Blue Nile Signature Diamonds (UK)

[pomellina]

Hi everyone

The diamond we chose for my engagement ring is stuck in customs. We're not sure what to do now - we really just want to announce our engagement! (My fiancé is keen to wait until we've got the ring, as he wants me 'formally' with it - the romantic that he is!) I'm not sure why this has happened - one concern I have is that the GIA certificate was very new (May 2013) and perhaps there's some issue with obtaining the Kimberley Process certificate.

The company we ordered from has offered us an alternative but it's a 0.01 of a carat smaller, £70 more, and only scores 4 on the Holloway Cut Adviser. (Our original choice scored 1.3.) We've declined this option and asked how long we will have to wait until it makes it through customs. We're waiting for a reply and to see if they suggest anything else suitable. One option we're thinking about is cancelling our original order and going with Blue Nile Signature Diamonds, as we won't have to wait long and there seems to be some assurance of a good cut. The quick turnaround is a big draw!

We want a platinum setting. We originally opted for diamond shoulders but Blue Nile's Petite Cathedral Pavé Diamond Engagement Ring puts us over our budget. So, as an alternative, we're thinking about opting for the Classic Six Claw Engagement Ring and choosing a larger diamond.

We have a budget of up to £825 for a round brilliant diamond around 0.35-0.4 carats and would like a stone in the colourlessor near colourless range (as my fiancé is quite colour sensitive). We're buying unseen, happy to return if we're not 100% satisfied (we know the risks of ordering blind and because of BN's return policy, we're happy to take a gamble), and first-time diamond buyers. We don't necessarily want to spend the maximum our budget affords.

Would anyone be able to recommend a diamond for us from here?

 

[Christina...]

I'm sure that we can make recommendations, but I think that you should wait to hear back from customs first. It's a PITA to cancel orders, return stones and wait for refunds. I couldn't say whether or not the hold up is obtaining the Kimberly process paperwork or not but it would seem that any reputable vendor wouldn't have sold the stone with assurances that the stone had this documentation. I would definitely wait to hear back from customs, you may find there is only a delay of a day or two and should you cancel, you could end up waiting weeks again.

 

[kathness]

Hi Op I have recently bought from bluenile and it is true that they hold it in custom to work out how much important tax you need to pay etc. normal procedure... how long has it been?

 

[pomellina]

Original order is from 77diamonds.com, not Bluenile.com.

The problem is with customs is being dealt with 77diamonds: they've ordered the stone and are making the setting. I can't see the problem in cancelling now although it's not clear from their Ts&Cs. It does say that: 'We provide the option of a full NO QUESTIONS ASKED refund within 30 days of delivery. This returns policy is limited to a) all items where the diamond is priced below £25,000 excluding VAT (items above this threshold subject to refund within 7 days of delivery) b) items that have not been customized from their original state as displayed on the website.' Our ring uses one of their standard designs, hasn't even been made or delivered yet, and is obviously below £25k!

77diamonds have said that: 'We cannot foresee how long customs will require with the checking of the parcel and from previous experiences there have been cases where the diamond has been sent back to the supplier, when further shipping was declined. In order to avoid this disappointment, we would like to offer you this 0.26 carat diamond as mentioned below, without any surcharge.'

Please could you help me decide if this is a good alternative? This is the second one they have offered.

Round Brilliant
Measurements 4.12 - 4.14 x 2.56 mm
Carat Weight 0.26 carat
Color Grade E
Clarity Grade VVS1
Cut Grade Excellent
Depth 62.0 %
Table 56 %
Crown Angle 34.5°
Crown Height 15.0%
Pavilion Angle 41.0°
Pavilion Depth 43.0%
Star Length 50%
Lower Half 80%
Girdle Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted, 3.5%
Culet None
Polish Excellent
Symmetry Excellent
Fluorescence None
Clarity characteristics Feather, Natural

Scores 1.8 (excellent light return; very good fire, scintillation and spread) on the HCA.

This is the one I want. (Link to my first post regarding this engagement ring.)

It's our first diamond purchase and I just really want the one I chose. I don't know what to do. I know it's only a small stone but we picked it together and it took me ages to find it. I didn't want one with a feather (I know it's VVS1 and I shouldn't worry but this might be the only diamond we ever buy and I want it to be perfect)... What should we do?

 

[kathness]

hmm that's really weird as 77diamonds.com is also a UK based company too.

 

[pomellina]

That's why we went with them. I don't think they hold much stock though and have to get it from overseas. They have 'unrivalled, direct access to over 70% of the world's finest polished diamonds' but I don't think have many in London.

 

[kathness]

That's why we went with them. I don't think they hold much stock though and have to get it from overseas. They have 'unrivalled, direct access to over 70% of the world's finest polished diamonds' but I don't think have many in London.

that's a shame!

I would check for the ideal cuts diamond...

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamondSearch.php
http://www.whiteflash.com/



Or call IDJ from NYC.

