Online Diamond Buying Guide: What, Why, Where and How

Diamonds help us celebrate some of life’s most joyous occasions and there is no reason that the buying journey should not be as enjoyable as the destination! The convenience of buying diamonds online cannot be overstated, and online diamond buyers often get more beautiful and valuable diamonds for much less money than traditional shoppers.

There are substantial savings to be achieved online and quality assurance can be found with a little research on individual companies. Consumer protection laws for web-based customers make the online experience every bit as secure as visiting a bricks-and-mortar store.

For those who are still reluctant to make the move to online purchases, this apprehension is understandable – as the value of the purchase rises, so too does the perception of risk.

An online jeweler like Whiteflash is able to offer a huge inventory of products that are either in-stock or sourced directly from trusted suppliers on behalf of the customer. Comparing products on different websites is easy, and choosing a company with a long history and a trustworthy reputation makes browsing through options a pleasure.

In this guide, you will find solid information to help you determine the best combination of diamond value factors for your budget when purchasing diamonds online - all from the comfort of your keyboard. This guide will walk you through the basics while providing links to technical information to help you become a fully informed shopper.

Online shopping offers a range of diamond merchants, each with their own pricing and quality standards. Take the time to compare prices and quality across different online providers to ensure you're getting the best value for your money. Be transparent about your budget with your chosen jeweler to receive personalized recommendations within your price range.

A reasonable budget can usually be accommodated by selecting a diamond with the right combination of the diamond 4 C’s - carat, color, clarity, and cut.

Remember, it's not just about finding the lowest price; it's about finding the best quality and value within your budget and taste. This involves educating yourself about diamonds, their characteristics, and the various aspects that determine their quality and value.

Provided that you are looking at a certified diamond online, your next step is applying The Four C’s. You should keep this in mind whether you're shopping online or in person for diamonds.

Understanding the 4Cs (Clarity, Color, Carat Weight, and Cut) will empower you to make informed decisions and appreciate the expertise that jewelers like Whiteflash can offer. In the next section, we discuss the 4Cs in more detail and how they factor into finding your perfect diamond. This guide is primarily designed for shopping natural diamonds, but most of the information is also pertinent for those considering lab grown diamonds, which we will mention along the way.

There are hundreds of terms that you may run across as you research and shop for diamonds, whether browsing sites or brick-and-mortar stores. The terms can be general or very specific. They may refer to parts of the diamond's anatomy, diamond color or clarity characteristics, or terms related to light performance. You will find a comprehensive list in our diamond glossary with concise definitions and links to more detailed information.

A lot of online jewelry shoppers discover Whiteflash while conducting online research. Those who do so can take advantage of the best of both worlds; a world-class website and an intimate brick and mortar showroom. You will find tons of excellent online information, a great selection of high quality diamonds and jewelry in the online catalogs, and you have the option to examine the diamonds and jewelry in person and receive expert consultation from Whiteflash experts before purchasing by visiting our showroom in Houston.

With our experience as one of the premier online diamond retailers in the United States, we have simplified the purchasing process and are here to assist you every step of the way. A hallmark of Whiteflash is its uncompromising commitment to quality. Each diamond undergoes a meticulous evaluation, and Whiteflash places a great deal of emphasis on educating customers about high-quality diamonds.

Buying a loose diamond online also allows you huge flexibility when it comes to choosing a setting. Our collection of superb quality designer engagement rings offers exceptional craftsmanship and unique styling to pair perfectly with the certified diamond of your own choosing.

Discover the perfect diamond that symbolizes your eternal love by accessing our educational resources and consulting our knowledgeable team. In making this crucial decision, you can count on us as your trusted partner.

In today's market, there are a multitude of retailers and thousands upon thousands of diamonds to choose from. To help you cut through the noise, there are key pieces of information that every diamond buyer should consider - far and away the most important are the four C's.

It is important to understand which factors are most important to you so that you can select the ideal diamond for your budget. These factors can be surprising to those new to diamond education. In general, you might assume that the bigger the diamond, the better it is. This isn't necessarily true. A larger diamond may be rarer (and so more expensive), but quality is more important than size.

