Blue Nile Jewelry-good or bad reviews?

[aristocatz]

We are going back and forth about buying my engagement ring at Blue Nile online vs a local jeweler.

Blue Nile has some gorgeous rings and I have alot of online friends who got their e-rings through them and have been very happy, but I'm a little nervous about getting something so expensive online and God forbid the stone falls out or what not & we are stuck without a local place to bring it to....

I read some reviews online & most were positive but there was a handful of pretty negative concerning ones (i.e. selling the stone you picked to someone else by accident, sending a lesser quality stone, 3 months late with shipping, stone fell out or white gold turned yellow after a month and they refused to help fix it....) Again, there were also several RAVE reviews, but I'm nervous and torn because their prices are great, rings & stones look gorgeous, and several friends I have are very happy with them.

Have you had any experiences with Blue Nile?

Good or bad reviews-please dish!!

***REMINDER ABOUT THE POLL: I set it up so you can choose multiple answers that apply to your experience!!***

 

[disneyhand]

I've made two purchases from them in the past, but not for an engagement ring. I was very happy with both purchases. Good quality products. The delivery time estimates were right on and the customer service was outstanding. I haven't tried to return anything though. Don't know if this helps any.

 

[aristocatz]

That was very helpful-thank you!! I'll take any reviews: e-rings or different.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

DH and I did a vow renewal 4 years ago and purchased new wedding bands. I have a platinum band that has some diamonds scattered around it. It's beautiful and I get tons of compliments on it. It still shines as the very day I received it. DH chose a white gold band that looks great. Shipping was very fast and the rings were exactly as they looked on the website.

 

[aristocatz]

Just bumping this up!!

 

[bumbershoot]

DH bought me a silver bracelet from there years ago, no complaints at all!


FWIW, there are complaints with any place that sells jewelry. We actually had to return my first e-ring and some earrings to Gordons b/c they totally took us. Got them returned just before the return period, but the salesguy made me cry and told me I didn't know what I was talking about. (Here's what we found out, what they did NOT tell us when we were buying it even as we studied it with the loupe: when they sell a "named" ring, the ring in the showcase is NOT the ring you're getting...so the ring in the showcase is lovely and the stone is perfect, but the stone you get isn't necessarily going to be that perfect...the day before I returned it, with my bare eyes I saw a big huge inclusion I hadn't seen before, because I hadn't looked at it in the bright sunlight...we returned the earrings b/c they required checkups to keep the warranty and I refused to step food in a Gordons ever again)

I ended up having my ring made from scratch by a jeweler and gemcutter...though right now I'm wearing a relatively cheap ring from ice.com b/c I can't fit the real ring on my finger (and the real one is platinum so I'm not going to have it resized!).

Both bluenile and ice have been good for what we've used them for! (and if you belong to any "rewards" sites, click through them for a bit back)

 

[aristocatz]

DH bought me a silver bracelet from there years ago, no complaints at all!


FWIW, there are complaints with any place that sells jewelry. We actually had to return my first e-ring and some earrings to Gordons b/c they totally took us. Got them returned just before the return period, but the salesguy made me cry and told me I didn't know what I was talking about. (Here's what we found out, what they did NOT tell us when we were buying it even as we studied it with the loupe: when they sell a "named" ring, the ring in the showcase is NOT the ring you're getting...so the ring in the showcase is lovely and the stone is perfect, but the stone you get isn't necessarily going to be that perfect...the day before I returned it, with my bare eyes I saw a big huge inclusion I hadn't seen before, because I hadn't looked at it in the bright sunlight...we returned the earrings b/c they required checkups to keep the warranty and I refused to step food in a Gordons ever again)

I ended up having my ring made from scratch by a jeweler and gemcutter...though right now I'm wearing a relatively cheap ring from ice.com b/c I can't fit the real ring on my finger (and the real one is platinum so I'm not going to have it resized!).

Both bluenile and ice have been good for what we've used them for! (and if you belong to any "rewards" sites, click through them for a bit back)

Thanks! We do belong to Sunshine Rewards-does Blue Nile offer % back with them??

