Who to Trust When Buying an Engagement Ring Online

Diamond Grading Reports

If your shopping at a brick and mortar store the first thing to look for is that the jeweler is GIA Certified or AGS Certified. You can to the American Gem Society (AGS) web page and click on the link “Locate a Jeweler” in order to ensure they are verified. Online retailers are not listed in these directories. When you purchase a diamond for your engagement ring online make sure it comes with a AGS grading report or a GIA Diamond Grading Report, both of which certify that your getting what you paid for. These certifications are dating and laminated. This is not the same thing as an appraisal and the certification does not attach a value to the diamond – its only a grading report. You should make sure that diamond certification are not more than a year old as wear and tear on a diamond could change its grading. Some online retailers such as Blue Nile show the grading report online for each diamond. This is a really nice feature because it allows you to see exactly what is right and what is wrong with a diamond.

Purchasing from Online Retailers

Some traditional retailers want you to pay cash or debit in order to get the best deal from them. On advantage to diamond and engagement ring retailers is that they generally accept major credit cards. Major credit cards are insured against fraudulant charges so you have some degree of protection.

Another thing you should look for when purchasing online is that the website is verified by a major ssl-certificate authoriy such as verisign or thawte. When you see one of these icons on the website you can click on it to verify the website is who it says it is.

Some websites have additional icons on their website that specify the website is hacker safe. You can click on this link to verify that this is true.

Accolades from companies such as bizrate.com instill additional confidence in a online engagement ring retailer. Blue Nile for example has been awarded bizrate's cirlcle of platinum award, which is a prestigious award for online retailers that exhibit excellence in customer service.

One last point to consider when buying an engagement ring online is that certain online retailers are publically traded companies (such as Blue Nile). A publicaly traded company may be less susceptible to fraudulant practices as their books are 'open' for all to see.