To be considered a truly high-quality treasure, a diamond must grade well in four distinct areas. These four areas determine the diamond’s overall appearance and cost, and are assessed individually in order to obtain a true evaluation of the diamond in question.

We encourage you to take a look at our in-depth 4Cs blog, but below we provided a snapshot to help support you when buying diamonds online.

Often the most misunderstood C, carat is sometimes confused with the gold purity unit (Karat). In fact carat is a term used to describe diamond weight. Your aim should always be to find a diamond with an ideal cut and a great color/clarity combination - not just solely focusing on carat weight. Below are links to pages providing guidance on specific carat ranges.

If you opt for lab-grown diamonds, you may also explore larger carat diamonds within your budget. Please see our detailed Carat Guides on the following sizes:

Another undeniably important aspect of diamond grading is its clarity. This refers to the presence and visibility of inclusions in a diamond, also known in lay terms as flaws.

It is often difficult to see inclusions in diamonds with the naked eye - but there are some types of inclusions that can be problematic.

A diamond's inclusions are not inherently bad; how they affect its beauty and durability is what matters most. This is often difficult to detect when window shopping or looking at diamonds in jewelry store lighting.

To determine clarity, a trained diamond grader must take into account how many inclusions are present, their type, size, and location.

The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) created the diamond color and clarity grading scale in the 1950s. Today, most laboratories follow the same framework. The clarity grading scale consists of a range from flawless diamonds (no internal or external features visible under 10x magnification) through imperfect diamonds that are so heavily included that they may lack transparency or present durability issues.

While a high percentage of commercial jewelry is made using imperfect diamonds, the percentage of laboratory-certified diamonds in the middle and upper portion of the scale is quite high.

We provide high-res diamond light performance imaging and 360-degree videos on all of our in-house diamonds so you can assess their clarity with your own eyes. In reality it is easier to evaluate clarity with high quality imaging from the comfort of your own home than in the typical brick and mortar jewelry store.

Like clarity, a diamond’s color impacts both its appearance and its value. The color grading scale consists of very small ranges on a continuum from colorless to obviously tinted, starting at D and going to Z. Determining the best diamond color range to target is a very individual matter. People vary widely in their color acuity, and colors appear differently under different lighting conditions.

Some people can immediately detect a diamond color that is outside the colorless range (DEF). Other people cannot distinguish between colors several grades apart, even in controlled conditions.

Most shoppers are mainly concerned that the diamond does not look yellow to the casual observer. Diamonds in the near-colorless range (GHIJ) generally fit this criterion. And since near-colorless diamonds cost far less than colorless ones, many people find their best value in this range.

We have comprehensive high-quality imagery online for you to peruse, but if you are someone who wants to put “eyes on the prize” before you click and buy, you are more than welcome to visit our showroom in Houston to see how all the 4Cs work together in a variety of light environments.

Due to the fact that color is rather nuanced, our friendly and knowledgeable diamond consultants will be happy to show you the seemingly minute differences between grades - so that you can make the best decision for your sensitivities and budget.

Diamond cut quality is inarguably the most important of the Diamond 4 C’s. However, most online buying diamond guides do not place sufficient emphasis on this aspect, even though cut precision the key to the diamond's brilliance, fire, and sparkle.

If cut with a high degree of precision, diamonds with midrange color and clarity can look much more beautiful than those with perfect color and clarity but poor cut quality.

To bring forth the full expression of a polished diamond's potential beauty, the facets must work in concert with each other. Each facet functions as a mirror with a role to play in gathering light, refracting and reflecting it back to your eye in a scintillating display of white and colored sparkles. Regardless of size, color, or clarity, compromising on cut quality will waste this precious potential.

There is no difficulty in finding diamonds and fine jewelry online. There is considerably more work involved in finding top cut quality. This is where our expertise in light performance really shines.

Taking the stress out of shopping for something so financially and emotionally important, our website is the perfect place for a personal experience. Unparalleled experience and reputation for the best in customer care await you when you contact Whiteflash today.

