Don't choose between impeccable service or competitive prices when it comes to diamonds: get both!

Even for a seasoned online shopper like myself, it's not every day that I spend high four figures on a purchase that I haven't seen. But thanks to Whiteflash, it was an amazing experience and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Some background: my soon-to-be-fiancé (yay!) and I had chosen a ring setting from an upscale Fifth Avenue jeweler. I'd shopped for diamonds before, and was aware that this store's prices for loose stones were high (midtown NYC overhead), though I did look a bit and started my diamond search there. After that, I went to the first online diamond vendor I considered, perhaps the biggest online vendor of diamonds out there. They had a wide selection, but there were no photos of the diamonds, no images showing cut quality (Idealscope). Just a diamond certification and some reassurances that purchases were refundable. Sorry, but to me that's like buying a car based on just a hand-drawn diagram marking where the dents are: no sale! Enter Whiteflash. I found out about them through my friend Christina, for whom they had made a stunning, very high quality custom diamond eternity ring. I was delighted to find that they sold loose diamonds too. What luck! From start to finish, I dealt with ONE point of contact, a knowledgeable and friendly rep named Sheerah. My requirements for the diamond were very specific, yet she fielded my questions with diplomacy and ease, never putting any sales pressure on me. She was a sheer pleasure to deal with, extremely professional. When I had narrowed my choices down, Sheerah coordinated opportunities for me to ask specific questions with one of Whiteflash's gemologists, and provided me with detailed images of the stone I was most interested in buying. Compared to the other vendor, who couldn't give me even ONE image, Whiteflash gave me one at 40x magnification, as well as a slew of other images highlighting the stone's cut and stats, with a detailed explanation all the way of how to interpret the images. Although it was still an online purchase, I was effectively "seeing" the goods first! All in all, I received more attentive service, more knowledgeable service from Whiteflash than from the Fifth Avenue jeweler where I had started my diamond search. I used to think that I had to choose between good service and high prices, such as when I shop at Tiffany's, or average service and competitive prices. I don't exactly know how Whiteflash has been able to provide both great service and very competitive pricing, but I've stopped asking how and am just enjoying it. This is a company that gets it right. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again. Am already planning on it :)