We recently got a note from a reader asking, “are online diamonds real?” We found this question perplexing given our focus on promoting our famous Online Diamond Store Review. Add that to our book entitled Buying Online Diamonds is Easy and extensive articles on James Allen, Blue Nile, Zoara and the other online diamond store titans, and you get the point. So let us begin by answering the question…
Are Online Diamonds Real???
Taking your heart out of it for a moment (we know this is hard, but bear with us), buying a diamond online is like buying any other expensive, but reasonably standardized, commodity. Most have a well known ratings service that does that hard work for you. Coins, for example, have a service call PCGS which stands for Professional Coin Grading Service. Fine wine has Wine Spectator’s tasting notes and ratings, and diamonds have… GIA. GIA stands for the Gemological Institute of America. GIA is the unquestioned leader in diamond grading. All things being equal this grading service is the one readers should buy (in our opinion) because of its quality and consistency. Yes, we know that there are a lot of opinions about diamonds, many from knowledgeable jewelers; however, when you boil it all down, a diamond is a measurable, gradable, classifiable, tiny little “storage of value” that can be purchased just ease easily online as it can on foot if you’ve done a little work.
There are a number of well respected online diamond sellers out there. James Allen won our overall top diamond store rating for 2016 because of its combination of price, selection and quality. Still, other titans such as Blue Nile, Zoara and Brian Gavin are also quite compelling.
They key to buying a diamond online is knowing what you want ahead of selecting the gem. Buying a diamond online without knowing what you want from the four C’s of color, cut, clarity and carat weight is like buying a car online without knowing if you want a four, six or eight cylinder sports car. If you’re not sure, we recommend reading our short book (Available on Amazon for $2.99), Buying a Diamond Online is Easy.
But the very first thing to do is click around and play with the different options. We like the James Allen site because the diamond selection page is intuitive and easy to use.
Have fun. This is an exciting time in your life! But to answer your question, “are online diamonds real?” Yes they are real…