A CUT ABOVE® is our flagship brand of Super Ideal diamonds. They include Princess cut and Round Hearts & Arrows diamonds, cut with optimum precision for unparalleled light performance, fire and brilliance. A CUT ABOVE® is internationally recognized as one of the elite diamond brands in the world. Their incredibly stringent specifications and qualifications put them at the very pinnacle of diamond quality, not to be outdone anywhere.

To provide our customers with a full range of choices for their diamond purchase, Whiteflash now offers the finest quality certified laboratory grown diamonds in our Precision Lab brand. The brand is characterized by precision cutting of the finest available lab grown rough available.

Choosing the diamond shape is another consideration. The traditional round brilliant is classic and has the greatest potential for overall light performance. Other shapes like princess, with its brilliant style facet design, can also deliver excellent fire and brilliance if cut extremely well.

Choosing a non-round or “fancy” shape diamond can have a significant impact on the size and quality combination available at a given budget. Princess cut diamonds, for example, can be much less expensive than rounds of equivalent size and quality.

As any good online diamond buying guide will tell you, if you do not have a strong preference for shape, there are very good reasons to stay with the “tried and true” classic round cut diamond.

No matter where you buy diamonds, it's important to understand what a certified diamond is and some of the considerations involved. Not all certified diamonds are created equal! For natural diamonds, it is recommended that you choose a stone that has GIA certification. You can count on the expertise of this internationally recognized laboratory for consistent and accurate grading.

Having pioneered the identification and grading of lab grown diamonds, IGI certification is also highly respected for lab grown diamonds.

With natural diamonds, all the analytical work has already been done for you when you consider an A CUT ABOVE® super ideal diamond. With each diamond, you can be confident that it has been graded by only the most reputable laboratories, and that additional light performance analysis has been conducted and documented, verifying top cut craftsmanship for optimal brilliance, fire and scintillation.

Need more help understanding diamond fundamentals? Explore our Education pages to familiarize yourself with the Four C’s, or speak to one of our diamond experts using our live chat service for more insight.

Our online inventory of diamonds offers a greater selection than a traditional brick and mortar experience. You can use our filter tools to search for loose diamonds with specific qualities and price ranges.

Not only does this allow you to refine your diamond search in terms of appearance, but it also allows you to work intelligently within your budget, taking the time to balance quality and price to find the diamond perfect for you. Staying within a comfortable budget is one key to having a brilliant diamond buying experience.

Most jewelers offer a set of warranties and/or guarantees with a diamond purchase. While return and trade-in guarantees are valuable, some warranties may be of less value than they first appear, depending on the “fine print”.

Before making a purchase, verify that any warranty or guarantee is in writing. Incredibly, there are still some jewelers who do not actually publish or issue written guarantees. And that the terms and conditions are easy to understand and easy to satisfy.

In addition to the standard free cleanings and inspections, make sure you know what your warranty covers. Buying diamonds with the expectation that they will come with all the bells and whistles is a common diamond buying mistake. Despite their favorable appearance, the majority of guarantees include disclaimers and exceptions that make them impractical. At Whiteflash we strive to make our benefit package the best in the industry. As part of the Whiteflash Guarantee, all purchases are covered by a One Year Service policy in addition to a number of additional value added benefits.

Please be aware that jewelers’ warranties are not a substitute for personal jewelry insurance.

While Whiteflash does not sell jewelry insurance, our friends at Jewelers Mutual Group can help protect your new Whiteflash jewelry by offering competitively priced personal jewelry insurance. And we make it convenient and easy to get a quote and bind coverage through a special link in our shopping cart. There is no need to experience the hassle or expense of getting an outside appraisal just to get jewelry insurance on your new Whiteflash purchase.

Of course, one of the big objections many people have to buying an online diamond is that they do not get to see it before they pay for it. This is a source of understandable anxiety.

But why pay more than you have to for a diamond that isn’t as beautiful or valuable? There are plenty of ways to protect yourself when buying online. For instance, if you pay for your order with a credit card, you have recourse should the merchant fail to deliver. BBB reports and online reviews can enable a clear picture of the company's history and trustworthiness.

Selecting a trusted jeweler is vital, whether they operate online or brick and mortar operations. Check their online reviews and ask the tough questions. Besides providing you with information about your diamond, online retailers can also offer a relaxed purchasing experience where you can explore education and options at your own pace and in your own space. You should never feel pressured to buy by any merchant you shop with.

