WHITEFLASH
unbiased grade: 4.58
WHAT WE FOUND
WOW! WHAT COULD WE NOT FIND 😊 Holy smokes does this site have a ton of information? We went seriously down the rabbit hole on this site. This took days and days of reading. The company boasts some insane amounts of reviews on Google Yelp along with an unbroken record of BBB Awards dating back to 2004. So let's get to it!
The first impression on the landing page was a bit chaotic for us and can't say that is a positive, but it didn't deter us! There is a lot of movement and the coloring is a bit intense for our liking. Once you get past this, buckle up because you are about to take a ride on the diamond information highway 😊.
For this review, we did a diamond search as that is obviously what we are here for!
1st Impressions:
4
User-Friendliness:
4.5
Inventory Selection:
4.5
Customer Service:
5
Price:
4.5
Bells & Whistles:
5
We clicked on the tab for diamonds and like the other big diamond websites, you are presented with the option of a natural diamond or a lab-created diamond. We selected natural and waited. And then clicked again and nothing happened. What we realized was that we were already on the same page! There was a pop-up that was cutting off a 1/3 of the page. If that pop-up didn't block it, we would have known we were ready to go. That being said, not such a big deal, but hey, we have to find something wrong don't we? 😊
From there, we selected our shape, a round stone, and the sliders were similar to the other major online retailers. Select your carat weight range, budget range, color, and clarity...EASY TO USE! We felt the sliders were a bit more seamless and intuitive than the other sites. For instance, you can type your minimum budget and then hit the tab and type your maximum. On a website like BlueNile, it doesn't allow you to do that so easily. There is more clicking involved.
Once we filtered to what we wanted the experience was a bit eye-opening. We had to dig to understand what was going on here. So after you do the sliders, there is a box that you can check for "ready to ship". These are diamonds that are on the premises at WhiteFlash and ready to go. All of these diamonds have a high-resolution video, picture, Ideal Scope Image, ASET image and Sarine Report along with a laboratory certification report. However, IF THE DIAMONDS ARE NOT ON PREMISES, you will be shown a stock image of a diamond. This is NOT the real image of the diamond you are selecting. Unless you look very closely, you may not realize this. But after a bit of time, you will figure out which is a real picture and which is not. It's not that difficult. You just have to be aware.
Reading the diamond details of the diamond you are interested in is a bit visually confusing. We would prefer the text to be a different color and stand out more. It tends to blend into the whole page and can be a lot to digest all at once. However, as you play with the site and learn more, you will be able to decipher what you need.
Once you hone in on a diamond, you do have an option to put it in a wishlist like the other sites, but you have to click on "ADD THIS DIAMOND". Once you click on this, a menu will appear that will give you options on whether to add it to a: Wishlist, Ring, Compare or Shopping Cart.
So first we tried the COMPARE feature. It automatically saves it for you and then if you scroll down, the site presents other options. Very cool that it does that, HOWEVER, the images have a small checkbox for you to add to the compare later. Only problem was that a pinterest icon kept appearing when we put our cursor over the checkbox. We had to almost trick the computer into not having the pinterest logo to appear. That was a bit frustrating. The workaround to this is actually clicking onto the stone and it taking you into the details. You then can hit "add this diamond" and select "compare".
Trick so you don't have to give your info:
The site will make you think you have to create an account to see the diamonds you want to compare. Look at the bottom of the screen and there will be a tab that says MY DIAMONDS on the lower left. Hit that and you won't have to go through creating an account. Yay! We just saved you some hand cramping 😊.
The side by side comparison is quite extensive. Overall we actually liked this the best. You have to take your time and learn how to read it, but it gives a lot of information with pictures/ videos as well(as long as the diamonds are in stock).
OK! So now we selected our diamond and we wanted to check out the ring options to set it in. We hit "add this diamond" and "into an engagement ring". We were then taken to a site that offered quite an extensive curated collection of rings. WhiteFlash is partnered with brands such as Tacori, Simon G, Verragio, A. Jaffe, Ritani, Vache, Danhov, Benchmark, Valoria and their own inhouse Whiteflash brand.
Once you have decided on a setting, you can choose to compare like you did with the diamonds and move forward with the purchase. There are options for all different types of metal from gold to platinum to palladium and more.
Live Chat Feature:
Loved the customer service agents. We found them by far the most personable. They responded as if they were our equals and seemed to answer the most openly and honestly. We tried pulling diamonds that were a little borderline and tried to catch them to see if they pushed or not when we were hinting that we were on the fence. We felt they hit a homerun in this category. Not pushy at all and gave us explanations that an average person can understand as opposed to being overly technical. Lastly, usually filling out a survey at the end of a chat can be annoying, but Whiteflash has a very user-friendly feedback questionnaire that takes no time. So we happily gave high marks.
