USAA Diamonds

[zmoney]

Hello All,

First time poster. I am looking into buying a loose diamond to make an engagement ring for my GF. I have done a lot of research and have decided to stay away from online jewlers such as Blue Nile. I recently discovered that my insurance provider sells diamonds and makes the claim that they are expertly graded and have to go through a quality control process in order to be sold. Has anybody ever bought a diamond from USAA and had it appraised? Thanks!

 

[secretagentlaura]

I'm curious about what research led you to decide to avoid online vendors? If you've done it on PS, it may have actually led you to conclude that buying online has it's advantages and given you many options for very reputable vendors to consider.

 

[krisjon]

I'm a USAA member.
The stones they sell are no different or better than anyone else's. You still have to weed through the GIA reports for decent proportions and unlike other vendors, you can't get ASET/Ideal Scope images and more info. They do have some AGS stones with more informative light reports, but you have to hunt for them, just like Blue Nile.

 

[GeorgeStevens]

USAA and BlueNile sell the exact same stones with whatever mark-up they choose. Maybe USAA's mark-up is less since they're a not-for-profit - should be easy to compare. But either way, they just take half-hourly data feeds from wholesalers and put them online.

 

[MonkeysInk]

My husband is a raving fan of USAA and that's where he wanted to buy, too, until he realized that there were no photos of the stones. Once we looked at a few in person and he realized that seeing the stone was really important, just as important as buying by the numbers, we bought from two online vendors (GOG and BGD).

He also emailed the USAA dept that handles the diamond sales to tell them they'd lost his business because of the lack of photos. They called him back to ask a few questions about it, but last we checked they hadn't made any changes.

 

[zmoney]

I'm curious about what research led you to decide to avoid online vendors? If you've done it on PS, it may have actually led you to conclude that buying online has it's advantages and given you many options for very reputable vendors to consider.

The main reason is because Blue Nile is essentially a drop shipper and doesn't actually have the inventory they list online. They can not attest to the quality of the diamond and they do not have the trained qualified staff to inspect the diamond. I am also skeptical of their grading system. For instance, I am looking for a princess cut diamond with a GIA certification with the best cut possible. The problem is that GIA doesn't issue Cut scores for non-round diamonds, yet Blue Nile will list it anyway on their site. I have other reasons but for the sake of keeping it short, I'll leave it at that since it was my biggest concern.

I am really swayed to go to a reputable brick and mortar non chain store to buy the diamond. The reason why USAA stuck out to me is because they are a very reputable company and they claim to have GIA graduated staff in their facility that perform a quality control. I was just curious if anybody has bought from USAA and if they had it appraised.

 

[SB621]

Ok so I love my USAA, we do everything through them (when you do buy a diamond HIGHLY recommend you insure through them). However I wouldn't buy a diamond through them again for several reasons.

-GIA trained graduate doesn't mean anything. The diamond we bought through them was meh compared to the ones I have bought through PS vendors or with members help.
-I'm not a fan of their upgrade policey (do they even still have one?)
-I perfer the service on most online PS vendors offer me. Even if they don't have the diamonds in inventory they get them for you and will evaluate. I wouldn't buy from BN but have had wonderful experiences with WF, OWD, IDJ, ERD, BGD and other PS vendors. I highly recommend going through one of them that specialize in princess cuts. That way you really are getting the best for your money.

 

[ariel144]

You will get the best diamond at the best price online if you have the PS members who are very knowledgeable to help you find what you are looking for. If you go with USAA it would not be wise...you simply cannot buy a diamond by the numbers. The online vendors recommend by PSrs provide you with a lot of info, videos, and ASET images on diamonds to insure that you are getting a well performing stone in you budget.

Here are a few:

www.engagementringsdirect.com (ERD)

www.goodoldgold.com (GOG)

www.briangavindiamonds.com (BGD)

If you will browse their sites...especially all the educational videos on GOG you will begin to understand that there is more to choosing a diamond than color and clarity...cut is KING. It will open a whole new world of research for you so you can make an educated selection of that perfect stone/ring.

Good luck and the knowledgeable PSrs are waiting to help you and steer you in the right direction. Hope this helps.

LOL, didn't know USAA sold diamonds. Learn something new every day.

 

[zmoney]

What are the correct Proportions to be looking for in a diamond when you buy online?

 

[c-k]

Hello All,

First time poster. I am looking into buying a loose diamond to make an engagement ring for my GF. I have done a lot of research and have decided to stay away from online jewlers such as Blue Nile. I recently discovered that my insurance provider sells diamonds and makes the claim that they are expertly graded and have to go through a quality control process in order to be sold. Has anybody ever bought a diamond from USAA and had it appraised? Thanks!

I choose to deal with the online vendors who provide all the needed information to make an informed decision and offer the best cut diamonds. If I buy a stone from Brian Gavin Diamonds, Infinity, Whiteflash, GoodOldGold, etc I know what I am buying. I can't imagine USAA providing the needed expertise to purchased such an important item.

 

[denverappraiser]

Hello All,

First time poster. I am looking into buying a loose diamond to make an engagement ring for my GF. I have done a lot of research and have decided to stay away from online jewlers such as Blue Nile. I recently discovered that my insurance provider sells diamonds and makes the claim that they are expertly graded and have to go through a quality control process in order to be sold. Has anybody ever bought a diamond from USAA and had it appraised? Thanks!

I'm just curious. In what way is ordering a diamond from USAA different from 'online jewelers such as Blue Nile'? By all means buy from whoever you like but but what's non-online or non-jeweler about buying from USAA? What about them is unlike Blue Nile or their myriad of other competitors? Every merchant everywhere has a quality control process although they certainly vary quite a bit from one to the next. The presence of one tells you nothing at all, either good or bad. The claim that USAA Jewelers has better skills at this than their more specialized competitors seems like a pretty bold claim. Have they in any way backed this up?

 

[c-k]

What are the correct Proportions to be looking for in a diamond when you buy online?

I would recommend you to do a search on the vendors mentioned above. Look at the various stones in Ideal cut, the AGSL graded diamonds, look at the reports....this will give you a great idea of the proportions you should be looking for.

 

[hawk25]

I have done a lot of research and have decided to stay away from online jewlers such as Blue Nile.

There are many vendors like the ones listed above that do not operate like Blue Nile. They've been vouched for time and time again here on PS (I've personally used Whiteflash and hold them in the highest regards). While it's perfectly acceptable to prefer to work with a B&M non-chain store, I think it's wrong to group all online vendors with Blue Nile and other drop shippers.

Some vendors recommended on PS do have B&M stores, for example WF has a showroom in Houston. Does that make WF more reputable than other PS vendors? I personally don't think so, it's just an extra service they offer. I'm sure if you ask most vendors out there, many will claim the same 'our gemologists are GIA trained', which doesn't amount to much in the end.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Hello All,

First time poster. I am looking into buying a loose diamond to make an engagement ring for my GF. I have done a lot of research and have decided to stay away from online jewlers such as Blue Nile. I recently discovered that my insurance provider sells diamonds and makes the claim that they are expertly graded and have to go through a quality control process in order to be sold. Has anybody ever bought a diamond from USAA and had it appraised? Thanks!

I'm a very loyal USAA member and I wouldn't say that they're any better than an online retailer like Blue Nile. They all have grading and quality control processes that they follow. If you want to see pictures of the physical inventory, then look at James Allen.