 

[AshleyW]

DF bought my engagement ring through Blue Nile! We'd dated for 6(!!) years before getting engaged, and had joint checking accounts, so I knew the proposal was coming. I got on there and picked out the exact ring I wanted, and he bought it for me. Real romantic, right?! Anyway, I got a .5 carat princess cut diamond in a white gold 4 prong setting. I LOVE IT. I loved that I could see the exact quality of diamond I was getting, and it came with a certification thing -- I forget what it's called.

Anyway, I've had my ring coming up on 2 years now, and no complaints so far! I wear it all the time, but clean it regularly, and it's held up really great. I'd go through Blue Nile again in a heartbeat.

 

[disfan melissa]

DF got my engagement ring from Blue Nile and I couldn't be happier. He was impressed with how he could actually pick the diamond based on the criteria he thought was most important. It's a beautiful ring for a better price than what you could get just about anywhere else...it was appraised for double what DF paid!

I would highly recommend blue nile!

 

[Disneylover79]

I had a friend who had an engagement ring from Blue Nile and she loved it.....Congrats BTW on your upcoming engagement

 

[aristocatz]

Thank you!!

Please keep the reviews and poll results coming! I am getting really confident about choosing Blue Nile so far!!

 

[Kimmers127]

My DF got my engagement ring rom Blue Nile and I absolutely love it. He had a very specific idea of what he wanted, and almost wound up going custom, so he was on the phone with them a LOT discussing options before he ordered. He said everyone he spoke with was really nice and extremely helpful. One of his biggest concerns was that he knew that I wanted a pave setting BUT also wanted my wedding band to sit flush against my engagement ring. NONE of the jewelers he looked at in person could make that happen without going custom, and most still said it would not be a perect fit. Even Tiffany said there would be a gap!

Blue Nile was able to find him the perfect ring AND the setting allows for a band to sit flush against it. He also loved being able to choose the exact diamond for the center stone as he did a lot of research before buying and knew exactly what he wanted, quality-wise. The ring is absolutely beautiful and it appraised for about 40% more than he paid for it. I would use them again in a heartbeat and I do plan to buy our wedding bands from them, once we try some on other places to see what we like as far as style.

Hope that helps! I really can't say a negative thing about them. DF has a friend who used them and also had a great experience!

 

[onyx8]

My e-ring is from Blue Nile - I have had it since 2003 with no issues, I love it! It came with a GIA certificate and an appraisal paper. I have also purchased other jewelry from them and had no problems. Good luck, and congrats!

 

[aristocatz]

Wow, so far no bad reviews!!

 

[Laura]

I bought a pair of gold hoop earrings from them for my SIL and she loved them. She also said she's bought jewelry from Blue Nile before and had a great experience (I don't know what she bought). One thing I like about them is that you can buy Canadian diamonds with a separate search.
http://www.bluenile.com/canadian-diamonds

 

[aristocatz]

Thanks again everyone!! I am amazed that there are NO negative reviews!!

 

[Corrine May]

Bluenile is a decent outfit. Came across a couple of reviews here: http://beyond4cs.com/reviews/blue-nile/

All you need to do is google them for more details.

 

[sonnyjane]

I'd trust BN before most local jewelers, that's for sure, and I wouldn't go to a mall store for an engagement ring ever. You might also want to look into Whiteflash or James Allen as quality online companies in addition to Blue Nile.

 

[eliza61]

I purchased a ring from blue nile but only because it was a sale ring and it was convenient BUT I'm from NYC. LOL, we have whole entire sections of the city dedicated to Jewelers so rarely do I see jewelry on line that I can't get a better price on.

My engagement ring I probably would not have purchased on line, but I got married 30 years ago, lol there was no on-line

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

I've never bought from them but I wanted to share that a friend of mine recently divorced and got to keep all the jewelry. He didn't have any interest in keeping his ex wife's jewelry so he contacted the original stores to discuss selling it back. The local in person jewelry stores offer him 10 cents on the dollar while blue Nile offered him 70 cents. He said he will never buy from a local store again.