Do you know why Blue Nile is so cheap? Well, you are at the perfect place to find the answer to such a question.
Diamonds and high-end jewelry are famously extremely expensive to buy, so finding a good deal can sometimes seem a little bit suspicious.
If you’ve been looking around online, you might be wondering, why is Blue Nile so cheap? One of the reasons Blue Nile is so cheap in comparison to other jewelers is because Blue Nile has low overheads, few physical locations, and an efficient sales process that allows them to bring the prices down on all of their jewelry and stones.
They always seem to have great prices and significant savings on the site, even for their diamonds, but are they still high-quality products?
Read ahead to get the inside scoop on why the prices at Blue Nile seem so low compared to many other jewelers in the industry.
Table of Contents
What is Blue Nile?
Before we get into the details of how they can afford to have such low prices, we should take a bit of a closer look at the company itself.
Blue Nile is an online jewelry retailer that was founded in 1999, evolving from one of the first websites designed to sell diamonds on the internet.
In 2022, the company was actually acquired by the massive Signet Jewelers group, which owns several other big names in the industry, including Ernest Jones, Zales, H. Samuel, and many more.
Due to the fact that they operate almost exclusively online, Blue Nile only has 7 physical locations and employs around 450 people.
This means that they aren’t paying high rent on brick-and-mortar locations, or large amounts on salaries, which starts to explain how the jewelry that they sell can be so cheap.
Read also >> Does Blue Nile Sell Lab Diamonds? (Best Place To Buy + More)
Read also >> Are Blue Nile Diamonds Good Quality? (All You Need to Know)
Read also >> Blue Nile Return Policy: 5 Reasons Why It Sucks & 5 Reasons Why It’s Great
What Does Blue Nile Sell?
Although the company started life dealing almost exclusively in diamonds online, they now have a much wider range of products available.
There is far more on the site to choose from, and the prices are pretty reasonable across the board.
At Blue Nile, you can buy:
- Diamonds
- Engagement Rings
- Wedding Rings
- Fashion and Designer Rings
- Earrings
- Bracelets
- Necklaces
- And more…
How Cheap Is The Jewelry At Blue Nile?
Extremely cheap jewelry is always a bit of a red flag, particularly when you’re talking about diamonds. It’s perfectly reasonable to assume that some corners must have been cut somewhere for the price to come down much lower than the average.
Although Blue Niles prices are very reasonable, and often the best you will find for like-for-like stones and pieces, they are not ridiculously cheap. You will still be paying somewhere in the region of the traditional market value, just much further toward the lower end.
It is definitely one of the places to go if you’re looking for value, but the price tag is not so low that it’s suspicious.
How Can Blue Nile Afford To Sell Jewelry and Diamonds So Cheaply?
The prices at Blue Nile are some of the best in the industry, so how can they afford to set them so low?
A lot of it is to do with their business model. Most diamond retailers sell a few hundred pieces in each of their individual brick-and-mortar stores, of which they will be operating hundreds across the country. That means a lot of employees, a lot of rent to pay, and a lot of overheads.
Blue Nile has a pretty efficient and low-cost business model, with few employees and a very small number of physical locations. They sell hundreds of thousands of pieces all through their website, rather than out of single shops.
This means they can afford to bring the prices down on what they do sell, which means better value for the consumer.
Is Blue Nile Jewelry Good Quality?
The first thing that comes to mind when you see a good price on a nice piece of jewelry is that it must be lower quality than something more expensive.
That can often be a simple marketing trick, and the dollar value does not always translate to the quality of the piece. Is the jewelry at Blue Nile actually good, though?
In fact, Blue Nile has a fantastic reputation and is very well regarded for selling top-quality jewelry, despite the surprisingly low cost.
They have even collaborated with some significant designers and brands on their high-end collections, including Monica Rich Kosann, Zac Posen, and Bella Vaughan.
Are Blue Nile Diamonds The Cheapest On The Market?
