Whiteflash?

I am in the market for a ring for the gf (yes some might say about time), I saw a few threads for blue nile, however didn't see anything here. I read online lots of recommendations for White Flash. Has anyone here dealt with them before?

Instead of going after a larger rock with poorer cut, I am after a really good cut and that is where AGS supposedly has tighter tolerances than GIA and many of white flash diamonds are AGS certified. One item that interests me over blue nile is the fact that they provide ideal scope images so you can see hearts and arrow symmetry and light performance through their ASET images. I am really new to this so I would rather have all the data available as it would be difficult to detect this at a jewellery shop, or even told by the salesperson it checks all the boxes.

Is this information valuable, marketing tactic, or will really help find a dazzling rock over a GIA triple excellent rock, or same as GIA? Thanks in advance for the help.

www.pricescope.com is a great forum for diamond research. They also have a diamond search engine that searches most of the larger vendors to narrow down your options. I would definitely stick with AGS or GIA graded diamonds.

I didn't buy from whiteflash as I found their prices were a bit high for their ACA diamonds. I ended up buying at James Allen and bought their Truehearts collection. They are not all true hearts and arrows to the exact definition, but definitely what people call near hearts and arrows. You can also ask for a Pricescope forum discount in the chat too. I think it was about 4% off. At JA, you can ask them to bring in 3 diamonds to their lab in New York and have them send you detailed idealscope, ASET, and hearts and arrow scope images as well as their opinion on the diamonds you chose.

I think most of the online vendors offers the images if you ask, as long as the diamonds are in the US.

Thanks I was looking at White flash's ACA line, was wondering if their diamonds were noticeable brighter due to only selecting rocks that met their criteria in ASET and idealscope, thus justifying the higher price. Was wondering how this would compare to just a standard GIA xxx. I know this is kind of an investment, had also looked at JA and know you can't go wrong with their customer service as well. Decisions, decisions... Has anyone else just purchased the diamond and had this set also in a setting from a different retailer/jeweler? I didn't like any settings from the same diamond retailer.

There are a few places in town that do a great job of educating you before you purchase, International Gemological Labs Calgary is a good start (in Bridgeland), so is Alberta Diamond Exchange (in Aspen Landing).

For pricing, the Rapaport report is the international pricing guide, sets the price in USD per carat based on color and clarity (there are different reports for different shapes/cuts). This will help you to know what kind of deal you are getting (if any).

IGL
Alberta Diamond Exchange
diamonds.net Rapaport Report

If you want the most brilliant sparkling diamond, the best will be an IGA certified (not EGL their standards are looser) "Ideal cut", and minimum Excellent Symmetry and Excellent Polish (note all round cut diamonds feature hearts and arrows, the better the cut the more symmetrical the hearts an arrows will be), and as close to colorless (D color) as your budget can afford in the size you are looking at. Don't bother looking at anything with clarity lower than a VS1, and make sure there are no florescent's (need to look at the diamond under a black light to test this).

Note, if you are buying a round brilliant diamond for someone whom is superstitious, make sure the Culet is cut (the point on the bottom) as it creates a better number of cuts over all (58 cuts rather than the normal 57).

I also strongly recommend having the girdle of the diamond laser etched with its serial number to ensure you have and continue to have the diamond you purchased. Do not let it out of your sight until it has this serial number. Also, make sure to have it appraised after it is set and added to your home insurance.

Congratulations, marriage is an exciting endeavor for awhile! I hope this much research goes into your Lawyer search when the time comes.

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Originally Posted by bh87

There are a few places in town that do a great job of educating you before you purchase, International Gemological Labs Calgary is a good start (in Bridgeland), so is Alberta Diamond Exchange (in Aspen Landing).

For pricing, the Rapaport report is the international pricing guide, sets the price in USD per carat based on color and clarity (there are different reports for different shapes/cuts). This will help you to know what kind of deal you are getting (if any).

IGL
Alberta Diamond Exchange
diamonds.net Rapaport Report

If you want the most brilliant sparkling diamond, the best will be an IGA certified (not EGL their standards are looser) "Ideal cut", and minimum Excellent Symmetry and Excellent Polish (note all round cut diamonds feature hearts and arrows, the better the cut the more symmetrical the hearts an arrows will be), and as close to colorless (D color) as your budget can afford in the size you are looking at. Don't bother looking at anything with clarity lower than a VS1, and make sure there are no florescent's (need to look at the diamond under a black light to test this).

Note, if you are buying a round brilliant diamond for someone whom is superstitious, make sure the Culet is cut (the point on the bottom) as it creates a better number of cuts over all (58 cuts rather than the normal 57).

I also strongly recommend having the girdle of the diamond laser etched with its serial number to ensure you have and continue to have the diamond you purchased. Do not let it out of your sight until it has this serial number. Also, make sure to have it appraised after it is set and added to your home insurance.

