Shopping on-line for your diamond?

Don't get stuck with the on-line diamond buying blues.

So, you've been shopping around on-line for months for an engagement ring. You've comparison shopped, clicked on hundreds of pages of settings, and made sure you bought a certified diamond. You're very excited, until it arrives on your doorstep and you open the package and flip open a cheap looking box and you see what appears to be a beautiful looking diamond ring...but you just aren't sure.

It came with a certification, which attests to the true and accurate grading of the diamond, but that 1.00 ct diamond doesn't look as big as you thought it would. The stone is nearly colorless, but you can detect faint yellowness. When you were IM-ing their diamond expert you were told that an SI1 diamond would be eye-clean, but is that a piece of dust you see or a black crystal under the table? The mounting is stamped “PLAT,” but the ring itself feels light and looks too thin, as if they skimped on metal. The size 7 ring seems way too big for her petite fingers and you realize that your cubicle buddy was wrong about the ring size being the same as her shoe size.

Suddenly, you're racked with buyer's remorse and you call their 1-800 number, but it's after regular business hours and you'll have to wait until morning. That night you don't sleep very well with that diamond engagement ring tucked under your pillow for safe keeping, because it isn't insured yet, because it hasn't been appraised yet.

Diamonds are expensive and naturally you're looking to get the most out of your budget. But buying blindly from an on-line diamond dealer is a bad idea. Click the link below to find out how to avoid getting the on-line diamond buying blues:

What everyone should know about on-line diamond buying.

If it looks too good to be true...there is a good chance that it is.

Searching for the best value makes sense, but bargain-hunting can be a bad idea if you're not careful. Here are some things to consider before purchasing any diamond.

If you are looking for a bargain, you better know who you're bargaining with.


  1. Most on-line diamond dealers are just that, dealers. They match up buyers and sellers, but do not own the diamonds they are marketing to you and never see the actual diamonds themselves until they are sold. Even then, they do not verify the quality of the diamonds beyond making sure they match the accompanying certificate. Washington Diamond stocks an inventory of hundreds of diamonds which were hand selected for additional quality. Just because a diamond is certified doesn’t mean it is outstanding.
  2. Many on-line diamond dealers do not provide an appraisal free of charge. Those that do often require that you also buy the mounting from them as well, so buying the diamond on-line and then picking out a mounting style locally, isn’t always the best value or the simplest option. At Washington Diamond, not only do you get to select a high quality mounting style in person, but you can buy a diamond engagement ring package with additional benefits that will allow you to make out even better than buying your diamond on-line.
  3. Not having a storefront to receive