BLUE NILE
unbiased grade: 4.60
We have played with this site since its inception and we have seen it come a long way!
WHAT WE FOUND
The landing page has been updated to have a softer feel. Here we are going to focus on the Diamond Search.
When you click on the tab "Diamonds", a drop-down window appears. We felt this was a little on the small side for so much information. Not a deal breaker by any means whatsoever, just a little small for our liking.
That being said, it is still extremely manageable. We liked that the first option was putting in a budget range. Extremely similar to JamesAllen. There is a slider scale to use of which you can also type your carat weight and slider scales for color and clarity. We also liked the fact that you can check a box that asks to filter for only diamonds with a 360 degree video or only diamonds from the Astor Diamonds | Blue Nile. We would prefer that ALL diamonds had the 360 interactive video as the likelihood of purchasing a diamond without any visual aid is highly unlikely.
1st Impressions:
4.5
User-Friendliness:
4.5
Inventory Selection:
5
Customer Service:
5
Price:
4.7
Bells & Whistles:
4.5
Instead of eliminating all the non videoed diamonds, we left that filter off for the time being. What we got was astounding. A massive selection of diamonds was presented to us. In fact pages and pages to choose from. From there, you can do a dive into each diamond. Although the feel isn't as luxurious as JamesAllen , it is still very user friendly and easy to understand. From either the list generated or the individual diamond, you can add them to favorites or heart them. This will save them to a wishlist where you can later compare all side by side. We found this to be a very useful tool.
Live Chat Feature:
We tried the live chat feature and found it to be a bit different than the JamesAllen chat. This is being super picky, but we loved that JamesAllen chat knew what stone you were looking at while BlueNile, we had to tell them the SKU number so they could look it up.
If you aren't the most computer savvy individual, finding the SKU number may be a little difficult. For those interested, it is in the top left corner above the diamond image.
The service representative was very nice and we felt overall was giving us their honest advice. For instance, we purposely selected a diamond with brown TINGE to it. We asked if this was a positive or negative and the rep very gently told us that her customers primarily look for "colorless". She was nicely saying, "don't buy it"...extra points for that!
Back to shopping:
Upon making our final selection and deciding to checkout, we found the system to overall be very user friendly. You enter your billing details and then are taken to another screen with a plethora of options to pay. We could apply for a credit card, choose financing and more.
Once you finalize, you click it and in short order they ship it! Easy as pie:) You don't like it, return it, hassle free. Blue Nile prides themselves on being in the consumer's corner. Their #1 goal is customer satisfaction. Period, end of story. They will go above and beyond to make their clients happy.
UNBIASED REVIEW
PROS:
- Massive amount of options
- User Friendly
- Easy diamond comparison with use of wishlist
- Visual Analysis 360-degree interactive video
- Financing
- Hassle-Free Return Policy
- Upgrade Policy
- Free Shipping
- Worldwide Shipping
- Free ring sizing within 30 days
CONS:
- NO DEEP DIVE IMPERFECTION COMPARISON TOOL WHEN CONSIDERING MULTIPLE STONES
- Advanced Search is not as pronounced as we would like -(see YourDiamondGuys advanced search video)
- Diamonds not on premises for live visual inspection(agent was using same visual as we were)
- Not all diamonds have pictures or 360 video
Overall grade 4.7/5
1st Impressions 4.5
Much softer approach than in the past. Previous iterations felt a little harsh. Blue Nile has now made it a much more relaxed landing page where you feel like they are welcoming you for a great experience.
User-Friendliness 4.5
We felt when hitting the diamond search tab, the drop down had writing that was a bit small for our liking. This is being picky, but we would like to see it a bit larger. Slider scales are overall easy to navigate, however, the tab functionality to move your cursor doesn't work well. So you have to click on each box. After creating the wishlist, it was easy to compare your options side by side. The chart was overall easy to understand.
Inventory Selection 5
Holy mama!...... There is not so much to say after our "holy mama" comment. This site has tons and tons of options to choose from. They topped out at 343,000 natural Diamond Search: Find Diamonds by Shape, Size, Quality and Price | Blue Nile options. The most of any sites.
Live Chat Custom Service 4.5
Pleasant and welcoming... The service representative was very nice and we felt overall was giving us their honest advice. Have to be a little tech-savvy to get them to see what you are looking at, but nothing too bad.
Price 4.7
Well, when you have this type of access to the market, you better be well-priced...and they are! BlueNile has worked tirelessly to tie up exclusivity to the world's largest diamond manufacturers and this is reflected in their pricing. The only category that seemed to be a bit more expensive than the other sites is their Astor Collection. However, the explanation is that the diamond is cut purely for brilliance with no regard for weight loss from the original rough Diamond Search: Find Diamonds by Shape, Size, Quality and Price | Blue Nile. So they say they can lose up to 74% of the original weight to get the most fire, which is why it costs more.
Bells and Whistles 4.5
360 video for a good portion of diamonds....while not all their diamonds have pictures and or video, a majority of them do. They were a little late to the game on this, but are quickly catching up.
- Financing
- Hassle-Free Return Policy
- Upgrade Policy
- Free Shipping
- Worldwide Shipping
- Free ring Sizing in the 30 days
BLUE NILE
Here, we introduce another pioneer in the online diamond world. Legend has it that founder Mark Vadon was so fed up with his own diamond buying experience, that he set out to launch a company that would provide easy and quality access to diamonds at highly competitive prices. No judgemental looks from behind the counter. No preconceived ideas about who you are as a consumer. In 1999, BlueNile was founded, which in turn began a diamond business revolution. Since its founding, Blue Nile has become the largest online diamond retailer in the world, offering a wide selection of diamonds, helpful customer service, and reliable shipping.
THE BLUE NILE ADVANTAGE
Blue Nile is the industry giant when it comes to online diamonds. While JAMES ALLEN is quickly making strides, Blue Nile continues to offer a massive selection of diamonds and jewelry at highly competitive prices. Blue Nile worked and continues to work extraordinarily hard at maintaining and sourcing new supply partnerships with the largest manufacturers in the world. From Hong Kong to India to Belgium and beyond, the largest manufacturers feed their inventory virtually through a unique diamond portal that is proprietary to Blue Nile. The company also secures exclusive contracts with their suppliers so their diamonds do not show up on others websites.
Blue Nile has also partnered with exclusive designers such as Zac Posen and Bella Vaughn.
Fun and useful features
- Superzoom functionality
- 360-degree view
- Link to Certification
- Live Chat support
- Alternative Options recommended options under your selection
THE ASTOR COLLECTION
The Astor Diamond Collection is Blue Nile's offer into their ideal diamond spectrum. They are diamonds that have gone through a rigorous analysis and have received at minimum a dual independent certification from either the GIA, GCAL and GEMEX . All diamonds must receive Excellent ratings in both Polish and Symmetry and for rounds, an Excellent cut grade as well. These diamonds are cut specifically for Blue Nile with no regard to weight loss from the original rough diamond. They are strictly cut for brilliance Period and end of story. Off the charts sparkle.
You may buy a loose diamond such as this, a pair of stud earrings or an exquisite diamond pendant , all guaranteed by Blue Nile to have unmatched brilliance.