Bluenile is also good but you cant see any pictures

0.3 F/VS1/$693

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2763553.htm

 

[LizH]

Hi Pomellina,

I'm London based and if your engagement ring got stuck in customs then it is obviously because the ring was shipped from outside the UK (which is odd for 77diamonds as they are a UK based company, but their website does indicate that some order are processed outside of the UK).

You could either wait for the ring to get out of customs review (although I know from experience that this can be a real pain) or you could cancel the order and start over again.

Another option would be to check out some AGS graded ideal diamonds that are found via Blue Nile's UK site. This would prevent any customs issues for you.

Hope this helps.

 

[pomellina]

Thanks for your advice, Liz. I think they make the ring in London but the diamond I selected had to be ordered in but I'm not 100% sure...

I would be happy to wait but it seems like there is no guarantee that we will receive our chosen diamond so I'm not sure whether it would be better to cancel and opt for something from BN. Good call about the AGS to guarantee it gets through customs in one piece - will look into it!

Any thoughts on the suggested alternative above?

 

[pomellina]

Update:
Just to say that we've decided to cancel our original order and look for a pretty RB solitaire from Blue Nile Signature Diamonds range. Any advice on what we should be looking for?

 

[Smith1942]

Hi Pomellina,

I am a longtime customer of Blue Nile here in the States, although I'm British. I had Signature stud earrings, which I recently upgraded. I went for Blue Nile's Ideal range instead of Signature to maximise size, and I found that if I researched the cut carefully, I could get something that was every bit as sparkly as the Sigs, but without paying the Signature premium - which is signifcant.

There is a tool on Pricescope called the Holloway Cut Advisor, where you run the diamond's numbers (depth%, crown angle, pavilion angle and table size) through it and the tool gives the diamond a score. You want to stay below 2.

The experts here say that the HCA is just a weeding-out tool and that you need to see images of the diamond, but I have not found that to be true. I have bought a number of Blue Nile diamonds using the HCA and taking advice here, and it's turned out brilliantly. Blue Nile is a drop-shipper with tens of thousands of diamonds in their inventory so they couldn't possibly photograph them all. Their size/economies of scale mean that oftentimes they are less expensive than the smaller companies, who do give you lots of images of the diamonds. I've been happy with my blind-diamond-buying and I feel I got better prices for it.

When I was agonising over the cut of my studs, I posted the numbers here (scoring 1.4 and 1.7 on the HCA) and the experts all said that the numbers looked great and IF there was any difference between their sparkle and that of a Signature, it would not be visible to the naked eye. And in fact, my ideal studs are every bit as sparkly, if not more so, then my Signature studs were. The difference is, you do have to do more sifting and searching.

Good luck!

ETA: Here are some links:

Discussion of Signature versus Ideal Blue Nile diamonds:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/blue-nile-stud-upgrade-are-these-close-to-signature-cut.185676/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/blue-nile-stud-upgrade-are-these-close-to-signature-cut.185676/[/URL]

Discussion as above in a little more detail:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/need-expert-cut-help.185700/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/need-expert-cut-help.185700/[/URL]

And images of my Blue Nile non-Signature Ideal cut studs:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/theyre-here-stud-upgrade-1-12-ctw-d-colour-blue-nile.187681/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/theyre-here-stud-upgrade-1-12-ctw-d-colour-blue-nile.187681/[/URL]

 

[Smith1942]

How about this diamond? It's well within your 825-pound budget at $1,098, it's 0.54 carats with a great spread of 5.25 x 5.27mm, and it scores a 1.4 on the HCA. It's in the near-colourless range at H, but the strong fluoro will make it appear whiter. And it's much bigger than your stated range of 0.30-40!

http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?first_step=diamond&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP#diamonds_forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP|builder=BYOR|pid=LD03382625

0.54
H
Si2
Depth %: 61.2
Table: 57
Crown angle: 34
Pavilion angle: 41
HCA score 1.4


Blue Nile will consult their vault and let you know if it's eyeclean. This is what they did with my D Si2 studs, and it takes only 24 hours. I had my eye on another pair of SI2 studs that were bigger and more expensive, and Blue Nile said they were not eyeclean so I got the cheaper pair. I think Blue Nile is truthful about this, in my opinion and experience.

 

[mcosme]

This one seems good value, check if it's eyeclean but with twinning wisps looks hopeful
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-search?pt=setform&track=NavDiaSeaRD#diamonds_pid=LD02417794

 

[pomellina]

This one seems good value, check if it's eyeclean but with twinning wisps looks hopeful
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-search?pt=setform&track=NavDiaSeaRD#diamonds_pid=LD02417794

Smith1942 & istase2000 - Thank you both for taking the time to make suggestions; I really appreciate it.

I've asked Blue Nile about their signature stones and they say, 'All Signature ideal stones are eye-clean, even at SI1 level. In fact, the GCAL company that does the second certification on the Signature Ideal diamonds, will only grade eye-clean stones.'

The one with the twinning wisps therefore looks like a great choice. We are waiting for the refund to go through on our other purchase (hopefully today!) so we will have to see what's available this evening when we look!