If you’re looking for diamonds, then you must have come across the two big names; the Blue Nile and Zales. They have been in the market for quite a long time now. Both of them are based in America, but Zales being the veteran, enjoys more fame.
Anyway, buying diamonds is an investment, and your investment should be made at the right place. Therefore, I’ll be making a comprehensive comparison between the Blue Nile and Zales so that you can get your hands on the best diamonds!
About
Blue Nile
The Blue Nile is based in Washington and was founded in 1999 as an online jewelry retailer. The Blue Nile curates high-quality diamonds, and all of them are certified by GIA. And so the authenticity of their diamonds isn’t in question.
The Blue Nile is popular for its handcrafted engagement rings and has a significant number of satisfied clientele in major countries of the world.
Zales
Zales was founded over 95 years ago as jewelry, cameras, and appliances retailer. Later on, it was established as a major jewelry retailer, and today Zales proudly boasts around 700 retail stores across America.
Zales is very popular for bridal jewelry and diamonds. And they claim to deliver excellent quality at an exceptional value. Since 2014, Zales has been functioning under its parent corporation, Signet Jewelers.
Pricing
To compare the prices of Blue Nile and Zales, I customized three engagement rings at both stores. So let’s see which one provides more value for money.
One ct. Diamond Ring Blue Nile vs. Zales
At the Blue Nile, this 1.01 ct diamond ring with SL1 clarity and I color in a solitaire set in 14 white gold retails for $6,212.
At Zales, you’ll get a similar ring with a 1-carat diamond in a four-prong solitaire setting for around $6,400.
Zales didn’t give me an option to choose the diamond cut while personalizing the ring, which was odd. The diamond cut plays a primary role in its price, and the lack of information about it at Zales makes me skeptical about their rings.
1.5 ct. Diamond Ring Blue Nile vs. Zales
This 1.5 ct. Diamond ring, ideal cut, I color, Sl2 clarity, in a 14k white gold solitaire setting retails for $6,212 at the Blue Nile.
On the other hand, a similar ring at Zales, the cut grade of which I do not know, retails for $12,000. Now that’s an extremely significant amount of difference which looks quite unjustified.
Two ct. Diamond Ring Blue Nile vs. Zales
An ideal cut is two ct. Ring, I color, Sl2 clarity, four-prong solitaire setting in 14k white gold at Blue Niles will cost you around $17,500.
While if you create a similar ring at Zales with 2ct diamond, I color, and Sl2 clarity, solitaire setting in 14k white gold, it will cost $21,900.
So conclusively, I don’t think I need to mention anything. The price difference between the two is very clear. Zales is crazy expensive, and I don’t really understand why because being a veteran in the market is not a reason good enough to be expensive.
Website Navigation
Blue Nile
The website of Blue Nile is designed on a contemporary theme. The home page allows you to discover several categories. You can browse through several options in the exclusive collection of your favorite diamond cuts.
Other categories, such as engagement rings, wedding rings, diamonds, diamond jewelry, lab-grown diamonds, necklaces, and earrings, feature impeccable pieces of jewelry. The Blue Nile also offers an option to design your own ring from scratch, which is quite exciting for most of us.
The filters are limited but very helpful. You can filter your search according to price, metal, material, ring style, gemstone, stone shape, bandwidth/fit/finish, and more. So overall, shopping from Blue Nile’s online store is pretty easy and user-friendly.
Zales
Well, I equally like the website of Zales as well. It is quite easy to browse through all their collections. On the home page, you’ll see some of their major categories, such as rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, engagement rings, and watches.
The filters make shopping easier and less time-consuming. You can filter your search according to stone shape/color, metal type/color, price, discounted range, gender, and personalized rings. Moreover, you can also shop for the top-rated rings by customers.
Like the Blue Nile, Zales also provides an option to design your own ring from scratch. The inventory of Zales, however, is not as versatile as that of Blue Nile. Also, they don’t sell loose diamonds, which is a major downside.
All in all, the shopping experience from the online store of Blue Nile and Zales is smooth and hassle-free.
Store Location
Blue Nile
The Blue Nile is an online jewelry retailer that is based in Washington. It is an online jewelry store, so it has no retail locations anywhere in the US.
However, I was glad when I found out about their showrooms. It’s good news for anyone who wants a one-on-one diamond inspection just to clear out all the doubts. Blue Nile owns many showrooms across ten different states in the US.
Blue Nile showrooms can be found in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Find the exact locations here.
Zales
Zales, on the other hand, has not only an online store but also physical retail locations. Headquartered in Texas, Zales has a huge network of stores all across the US.
The retail stores of Zales are spread across 700+ locations which is a huge plus point for them. As a customer of Zales, you don’t have to fret over online orders since you can easily pay a visit to their store and get your hands on the best piece of jewelry.
Find your nearest Zales store here.
Quality
Blue Nile
The quality of loose diamonds at the Blue Nile is impeccable. All their diamonds are certified by GIA, which is the most solid proof of their authenticity.
The jewelry at the Blue Nile is also crafted with perfection and attention to detail. The Blue Nile is particularly famous for its handcrafted engagement rings.
