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Finding the best engagement ring can be a very intimidating and nerve-wracking experience. It is one of the most important buying decisions you’ll ever make, as the diamond ring needs to be just as perfect as the love you share with that special someone.
However, finding the best place to buy an engagement ring can be an overwhelming task. While the conventional way to buy an engagement ring would be to visit a brick and mortar jewelry store, many people are turning to online jewelers for a few reasons:
- The best online jewelry stores have a MUCH bigger selection of rings to choose from, making it easier to find the PERFECT diamond engagement ring.
- Online diamond retailers have a lot less overhead, giving you better value for your money.
- Shopping online offers a better buying experience, as you don’t have to worry about pushy salespeople influencing your decision.
Buying an engagement ring is a huge financial investment, and it’s important that you choose an online jewelry store that is reputable. In this guide, we’ve reviewed all of the top online jewelers to help you find the perfect engagement ring. Each company was evaluated on their diamond selection, ordering process, customer reviews, and price.
Without further ado, here are the top places to buy engagement rings online:
- James Allen: Best Quality Diamonds and Buying Experience
- Blue Nile: Best For Designing Your Own Ring
- White Flash: Best For High-End Designer Jewelry
James Allen: Best Place To Buy Diamond Engagement Rings
James Allen is the best place to buy an engagement ring online. James Allen is the fastest-growing privately held online diamond retailer in the world, with over 200,000 certified diamonds, all photographed in high-resolution 360° HD. To put it simply, James Allen offers the highest quality ideal-cut diamonds and the largest selection at the best price.
When it comes to engagement rings, there are plenty of options to choose from. If you opt to design your own dream ring, you can start with a setting and then pick the perfect center stone, or vice versa. If you need a little inspiration, James Allen provides plenty of high-resolution photos of diamond engagement rings from past customers.
The best part about James Allen is that their site allows you to spin the actual diamonds in 360° HD and zoom in with up to 40x magnification, giving you the world’s biggest selection of diamonds at your fingertips.
James Allen also offers a real-time diamond inspection service by one of their non-commissioned certified gemologists. This allows you to share your screen and get expert guidance as you explore each diamond in 360° HD. They’ll go over the grading certificate with you and review all the specs, so you can buy with confidence.
In addition to engagement rings, James Allen also has a great selection of wedding rings, loose diamonds, gemstones, and fine jewelry as well. From princess cut and lab grown diamonds to fancy color diamonds, James Allen has it all.
The majority of the diamonds from James Allen are graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the American Gem Society (AGS), meaning their products are both trusted and certified.
James Allen understands how big of a decision buying an engagement ring can be. That’s why they offer a 30-day money back guarantee and return policy if you or your partner are not happy with the ring. Likewise, James Allen offers a lifetime warranty on every high-quality diamond purchase.
With such a vast selection of diamond shapes, ring designs, colors, types, and settings to choose from, James Allen is one of the best in the business.
- Largest Engagement Ring Selection and Diamond Inventory
- Engagement Rings, Loose Diamonds, Wedding Bands, Gemstones, and More
- 360 Degree View of Each Diamond With 40x Magnification
- Free Fully-Insured Shipping and 30-day Return Policy
Click Here To Visit The Official James Allen Website
Blue Nile: Best Online Jeweler For Ideal-Cut Diamonds
Blue Nile has been offering high-quality diamonds online since before any other diamond retailer. To this day, Blue Nile still contends for the best place to buy diamond engagement rings online. Blue Nile also offers a 30-day return policy if you are not completely satisfied with your diamond.
Browse their extensive selection of loose diamonds and stones to find the ideal-cut diamond jewelry to meet your budget in their (James Allen-inspired) moveable images. With Blue Nile high-resolution images, you will get the best sense of each engagement ring’s quality at a scale larger than you could see in person, meaning you can select from among thousands of high-quality diamond diamond rings until you find the best one possible. Buying diamonds has simply never been easier than using an online jeweler like Blue Nile.