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Sorry, but there's some misinformation here.
IGA, you're referring to IGI I assume? It's above EGL, but also suffers from loose grading these days. IGI used to be more reliable, but not the case anymore. IGI is better "value" only in the sense that any IGI certified diamond will cost less than an equivalent GIA or AGS diamond due to looser grading.
Clarity wise, if you're buying online, yes go VS1 or higher. If you plan on viewing diamonds before purchase, you'll get better value for money if you find the RIGHT VS2 or even SI1. If you find the right diamond, a good VS2 will be equivalent or better than a poor VS1.
A cut culet is not a good thing. If a round diamond has a cut culet, it wasn't by design. Isn't 58 bad luck anyways? haha


pockystix please feel free to pm or email me what you've short listed, I'm happy to give you advice on your search.

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Originally Posted by Justing

Sorry, but there's some misinformation here.
IGA, you're referring to IGI I assume? It's above EGL, but also suffers from loose grading these days. IGL used to be more reliable, but not the case anymore. IGL is better "value" only in the sense that any IGI certified diamond will cost less than an equivalent GIA or AGS diamond due to looser grading.
Clarity wise, if you're buying online, yes go VS1 or higher. If you plan on viewing diamonds before purchase, you'll get better value for money if you find the RIGHT VS2 or even SI1. If you find the right diamond, a good VS2 will be equivalent or better than a poor VS1.
A cut culet is not a good thing. If a round diamond has a cut culet, it wasn't by design. Isn't 58 bad luck anyways? haha


pockystix please feel free to pm or email me what you've short listed, I'm happy to give you advice on your search.

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I meant to type GIA (Gemological Institute of America) not IGA.
I was referring to IGL the jewellery store in Bridgeland, not a gem certification company. I included a link to their website to encourage education before purchase.

I bought my Diamond from Blue nile earlier this year. 1.5ct. Polish, Symmetry and Cut were excellent, VVS1, G colour.

It was a decent experience. I did all the work with researching the specific diamond and entering the dimensions into a cut score calculator and the Holloway cut adviser to determine visual performance. It was a tedius task because I often found the GIA certificate giving conflicting information with how the diamond cut score returned or the poor score on visual performance.

My main problem is that the first two diamonds i intended to buy ended up being previously sold wholesale "earlier that day" or before their inventory was updated on their website. I ended up buying a superior diamond (more expensive) but I did manage to negotiate a SLIM discount due to the difficulties. (they were not budging at all on price, pretty much a non negotiable)

I went to Brinkhaus, Jvair and Calgary Jewelry locally and found most of their diamonds had quite a bit of inclusions on the GIA Certificate and the pricing was almost double for a much lesser diamond. (great service at Brinkhaus though - would definitely visit to purchase a watch in the future). Jvair was kind of a joke. The girl just wanted me to putt around on a website that was basically the same as Bluenile with inflated prices. :dunno:

Overall I ended up being comfortable with the price and confident in the diamond I bought and she loves it which I guess is the most important.

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Originally Posted by bh87

I meant to type GIA (Gemological Institute of America) not IGA.
I was referring to IGL the jewellery store in Bridgeland, not a gem certification company. I included a link to their website to encourage education before purchase.

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Makes sense!
Easy typo as seen in my post. Lol. I’ll edit for clarification. IGL (the folks in town) are great!

@hurrdur: Those specs on that rock! :drool:

Thanks for the additional info guys! It definitely has been a tedious task, I ended up finding a setting that I like from a jeweler, will check out some diamonds in person from them. Gonna have to view those GIA certificates and figure out potential light score from the HCA tool because I know many won't have an ASET or ideal scope image lol. Worst case is if I don't like any of them maybe I will just order one loose online and have them install!

I’ve been looking at these sites for loose diamonds as well. For those who have bought a diamond did you have to pay duty?

I am currently debating between buying from Whiteflash as they seem to have slightly cheaper diamonds than Brilliant Earth. However Brilliant Earth has an awesome setting selection and they include a free gift with purchase which I guess is a nice bonus.

When I was in Alberta Diamond Exchange, they straight up told me they pick from the same suppliers as Blue Nile or anyone else, but they add 15% to cover overhead - on a $5-10K++ ring that is a lot of money. I've helped a few friends buy through Blue Nile now and every experience has been very positive and they saved literally thousands of dollars while getting a significantly better spec'd diamond than local.

Or go with a man made diamond and don't tell her :) My understanding is they are literal diamonds made from carbon crystals under extreme pressure and heat, and can be made almost perfect. The problems are only if you want a huge one (like 3+ carat).

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Originally Posted by USHER

I’ve been looking at these sites for loose diamonds as well. For those who have bought a diamond did you have to pay duty?

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I believe when it's a set stone (in a ring or jewelry), there is no duty as there is work to create the jewelry in the US and it falls under NAFTA.

When you buy loose diamonds, I believe you will have to pay duty.

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Originally Posted by realazy

I believe when it's a set stone (in a ring or jewelry), there is no duty as there is work to create the jewelry in the US and it falls under NAFTA.

When you buy loose diamonds, I believe you will have to pay duty.

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This was my understanding as well. Some Jewelers are weary about putting a loose diamond in a setting or charge quite a bit to do so. Before you decide on this route you may want to ask.

I don't think I would ever buy a Diamond locally after my experience with pricing/quality vs what I was able to source myself online.

I believe in customer service and supporting local as much as possible but I can't justify the margin

For reference here is a photo

Attachment 80711