Back to shopping!
If you choose to move forward with the setting, the site will ask you if you want to add the diamond you chose previously. Prompts are very user friendly. Once we were done, we moved to checkout!
Easy like the rest. Typical billing details etc. Whiteflash offers Google Pay, Affirm(pay over time) and a discount for wire transfer.
Boom smack we are done with a ring in hand faster than you can spell antidisestablishmentarianism!
UNBIASED REVIEW
PROS:
- Beautifully curated selection of diamonds
- Extremely strict parameters
- User Friendly
- Visual Analysis 360 degree interactive video(ON IN-HOUSE STONES)
- Lots of great tools to make an informed decision
- Financing
- Hassle Free Return Policy
- Upgrade Policy
- Free Shipping
- Worldwide Shipping
- Free ring sizing within a year
CONS:
- No deep dive imperfection comparison tool when considering multiple stones
- Advanced Search is not as pronounced as we woud like - (see YourDiamondGiys advanced search video)
- Not all diamonds not on premises for live visual inspection,
- Not all diamonds have pictures or 360 video
- Not a massive selection
- You have to pay for one way shipping for the free ring resize
Overall grade 4.58/5
1st IMPRESSIONS 4
For us, a little too much going on for the landing page. It has a lot of harsh coloring that felt intense with moving images that zoomed by our eyes and out off the screen. This was the only real part of the site we did not like so much, so by no means did we want to leave the site.
USER-FRIENDLINESS 4.5
Once you understand where you are, it is pretty darn intuitive. You can compare diamonds, drill down into details of the diamonds and more. You want to add them to a ring...easy as pie.
INVENTORY SELECTION 4.5
Why did we give this similar to the other giant sites? WhiteFlash has less inventory, HOWEVER, the inventory they have is quite stunning for diamonds. They obviously are taking the angle of ONLY offering high quality product as opposed to an any and all format.
LIVE CHAT CUSTOMER SERVICE 5
We loved loved loved the interaction with the people we chatted with! It felt like we were talking to friends who had diamond knowledge instead of a "customer service rep" who had more patented answers, let's say. Not to take away from the other sites, they were good as well, but WhiteFlash definitely has the upper hand here.
PRICE 4.5
Pricing is highly competitive and their Cut Above is extremely competitive with the JamesAllen TrueHearts and Blue Nile Astor.
BELLS AND WHISTLES 5
You want to get nerdy like us? Well, here is your mecca. WhiteFlash boasts oodles and oodles of information. They do a great job in delving into the informational aspect of diamonds.
- 10-30 day no hassle money back guarantee(time frame depends on item)
- Free ring size within a year
- Free worldwide shipping
- Financing
- Upgrade Policy
A CUT ABOVE
Boy did these guys drill down to specifics. They took it to quite the most stringent parameters out there. The site claims to be hitting the “sweet spot” of specifications for AGS Ideal. They leave the cutter very little room for error boasting a tight table range of 53-58% and a depth range of 59.5-62 and much more.
Take it from that these are EXTREMELY tight parameters. Fewer than 1% of all diamonds cut in the world fit into the Cut Above category. When researching the diamonds, the site gives you a plethora of light performance and comparative tools. In addition, they provide actual ASET and IdealScope images that will show the user extremely important aspects of light return and light leakage. If any leakage is detected by the testing, the diamonds are ineligible. No matter if the cut parameters are correct, any leakage means they will not receive the Cut Above designation.
WHITEFLASH BEGINS
Deborah Wexler founded Whiteflash in and around the year 2000. Deborah whose speciality was information technology saw an opening and went for it. She took her top notch IQ and put it to work creating a product that was easy to use and easily accessible. The company prides itself on education and information. Not the largest selection in the world(although quite extensive), but what they offer are beautiful diamonds at a great price with quality craftsmanship in their jewelry.
THE WHITEFLASH NERDINESS WE LOVE!
If you want to jump down the rabbit hole and learn as much as you can, WhiteFlash is one of the very few places you will find that....besides yourdiamondguys.com of course 😃.
WhiteFlash has obviously put a tremendous amount of manpower behind creating one of the most in depth sites to learn about diamonds. For such an important and expensive purchase, one would think there would be endless quality information out there. Well..let us tell you, there is not. Boy does Whiteflash fill that need!
