Whiteflash Review

Founded in 2000, Whiteflash's mission is to provide top quality diamonds and fine jewelry to their customers while providing what they call a Brilliant Experience.

A member of the American Gem Society (AGS), their A Cut Above® super-ideal round and princess-cut diamonds are their flagship collections. These diamonds are cut to out-perform on cut, color, and clarity.

They are highly selective in the diamonds they carry. So if you're looking for the best-performing, highest-quality diamond for your engagement ring, Whiteflash is a good place to start.

Diamond Selection: Are Whiteflash Diamonds Good?

Whiteflash has over 33,000 natural diamonds in stock. And if for some reason you can't find what you're looking for there, you can browse their virtual collection, a supply of off-site diamonds that Whiteflash can acquire from a third party.

What you won't find are lab-created diamonds, nor do they sell moissanite or other imitation diamonds. And unlike most of their competitors, they don't carry fancy color diamonds, which makes sense, given the name of the company.

While they have a large selection of diamonds in a variety of cuts, colors, shapes, carats, and clarities to choose from, all of their diamonds are vetted and certified by the AGS.  Their A Cut Above, are the real selling point for Whiteflash, particularly if you're in the market for a Hearts and Arrows diamond.

Are A Cut Above ® Diamonds Worth the Price?

A Cut Above diamonds are considered super ideal. That means that they exceed the AGS requirements for excellent or ideal cut.

To be considered for this collection, a diamond has to be between at D and an F on the color scale, what are considered the colorless diamonds. It must also be graded between IF and VVS on the clarity scale, meaning it looks eye-clean even at 40x magnification.

When I diamond meets those stringent requirements, it is then cut to be perfectly symmetrical and with the highest light performance.

If it is to be a round diamond, it is cut with the Hearts and Arrows pattern, with 57 facets, eight hearts, and eight arrows visible in the diamond. If it to be a princess cut diamond, it must meet AGS qualifications as a triple zero diamond, meaning it is colorless, flawless, and ideal cut - all zero grades on the AGS scale.

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Both types of diamonds are cut for the most brilliance, scintillation, and fire.

Of course, diamonds at lower clarity and color grades can look eye-clean with no magnification, as well. So, whether having a top-graded diamond matters to you will make these diamonds worth it or not.

A Cut Above diamonds cost about $2,000 more than a regular diamond of the same AGS grading on Whiteflash. If you want the best of the best, though, these diamonds are certainly worth considering.

Other Diamond Cuts and Shapes on Whiteflash

If the high standards of A Cut Above aren't that important in your search, you can shop rounds and princess cuts that don't fall into the A Cut Above collection. Or if you're looking for something other than a round or princess diamond, you can browse diamonds in the eight other shape varieties they offer: ovals, marquises, hearts, pears, emeralds, Asschers, radiants and cushions.

The one major catch is that the vast majority of Whiteflash's in-house diamonds are part of their A Cut Above Collection. If you want anything else, particularly a different shape, you're going to find it in their virtual collection.

Ring Metals and Settings: Whiteflash vs. James Allen

When it comes to choosing your setting, you won't have as much wiggle room as you would at James Allen or Blue Nile. Whiteflash offers just four settings to choose from: solitaire, halo, pave, and three-stone.

But the really interesting aspect of choosing your setting is that you can customize the setting to fit the diamond size you're looking for. Whiteflash will even tell you up front how much more the setting will cost to accommodate a bigger diamond.

Metal selection is also somewhat limited. While you can choose from white, yellow, or rose gold, like James Allen or Blue Nile, Whiteflash carries only 18K. Platinum, of course, is also an option for your ring metal.

If you'd rather choose a ring that's ready to go, they do offer a large variety of pre-made rings from several designers, as well.

And if you're looking for something truly unique, you can work with the jewelers at Whiteflash to have a ring custom made.

The Buying Experience: Whiteflash vs. James Allen

Both Whiteflash and James Allen have similar buying experiences, although James Allen does lay out the steps a little more clearly. Whiteflash is all about high-performance, quality diamonds, so choosing your stone really is the best place to start.

If you've looked around at other diamond retail sites, you've probably pretty familiar with the concept of the diamond search tool, and Whiteflash is no different. You can search by carat, cut, clarity, color, shape, virtual or on-site, or you can get really nitty-gritty and do an advanced search. That will let you play with elements like depth, symmetry, and fluorescence.

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Search results are displayed with an actual picture of the diamond, which some sites such as Blue Nile don't do. Hover over the image and you'll get a list of very detailed specs, which may not mean much to the average shopper. Click on the image to go to the diamond's page and get a good look at the stone.

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There, you'll get to view videos that show off both brilliance and sparkle, as well as ASET and other images of the stone. Other sites like James Allen don't really get this detailed with their imagery, so this is a real plus. Hover over the Add This Diamond button and you can choose to add it to an engagement ring, a wish list, a comparison, or to your shopping cart.

If you choose to add it to an engagement ring, you are sent to a page of matching settings, where you can choose metal and size before making your purchase.

Overall, it's a pretty easy process, and more straightforward than other sites, simply because Whiteflash is much more selective with the diamonds and metals they offer.

Customer Service

Even though the process is fairly simple, there are still plenty of opportunities to learn about diamonds, ask questions, and get help.

First, there is Whiteflash's extensive education section, which covers everything from the four Cs to diamond analytics to quarantine marriage proposals.

As you shop, you always have the option to call their toll-free number or live chat with a representative.

If you scroll to the bottom of their diamond search page, you can find even more information on how to get the best loose diamond for your money.

If you need help sizing your ring, Whiteflash does offer an on-display ring-sizing tool, where you hold up an existing ring to the screen. Don't worry if you don't get it right, though. Whiteflash offers free resizing for up to one year.

Finally, if after all this you still find something you don't like about your ring, you have 30 days to return in-house diamonds or 10 days to return virtual diamonds. Unfortunately, you can't return a custom ring, and the shipping for returns isn't free.

Whiteflash's Commitment to Social Responsibility

If it's important that your money goes to socially responsible retailers, look no further than Whiteflash.

Any company that sells diamonds in the United States must commit to selling conflict-free diamonds only. But while some companies stop there, Whiteflash takes their pledge to be socially responsible much further.

First, they go beyond adherence to the Kimberley Process, the international laws that track the source of diamonds to prevent conflict stones from entering the market. They are a part of the Diamonds Development Initiative, as well, which seeks to create a fair-trade environment for artisan miners, small, independent miners outside the industrialized diamond mining world.

They are a member of Jewelers for Children, which works with children's charities to help abused and terminally ill kids.

They are a member of UN Global Compact, a group of 8,000 businesses that work together to solve global issues such as human rights and fair labor and safe environmental practices.

They also support the Gravity Light Project, which provides clean, gravity-powered lights to communities without electricity, who depend on kerosene lamps.

Bottom Line: Is Whiteflash Worth It?

Whiteflash exists to offer the best quality diamonds and jewelry. Their A Cut Above princess and Hearts and Arrows diamonds are worth the price is you're looking for the symbolism and perfect performance they bring to an engagement ring.

And if you want your money to go to a sustainable, fair-trade company, something that's becoming more and more important to consumers, Whiteflash is also worth the extra money.