Because I scoured this site before making my diamond purchase and looked at all the different vendors online, I wanted to share my WF experience and give you some information if you''re trying to decide which vendor to use and whether to call in a virtual stone.
To start, I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for. This is an upgrade stone, so I knew how I felt about color and clarity. Cut (and carat size!) was really the clencher for me. The next step was deciding which vendor to go with. I really liked Whiteflash from what I read here, and their upgrade policy is the best of any of the online vendors. As long as you spend $1 more, you can upgrade. No need to spend double, allow only one upgrade, etc. Because a flexible upgrade policy was a big requirement for me, I decided to go with Whiteflash. There policy is the most consumer friendly and lenient there is. My concern at this point was if the upgrade policy would be the same for any virtual stone, since the stone I found through the Pricescope search was virtual. I called WF to see. According to WF, if you call in a virtual stone that has GIA or AGS cert and they approve of it, then it will qualify for the upgrade program.
So the next step was deciding if I wanted to call in the stone. I worked with Chris at WF who was amazingly helpful and patient as I asked tons of questions! The way their virtual stone program works is I tell them I''m interested in the stone. They contact the other vendor to see if it''s available. Also, at this point, WF was also able to send me a copy of the GIA cert. Once I saw the cert, I asked if virtual vendor could have someone look at the stone and comment on the color and clarity (I purchased a J, SI2). After all that, I could decide whether to have WF bring in the stone. I was told good things about the stone, so I asked WF to call it in. They received it the next day.
At this point, I received a Sarin, Idealscope image, and 40x photo of the diamond - and I got all of this the day that they received the stone. I also got a review of the diamond from one of the staff at WF. Whiteflash then approves or declines this stone. If the stone is approved and meets their standard for performance (aka it''s a well cut stone that performs well), then I can purchase it or not. At this point, I''m still out no money. If I choose to purchase the stone, then it will qualify for the upgrade policy and I pay for the stone and am a happy customer. If I choose to pass on the stone, then I''m out $65 to pay for the return shipping to the virtual vendor. If WF receives the stone and it''s a dud, then I''m out no money and WF eats the shipping fee back to the virtual vendor.
So, when it was all broken down, I realized that there really wasn''t much risk to calling in a virtual stone. WF prides themselves on well cut stones, so if they approve and recommend the stone, why wouldn''t I buy it? Plus, if I really didn''t like it much once I got it, I could either return it within 10 days for a full refund OR I could just upgrade to something else...as long as it was $1 more.
So in the end, I received a beautiful stone at a very competitive price, because I did a little research on the virtual stones. The only thing I recommend is looking for stones that you can get a GIA or AGS cert #. That way, you can look up the cert and find out the crucial angles to run an HCA. HCA is a great way to weed out duds in the virtual inventory, so you can feel confident once you have a vendor call in the stone you selected.
I give two HUGE thumbs up to Whiteflash for an incredible experience and great service!
To start, I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for. This is an upgrade stone, so I knew how I felt about color and clarity. Cut (and carat size!) was really the clencher for me. The next step was deciding which vendor to go with. I really liked Whiteflash from what I read here, and their upgrade policy is the best of any of the online vendors. As long as you spend $1 more, you can upgrade. No need to spend double, allow only one upgrade, etc. Because a flexible upgrade policy was a big requirement for me, I decided to go with Whiteflash. There policy is the most consumer friendly and lenient there is. My concern at this point was if the upgrade policy would be the same for any virtual stone, since the stone I found through the Pricescope search was virtual. I called WF to see. According to WF, if you call in a virtual stone that has GIA or AGS cert and they approve of it, then it will qualify for the upgrade program.
So the next step was deciding if I wanted to call in the stone. I worked with Chris at WF who was amazingly helpful and patient as I asked tons of questions! The way their virtual stone program works is I tell them I''m interested in the stone. They contact the other vendor to see if it''s available. Also, at this point, WF was also able to send me a copy of the GIA cert. Once I saw the cert, I asked if virtual vendor could have someone look at the stone and comment on the color and clarity (I purchased a J, SI2). After all that, I could decide whether to have WF bring in the stone. I was told good things about the stone, so I asked WF to call it in. They received it the next day.
At this point, I received a Sarin, Idealscope image, and 40x photo of the diamond - and I got all of this the day that they received the stone. I also got a review of the diamond from one of the staff at WF. Whiteflash then approves or declines this stone. If the stone is approved and meets their standard for performance (aka it''s a well cut stone that performs well), then I can purchase it or not. At this point, I''m still out no money. If I choose to purchase the stone, then it will qualify for the upgrade policy and I pay for the stone and am a happy customer. If I choose to pass on the stone, then I''m out $65 to pay for the return shipping to the virtual vendor. If WF receives the stone and it''s a dud, then I''m out no money and WF eats the shipping fee back to the virtual vendor.
So, when it was all broken down, I realized that there really wasn''t much risk to calling in a virtual stone. WF prides themselves on well cut stones, so if they approve and recommend the stone, why wouldn''t I buy it? Plus, if I really didn''t like it much once I got it, I could either return it within 10 days for a full refund OR I could just upgrade to something else...as long as it was $1 more.
So in the end, I received a beautiful stone at a very competitive price, because I did a little research on the virtual stones. The only thing I recommend is looking for stones that you can get a GIA or AGS cert #. That way, you can look up the cert and find out the crucial angles to run an HCA. HCA is a great way to weed out duds in the virtual inventory, so you can feel confident once you have a vendor call in the stone you selected.
I give two HUGE thumbs up to Whiteflash for an incredible experience and great service!
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