Whiteflash. My most recent purchase from them was earrings that they were kind enough to name after me.

AGBF Earrings...http://www.whiteflash.com/diamond-earrings/agbf-inside-out-diamond-hoop-earrings-2809.htm

I also consider John Pollard an old friend. He once picked out a .75 carat diamond for a pendant I bought from Whiteflash with the intent of giving to my daughter. (He said it was a "firecracker" and I agree.) It is great to see all the pros and consumers chiming in with well-earned praise for John and for Whiteflash.

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[Rockinruby]

Great information on this thread. Whiteflash definitely has a great reputation on PS. I enjoy seeing all the lovely pieces that people share and hope to purchase from Whiteflash in future.