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Union Diamond vs Brilliance

DiamondsNPearls

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
507
Do any PSers have experience purchasing loose stones from any of these sites? I am exploring different places to purchase a loose stone. Any suggestions aside from James Allen, Good old Gold, Brian Gavin, & Blue Nile? Thanks for the help.
 

JulieN

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 25, 2005
Messages
13,375
If you need a budget vendor, B2C and IDJewelry are popular. Brilliance stole Whiteflash's photos, and I think Union sometimes can, sometimes can't get photos. In any case, stick to GIA or AGS, not EGL.
 

BlingObsession

Shiny_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
493
I have purchased from Union Diamond, BlueNile and Whiteflash. I have been delighted with all three companies and would recommend them all.

BlueNile is more of an almost mass marketing company - with slick and efficient sales but not as personal as I would like.

Union Diamond - Leah - is excellent and provides a very detailed personal service but they don't always have pictures and images. It depends on what you are looking for. When I bought a 2 carat radiant, they called in quite a few stones and photographed them and emailed the photos together with the inhouse gemologist's comments/recommendations so I could make my choice. I was very happy with my selection. I have made smaller purchases and have relied on Leah to advise on the quality of the stones and their suitability for my requirements.

However, being able to see all the pictures and images on Whiteflash was really helpful when selecting a particular matching pair that I was looking for. Their customer service is excellent and also very personal.

Hope this helps.
:)
 

spicyitalian

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 4, 2013
Messages
95
Between the 2, I think Union Diamond offers better service.
 

bt

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 4, 2014
Messages
2
I used this site to learn a lot about diamonds and the engagement ring buying process so it is nice that I can hopefully have something of value to contribute back. Here is my experience and thoughts on Brilliance. I purchased a single stone from them after searching online and comparing the different vendors. I selected a princess cut .79ct diamond that was to be placed in a Tacori setting at a local jeweler. After looking at the diamond, I didn't like it. I thought the diamond according to the proportions listed would face up larger than what it actually looked like. The diamond itself was gorgeous. It just wasn't as big as I had thought it would be. I called up Brilliance and told them after I had inspected the diamond that I did not want it and would like to return it. They sent me a return authorization number and a day later I sent it back through FedEx. They didn't pay for return shipping, so I was out around $70 to ship it insured back to Brilliance.

After Brilliance had received the diamond, they credited back my account no problems. I worked with Evan who asked what I was looking for and what was wrong with the first diamond. I told him I liked the everything but the size. He then gave me a list of three diamonds to view online and I selected a second diamond. I had questions regarding all three from whether they face up well to if inclusions were eye visible and he answered them all and got back to me in a timely fashion. I chose the second diamond, sent off my payment through bank transfer and two days later I had my diamond. It was everything I wanted.

I know that Brilliance isn't a vendor that is talked about a lot on these forums, but my experience was pretty good. Making a huge purchase like this online without seeing it made me nervous. Especially for a company that didn't have a whole lot of information aside from other third party review sites. The diamond came packaged in a black box with an appraisal, disc with digital documents, the diamond and the GIA report. Everything was checked out by my local jeweler who sent the diamond to Tacori for setting. It was a pretty smooth process that I don't think it could have gone any better.

Why did I choose Brilliance versus any other vendor? Not sure. Call it naivety in the whole buying process and blind faith. This isn't something that a person would normally go through enough times to be a pro at and I suppose that once I got involved in the process with Brilliance I just went with it. Would I recommend them again, yes.



imag0064_1.jpg
 

DiamondsNPearls

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
507
Union Diamond's customer service was very nice & not pushy at all. My biggest fear is "getting jipped" or getting mailed "the wrong stone." I have to admit I'm worried about paying so much $ online. Color is important to me so the whiter stone the better...
 

bt

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 4, 2014
Messages
2
I had the same concerns of being ripped off and sent a diamond that was not what I paid for. This is one of the reasons that I chose to go to a local jeweler to purchase the setting from. You have to be completely comfortable with the person that you are choosing to do business with because unbeknown to me prior to purchasing the ring, there is going to be a time after the sale that you are going to need service and you are going to want someone that is friendly and provides great service after the sale. You are going to want your ring professionally cleaned from time to time, polished and replated if you are doing white gold.

I visited probably all of the higher end independent jewelers in my area and then some. You might even have to go to a place more than once to get to know a jeweler enough to trust them with such a high value purchase. I would be up front and tell them that you are planning on purchasing a stone online and that you are purchasing a setting from them only. If they seem to have an issue with this, then I would just look for another jeweler. If someone seems real pushy that is a red flag to me and someone that I would not want to do business with.
 

DiamondsNPearls

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
507
Thanks for all the help, I had one more question:
How expensive is it for a jeweler to put a loose stone in that you purchased online? For example, if I buy a diamond from Brilliance & take it to Zales (just an EXAMPLE) for them to set it. How much would that cost?

Also, any other ideas about sites where to purchase loose stones? My biggest concern is ordering a 1ct GIA & getting a 1ct Cubic Zirconia :((
 
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