This is my own unbiased, independent review. Ratings are my own opinions after extensive research and a secret shopper call pretending to be a diamond buyer. For more information, see how we test the dealers and why we do it.

Blue Nile, Inc.

Blue Nile Diamond Search Forbes' Favorite Online Jeweler for the FIFTH consecutive year! ========== Overall Rating ========== 35 out of 35 possible points ========== Summary ========== Prices -- Selection -- Search Engine -- Information Provided -- Customer Service -- Return Policies -- Product Knowledge -- Our Comments: Blue Nile is one of the most successful sites on the web, and the largest retailer of diamonds and jewelry online. They have also been Forbes' favorite online jeweler for 4 years in a row, so you don't have to take our word for it. They really treat a customer well, prices are excellent, and they have proven that they will be around a while. They have sound financial backing, are one of the few major websites operating at a profit, and offer excellent guarantees and service. We respect the amount of effort and research that has gone into creating this elegant and informative site. The prices are among the lowest, while the quality of their inventory among the highest. The search engine is very efficient, full information is given for every diamond, and selection is enormous. It's an excellent feature that their diamonds have been pre-selected according to overall beauty (tedious and labor-intensive for them but great for first-time diamond shoppers). Customer service goes beyond the norm, and the staff is honest, knowledgeable and helpful. The management at Blue Nile is aware of the need to make every customer happy in order to build their business by word of mouth, so customers are treated with importance. You will enjoy the experience from start to finish, as testified to us by hundreds of customers over the past 5 years. ========== Prices ========== Rating: This means that prices on 20 randomly chosen diamonds averaged within 5% of the best prices we found on the largest online diamond price databases. Our Comments: The prices at this site are among the best and among the most consistent for the fine quality offered. It is very important to note that almost every diamond featured on this site has been hand-selected for beauty and fine quality. Also note that the prices at Blue Nile are excellent for such a full-service firm, and among the top few sites we reviewed. Blue Nile saves you money and they know how to help without bullying you. You will not go wrong at Blue Nile in our opinion. ========== Selection ========== Rating: If you like a huge number of diamonds to choose from, all of them fine quality with better than average to ideal cuts, this is the place to buy your diamond. Our Comments: This site listed the largest searchable inventory of all the sites we reviewed, and they were all apparently hand-picked for overall cut and beauty. They don't seem to list any diamonds that would not look good to the eye. This is a crucial point that separates the top dealers from the stores that appear to have lower prices. You have to compare everything, not just the 4 Cs, or you can really get in trouble. Stores like Blue Nile do the work for you. The only site with larger inventory online included a huge number of stones of lesser quality. The selection here was not only very extensive, but more importantly featured stones with an excellent balance of all the major quality factors. This alone is a great reason to check out this site. ========= Search Engine ========= Rating: Our Comments: This is one of the best search engines of all. It was very easy to use and included all the most important fields in the search parameters. We especially appreciated the many ways to sort the diamonds listed, the interactive way it allows you to narrow your search or expand it, and the complete details available on every diamond. The other sites have since modeled their search engines after this excellent example. ======= Information Provided ======= Rating: Our Comments: The depth of information varied only slightly from diamond to diamond, but everything we needed to chose a diamond and accurately assess pricing was included for every stone we selected. We also enjoyed the new explanations of each of the 4 Cs, which defined and explained the grades on each diamond description page. This is very valuable for the first-time diamond buyer. Great idea. ======= Customer Service ======= Rating: Our Comments: The sales assistant did not hesitate to guide us through all the many decisions involved in buying a diamond when we indicated we were a novice needing help. He was efficient, cheerful and knowledgeable. His guidance was very comprehensive without becoming cumbersome and he avoided boring us with excessive technical jargon (even though he had the knowledge). The phone rang only once before it was answered, no voice mail or annoying menus, and our call was handled by the first person who answered, with no need to transfer our call to a separate sales department. The staff does not earn commissions, so you can call back any time and get answers to your questions immediately from anyone that answers. The site contains many features that will be valuable for new diamond buyers, including a newsletter, excellent details about the 4 Cs and major buying factors, and an excellent "create your own ring" interactive feature. Customer service is open 8 am - 6 pm, 7 days a week, which is rare among the dealers reviewed. This is important for anyone who works for a living! Security and other concerns are all well handled to give confidence in making a purchase. This is one of the best financed sites on the web, and one of the oldest -- based on a well-established brick-and-mortar business that converted to Web sales a couple of years ago. We have heard excellent stories from customers that the return process was easy when it was necessary to exchange the first stone to see another. The site is very well organized, and improving monthly. If offers step-by-step buying instructions, including a kind of jewelry checklist that will help you remember everything, right up to the wedding day. ======== Return Policies ======== Rating: Our Comments: These appear to be the most lenient, customer-oriented return policies on the Web. ======= Product Knowledge ======= Rating: Our Comments: The randomly chosen sales assistant answered every one of our questions correctly. In fact, we found this person to be both knowledgeable and fair in representing the facts, instead of loading the conversation with lots of hype about being the best site or having the best prices. In our experience, the best do not have to say so. For a list of questions we asked during our secret shopper test, see How We Rate the Dealers.

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