It would be a pretty incredible feat to always have the cheapest possible diamonds available, but Blue Nile does have an interesting policy that demonstrates how far they are willing to go to provide the best value out there.
They have a Diamond Price Match Guarantee, which states that if you can find a diamond cheaper elsewhere than one on their site (with comparable quality and characteristics) then you can call them for free and a consultant will review it.
If they determine that the diamonds are suitably similar, they will typically match the lower price!
It does take a few extra steps on your part, and you could always just make the purchase through the other store, but this program is a clear indicator that they truly believe they can offer the lowest prices in the industry.
Read also >> Blue Diamonds Price (Current Price Chart)
Read also >> Irradiated Blue Diamonds Price (Current Price Chart)
Read also >> Rosy Blue Diamonds Price (Current Price Chart)
Are Blue Nile Diamonds Genuine?
At the core of everything that Blue Nile does is their diamonds. That’s definitely what they are best known for, and it’s an area of the business where low prices are perhaps the most surprising.
Does the smaller price tag mean that their diamonds are less genuine than those that you would find elsewhere?
Actually, Blue Nile diamonds are as genuine and legitimate as you would find anywhere else in the world. They are all analyzed and graded by the GIA to give you a legitimate record of their quality and characteristics.
Blue Nile also sells lab-grown diamonds, which are as genuine as any that are mined from the earth. They are physically identical and indistinguishable, even to a professional eye.
They also come with the same kind of grading and evaluation from the GIA.
What Is GIA?
To understand what kind of guarantee you are getting from one of these certifications, you need to know what the GIA is.
The GIA is the Gemological Institute of America, and it is one of the most well-respected and reputable independent laboratories in the diamond trade.
They expertly review a stone and provide a certificate that proves its authenticity, as well as detailing the exact qualities of that particular diamond.
What Does A Diamond Grading Report Tell You?
With any diamond that you purchase from Blue Nile, you will also receive either a Diamond Grading Report, or a Diamond Dossier from the GIA.
In the Grading Report, you will find the evaluations of the Four Cs, the precise measurements and shape, and a map of all of the unique characteristics of the stone. A Diamond Dossier is very similar, it just does not include the annotated diagram.
The “Four Cs” is an important term that you see often when you are shopping for diamonds, and it essentially refers to the four main features of a diamond that it can be evaluated on. These are:
- Cut: How well it has been shaped.
- Color: Graded from colorless D to lightly yellow Z.
- Clarity: How many minor additional elements can be seen in the stone.
- Carat: The weight.
Are Blue Nile Diamonds Conflict-Free?
Blue Nile diamonds are as high quality and authentic as anywhere else, but are they ethically sourced?
The company has a zero-tolerance policy towards conflict diamonds and they use the Kimberly Process to ensure that all of their stones are ethically sourced. The Kimberly Process tracks the diamonds all the way from the mine to the store, working in conjunction with the United Nations and US Customs.
James Allen is the leader in online diamond sales. Their imaging technology is the same as inspecting a diamond with a jeweler's loupe. They have the largest exclusive loose diamond inventory online and fantastic prices.
They also have the nicest collection of lab created diamonds online. Save 10% off select lab grown diamonds and 25% off ring settings during limited time sale!
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THEM:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
Conclusion
So, why is Blue Nile so cheap? It’s all to do with their business model.
The actual products that Blue Nile sells are as high-quality as you will find on the market, and their diamonds are authentic, conflict-free, and independently evaluated by the GIA.
References
https://www.bluenile.com/education/diamonds/certification
Recent Posts
Do you know if Blue Nile diamonds are GIA certified? Well, you are at the perfect place to find the answer to such a question. Buying a diamond is a huge investment–possibly the biggest one you...
If you’re shopping for diamonds, and come across a Blue Nile diamond, you must have some skepticism in your mind about the price and why it retails for lesser than other diamonds. This begs the...