Blue Nile offers its customers 24/7 customer service, meaning all your questions can be answered by a service professional if you cannot find what you need online. Additionally, if you buy an engagement ring or diamond from Blue Nile, you gain access to free rhodium plating, polishing, cleaning, and tightening biannually. Given that free shipping is included with every purchase, you will already be saving money the moment you hit checkout.
And do not forget about the Blue Nile lifetime warranty, offered for every diamond engagement ring and similar engagement ring and diamond products. Blue Nile is the place to buy engagement rings whether you know which gemstone engagement rings you want to select from or even if you are just getting started browsing ring styles.
- One of the Best Online Stores For Lab-Created Diamonds
- Free Lifetime Warranty With Every Purchase
- Great Option For Building Your Own Ring
Click Here To Visit The Official Blue Nile Website
White Flash: Best For High-End Diamonds
If you want to buy diamonds that simply stand out, look no further than White Flash, the boutique diamond seller. This online retailer is known for its designer quality and intricate process of selecting only the best, most superior diamonds for sale. If you are looking to buy an absolutely breathtaking diamond, White Flash is the site for you.
White Flash takes the time to individually value each of their diamonds, making them undergo a series of tests before signifying them as “A Cut Above.” Like the previous entries on our list, White Flash offers HD images for each of their diamonds, meaning you can see every last detail of your desired rock, including what it looks like at different angles and under different lighting.
If you are looking to really wow your partner with amazing diamond jewelry, White Flash is your dealer, as they are most well known for their vast supply of designer diamond brands. Some of these include Simon G, Valoria, and Ajaffe, along with countless others for you to browse through. If you are new to the process, their site includes an education tab, through which you can learn more about diamonds, the grading processes, ultimately allowing you to make a more informed decision of what kind of engagement ring you want to purchase.
White Flash additionally offers a one-month warranty, something very consistent (and appreciated) across these online diamond sellers. Unlike many others, however, White Flash makes their own jewelry. While you still get the privilege of searching their products for diamonds made by other manufacturers, this unique aspect allows you to get reasonably priced diamonds alongside designer brands.
- Great For Fine Jewelry and High-End Diamonds
- One Year Buy-Back Program For All Purchases
- A+ Rating At The Better Business Bureau
Click Here To Visit The Official White Flash Website
Things To Look For When Buying A Diamond Ring Online
Regardless of which of these places you choose for your engagement ring shopping experience, you will be getting the best value regardless of budget. There is no better place to get such a wide variety of diamonds paired with exceptional customer service. Search through each site’s collection of high-quality color diamonds, lab diamonds, clean-origin diamonds, and more.
With so many diamond types available to you, what matters most is what you want when buying an engagement ring. If you buy engagement rings over the internet, you want to make sure your site offers a lifetime warranty as well as a visual tool so you can examine each rock in breathtaking scrutiny. Keep an eye out for digital sales and special offers, as online jewelry stores often have promotional events.
Before you buy diamond engagement rings online, check to see each site’s certifications. A certification from the AGS measures diamonds based on cut and quality. The AGS is not only reputable, but their grading system is easy to understand, meaning you have no reason not to buy from a site that uses their clear guidelines to rate diamonds.
Likewise, GIA certifications, or diamonds rated by the 4Cs system, are another to look out for. The 4Cs refer to diamonds’ carat weight, color, clarity, and cut. Since all of the diamond sellers on this list use both GIA and AGS certifications, it becomes easy for you to navigate all aspects of a diamond’s qualities without having to do too much additional research. As long as a site offers these certifications, you can be sure of buying beautiful diamonds at the best value whether you are on a budget or are willing to splurge to purchase the best diamond for your money.
Do not forget that when purchasing diamonds online through these renowned sellers, you have access to a 30-day full return. Not only is this not always the case in physical stores, but it also gives you the peace of mind of being able to return your diamond hassle-free if you are not completely enthralled. But with such state-of-the-art picture and video viewing options at each of these online jewelers, it would be rare that you receive a product that is anything less than what is pictured in the online store.
