Excerpts from Clicks & Stones — by Sean O’Neill
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, Feb. 2006

“Best E-Tailers”

For custom work, Whiteflash.com is the lord of the online rings. Unlike many e-tailers, Whiteflash customizes nearly half its jewelry. Kevin Dolorico, a Web operations analyst in New York City, exchanged designs by e-mail with Whiteflash when he was shopping for an diamond engagement ring last spring. Dolorico wanted a ring that combined the head from one standard setting with the shank of another. Whiteflash nestled a 1.34-carat diamond that graded good but not flawless in Dolorico’s ideal setting. His fiancée, Janelle De Rivera, was dazzled, and he was pleased with roughly $6,000 price. When he asked a gemologist to appraise the ring’s value, he was told that an equivalent piece from a local jeweler would cost about $9,000.
 
For loose stones and standard settings, Whiteflash offers a full refund ten days from receipt for any reason—-including if you propose and she turns you down.
 
…Whiteflash trumps brick-and-mortar jewelers on price, and it offers a trade-up program that Blue Nile and most other online rivals don’t match: Swap your rock for a higher-priced one at any time, paying the difference between your new diamond and your trade-in.

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