A Whiteflash customer review is the best way to learn about the Whiteflash experience. Through them, you will feel the thrill of excitement about our diamonds, the superior quality of our diamond engagement rings, as well as the warmth of our customer service - even online.

For independent Whiteflash reviews, you can visit third-party review sites such as Google and Yelp.

Whiteflash is honored to have our customers trust us for such important financial and emotional transactions as these. In addition to creating long-term relationships, our Customer Loyalty program allows us to say 'thank you' to our customers when they refer friends and family.

Don't overlook the importance of diamond images and videos. Look for a jeweler who provides high-resolution images and videos showing exactly how your natural or lab grown diamond will perform and interact with light. It is important to choose a jeweler who can provide expert information and guidance.

High-quality 360-degree videos, light-performance images, and certification from the top laboratories will enable you to understand the diamond fully.. You can experience diamonds in a holistic way at Whiteflash thanks to our comprehensive information and advanced imaging. It’s just one of the ways we want to make buying diamonds online easier and more satisfying for casual shoppers and diamond aficionados alike.

ASET, Ideal-Scope, and Hearts and Arrows Viewer are tools that can provide critical information about the way a diamond interacts with light, which is how all the magic happens. Modern shoppers are taking advantage of tools such as diamond imaging and HD video to closely examine a diamond's quality and beauty, especially as they shop online, giving them a magnified and dynamic view of it.

We at Whiteflash adhere to a set of core values that guide all of our activities and policies. Each and every one of them is important to us, and we are proud to hold ourselves accountable to all of them. Having the privilege of playing a role in an important occasion in our customers’ lives is an honor and a responsibility.

While finding the diamonds themselves is important, finding a jeweler you can trust, and who provides education, benefits and true guarantees when you buy, is equally important. You should be able to count on them not only to help you select something beautiful, but also to ensure its lasting quality and value.

It's easy to lose sight of what really matters when you spend so much time delving into the details of diamonds and quality. A big rock with a slightly lower grade might be appealing to one person, but a smaller stone with a higher grade and perfect cut might be imperative for another. Ultimately, it is about selecting the diamond that is perfect for you or your loved one. It is important to remember that everyone is different.

One way Whiteflash simplifies your diamond purchase is by providing you with all the details you need to be informed, empowered, and educated. All of our A CUT ABOVE® super ideal diamonds are posted to our website with a full set of the most thorough evaluations and light performance images, and all are in-stock and are exclusively available through Whiteflash.

Our goal is to ensure that the diamond you purchase meets and exceeds your expectations, and is the cornerstone of a brilliant diamond shopping experience and a lifetime of enjoyment.

Our A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and an unbroken string of BBB Awards is driven by our commitment to customer care, as well as our commitment to quality and social responsibility.

In order to deliver a diamond that is perfect for you, we ensure that every diamond you see online is verified and tested. With Whiteflash, you will always receive the full benefit of careful inspection, analysis, and professional advice, regardless of whether you choose an in-house diamond or one that we source on your behalf.

Our veteran team of diamond consultants are GIA credentialed, and they do not work on commission. As a result, they are customer advocates and focus solely on providing you with the best diamond advice and a great overall experience.

Allocate your budget appropriately, and convey your preferences and goals to one of our friendly experts.

Our team will then guide and advise you and help you avoid any diamond buying mistakes or oversights, and match you to the best possible options for your important purchase. So please have a look at our loose diamond offerings, with all the stress of diamond inspection taken care of and risks eliminated.

We hope you have found this online diamond buying guide helpful. With the proper approach and due diligence, you will find the right merchant and a diamond that is perfect for you.

Choosing a company that offers a complete analysis of the diamonds they offer will ensure that you make a brilliant decision! It is a lifetime's pleasure to possess a beautiful diamond with elite light performance and extraordinary beauty.

Now you are ready to purchase diamonds online, equipped with the knowledge to do so securely and confidently! If you need any help at all, our expert team is just a message away. Let Whiteflash help you find your perfect diamond.

We wish you all the best in your exciting journey.