However, some complaints have been filed by their customers as well. The majority of these complaints reported some issue with the setting of the diamond or stones. The good thing is I haven’t seen any complaints regarding the quality of diamonds.
So, your best bet can be buying loose diamonds from the Blue Nile and having them set by your local jeweler to avoid any hassle. But overall, the reputation is not even that bad.
Zales
Zales, on the other hand, is not exactly what I expected it to be. First of all, I need to mention the lack of certification with most of their diamonds. Secondly, the diamonds that are certified hold that certification from IGI labs.
Now you must know that the standard of GIA grading is way above that of IGI and what bothers me is the fact that IGI-certified rings at Zales are more expensive than GIA-certified rings at the Blue Nile.
And apart from that, I haven’t come across a lot of pleasant reviews regarding Zales online. If you really do wanna give them a try, make sure to visit their outlets or retail locations and get a first-hand review of the diamonds and jewelry.
In terms of quality, Blue Nile is a winner. It does give more value for money as well as better quality.
Shipping
Location
Since Blue Nile is based in the US, it offers shipping and delivery services all across America. Apart from that, Blue Nile also provides shipping to many countries in the world, but not worldwide shipping though.
All Blue Nile packages are shipped via FedEx in the US as well as outside of it. You can get your order shipped from the Blue Nile if you’re located in Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Guam, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Taiwan, UAE, Virgin Islands, and APO/FPO/DPO addresses.
Zales, unfortunately, doesn’t offer international shipping. They deliver only to the 48 contiguous US states and nowhere else, which is quite a turn-off, honestly.
However, they do offer a lot of convenience for their US-based customers. Not only do they offer the usual doorstep delivery, but also they allow you to get your order shipped to your nearest Zales outlet, where you wouldn’t have to pay the shipping fee.
All the Zales orders are shipped via UPS or USPS.
Charges
Blue Niles offers free shipping. At least they say so. But there are specific terms and conditions that customers don’t usually know. If your order is below 500 bucks, then you can only get a free FedEx Ground delivery service.
The two-day delivery service is free only for orders above $500. And the overnight delivery is free only if your order is above $1000. And for international orders, customers have to pay additional tax, duty, and customs charges.
On the contrary, Zales offers free shipping only if the orders are delivered at a Zales retail store. If you want your order delivered to your doorstep within two days, the shipping will cost you around $7. The next-day delivery service charges are $22.
And if you want your orders delivered on Saturdays only, then a service fee of $32 will be charged. Check out the details about their shipping services here.
Return Policy
Blue Nile
The Blue Nile delivers excellent quality, and yet they offer a 30-day return policy to satisfy their customers fully. So you don’t have to worry if your purchase is not up to your expectations. Just contact Blue Nile or proceed to online returns on their website if your order is below $2000,, and you can easily return or exchange your item.
The return policy doesn’t apply to personalized, engraved,, or damaged/used items. Customers from Australia, Canada, and the US can enjoy free returns.
Zales
Zales offers a very convenient and customer-friendly return policy, I must say. Besides the usual 30-day return policy, Zales offers a 60-day exchange period.
In addition to that, orders without the receipt are still eligible for exchanges or conversion to gift cards. At the same time, online orders without a receipt can be returned by showing a confirmation email of your purchase. And I am actually really impressed by this amazing return policy.
You can return your order at any Zales outlet or by mail, whatever you find convenient.
The edge unquestionably goes to Zales because of their customer-friendly return policy. Blue Nile’s return policy is the usual one, so there’s nothing exceptional that I need to mention!
Customer Support
The Blue Nile has tremendous customer service. While I do agree that quite a few people have received jewelry that didn’t meet their expectations but what helped them was the customer support of Blue Nile.
They’re very considerate towards the problems of their customers in most cases. Also, you can contact non-commissioned diamond experts at Blue. You can contact them via email, call, or live chat.
As opposed to that, I was really put off by the below-average customer service at Zales. Well, at least that’s what I’ve learned from all the research. I hope your experience goes well, though.
But as far as I know, Zales really needs to work on their customer support. They also do offer one on one chats with diamond experts. Contact Zales
Blue Nile vs. Zales Customer Reviews
The Blue Nile has a significantly better reputation than Zales online. The Blue Nile has a considerably huge amount of satisfied customers from around the world, and the reviews are proof of that. There are mixed reviews about Blue Nile, as every other online store has. However, unfortunately, the negative reviews about Zales outnumber the positive reviews.
Anyhow, let’s check out some of the reviews about both of them
A customer satisfied with their purchase from Blue Nile (source):
While someone not really happy with their quality
While this person, fortunately, had a good experience at Zales (source):
In opposed to that, an utterly disappointed customer of Zales shared her experience:
Final Verdict:
Well, in my opinion, Blue Nile gives more value for money. It offers a better inventory than Zales and has exceptional quality diamonds. Their diamonds are certified by GIA, while the diamonds at Zales are certified by IGI.
In addition, Blue Nile offers shipping to many countries around the world, unlike Zales, and has maintained a better reputation overall. However, the availability of 700 retail locations across the US is a major plus point for Zales as well.
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