Advantages of Buying Online Engagement Rings
To start, buying diamonds online is a convenient process. Going out to shop in our modern climate is stressful, from dealing with in-store crowding to having to schedule a visit to the store. Additionally, traditional jewelers have minuscule diamond collections compared to online retailers, who can show you every diamond available, while your average store can only let you see what they are capable of housing at any given time.
There is no need to deal with aggressive salespeople who are looking to make money off your purchase. Online engagement ring shopping is quick and easy, amplified by the ability to browse hundreds of thousands of rings until you find one that catches your eye. Additionally, without the overhead cost of a traditional jeweler, online sellers are giving you the best quality for the best price.
If you buy your diamond online, you will also save the money you would be paying in sales tax in a traditional store. Likewise, there is significantly less overhead for an online store, so they will, in turn, have diamonds at cheaper prices across the board when compared to your local jewelry shop. Couple these facts with not having to deal with salespeople who are more concerned with their commission than your satisfaction, and you have a wholesome and straightforward buying experience.
Getting your wedding ring online allows you to become familiar with each jeweler’s selection, whether they sell lab diamonds, loose diamonds, or a variety of other stones and solitaire rings. Unlike going to your local diamond district and painstakingly sifting through each diamond retailer’s selection, the entire selection of each of these online stores is available to you at the click of your mouse. You can select a diamond with a clean origin and even customize by ring setting, all from the comfort of your couch.
Each site offers tremendous customer service, meaning you can ask questions and narrow your choices in a more traditional way, if that is what you choose. However, with the extensive resources available to you on each site, all the information you could ever need about your ring will be right in front of you, easily accessible. Be sure to read each site’s FAQ and information pages, as they offer a ton of valuable insight about their products—useful for diamond aficionados and newcomers alike.
Without the pressures of physical stores, you can take your time browsing a plethora of engagement ring retailers online, sifting through each ring’s grading report, and find the stones you have always dreamed of. If you are seriously price hunting, online retailers are the easiest places to filter astoundingly wide collections to make sure you are getting the best value for your dollar.
Diamond buying is truly new and improved in our modern age. Buying from these online sellers offers you a stress-free way to get an unforgettable diamond for the one you love. So do yourself a favor and forget traditional jewelry stores; buy diamonds online.
Final Thoughts – Is Buying An Engagement Ring Online Better Than From A Jewelry Store?
As if it were not obvious already, the best place to buy an engagement ring is online. Traditional stores cannot offer the combination of price, money-back guarantee, lifetime warranty, or high-quality selection that online diamond sellers can. Each site has a unique connection with each of their manufacturers, meaning there is no middleman to get in the way of you and the perfect wedding band.
The best part is you have nothing to lose. See why thousands of others make the choice to shop for their diamonds online. Online diamond sellers take all of the pressure out of the experience and offer outstanding customer service. Better still, with certifications and HD images available to you onscreen, you reap the benefits of careful research and trusted expertise.
With in-house, luxury jewelry options from White Flash, an outstandingly large collection from James Allen, and the tremendous after-sale value from Blue Nile, no one shopping for an engagement ring should have any trouble finding what they need. Each of these sites offers excellent customer service as well as informative articles about diamonds and the buying process, so even if you are new to this arena, you can quickly get information and get started selecting the perfect diamond for you.
Buying a diamond ring can be stressful, but it does not need to be. Salespeople have tricks up their sleeves to make their offerings seem better than they are. When shopping online, what you see is what you get. In addition to getting a true sense of what each diamond looks like and is worth, you skip the lines and difficulties of shopping in person. Any of these sites will allow you to navigate your engagement ring buying process smoothly, and you even have the ability to compare each site’s listings with one another.
So what are you waiting for? Getting started is super easy. Check out the sites curated by our team and see the kind of diamond precision you have only dreamed of.