Who is James Allen [Diamond Dealer Exposé Series]

We were completely surprised when we discovered the history of this online diamond store titan. That is because this high caliber online boutique used to be named DirtCheapDiamonds.com. But like an ugly duckling that grew into a beautiful swan, James Allen may have started out awkward, but it blossomed into an incredible online diamond store, shedding the “dirt cheap” image and replacing it with a world class quality reputation.

DirtCheapDiamonds.com was founded in 1998 by James Allen Schwartz, and grew to become one of the first successful online diamond stores. In 2005, James Allen Schwartz recognized that he wanted to take the site’s image up significantly and it was at that time that it was rebranded as James Allen. With the rebranding James Allen is now well recognized by it’s Valentines Day colors of red, pink and white.

Today, James Allen is widely viewed as one of the most well respected diamond retailers in the world in terms of quality and price.

“Test Diamond” Results

When doing a site search of our test diamond on James Allen: a GIA rated, 1 carat, G color, Very Good cut diamond of VS2 clarity, the site returned 17 choices. Moreover, the site displayed and actual image of the diamond being selected – the only one of the Group of Five to do so. The gift packaging was superb and the price was very, very good. As of the writing of this article James Allen also offers a 30-day, no-questions-asked return policy, free insured priority shipping, and an A+ Better Business Bureau rating.

James Allen is consistently one of the best performers in our Group of Five and it also has one of the highest “click through rates,” from our online diamond store review to their site. To test drive their online diamond pricer, click here.