Updated December 7th, 2021

Review: Ritani vs Blue Nile

​Shopping for an engagement ring online as opposed to buying from a brick-and-mortar jeweler can save you thousands of dollars. But with so many different online engagement ring retailers to choose from, it can feel a little bit confusing. Ritani and Blue Nile are some of the top online retailers for engagement rings and have great features - handcrafted, made-to-order rings in the United States, lifetime warranties, free shipping and returns, discreet packaging, and more. But which company should you choose for your engagement ring? Here is a review of Ritani vs Blue Nile.  ​

​Free In-Store Preview ​

Buying an engagement ring online can be a little scary. After all, you have no idea what it is really going to look like until it shows up on your doorstep. At Ritani, we take away some of this anxiety with Free In-Store Preview, which allows you to preview your engagement ring or loose diamond for FREE at a local jeweler or WeWork near you. With Free In-Store preview, we handcraft your engagement ring with the diamond of your choice so you can see exactly what it will look like. There are no hidden fees and there’s zero obligation to make a purchase. All we ask for is a good-faith credit card, so if you love your engagement ring or diamond, you can take it home the same day. If you don’t love it, you can walk away, and the ring or diamond will be returned to our factory.  

Unfortunately, Blue Nile only allows free previews of their Astor diamonds, which only include round-cut, princess-cut, and cushion-cut diamonds. These previews happen in one of their showrooms, which at the time of writing this only exists in 14 states. While Blue Nile’s showrooms allow you to see their sample engagement rings in person, you won’t be able to see what your actual diamond will look like in the ring. Sample engagement rings typically feature a diamond simulant set in the ring, not a real diamond. 

Buy Online, Pick Up in Store 

For added peace of mind, or just to be certain that your proposal will be a surprise, you can pick up a loose diamond or engagement ring that you purchased on Ritani.com at a local jeweler or WeWork near you. Blue Nile provides a similar service, but only if you’ve already visited their showroom and worked with one of their jewelers.  

Lab-Grown Diamonds 

Lab-grown diamonds are becoming an increasingly popular choice for engagement rings, earrings, and pendants. These manmade diamonds are a great choice because they come at a fraction of the cost of mined diamonds, and they are physically, optically, and chemically identical to mined diamonds.  

In addition to earth-grown diamonds, Ritani also sells over 35,000 lab-grown diamonds in every shape that you can purchase loose, add to an engagement ring, pendant, or pair of earrings. Currently, Blue Nile does not sell lab-grown diamonds, they only sell earth-grown diamonds. While Blue Nile has a small assortment of preset lab-grown diamond jewelry, if you have your sights set on a lab-grown diamond ring, you won’t be able to get one from Blue Nile.  

Learn More about Lab-Grown Diamonds 

Diamond Pricing 

Diamond pricing varies on many different factors. While both Ritani and Blue Nile have competitive pricing, Ritani’s pricing can’t be beaten. Here is a price comparison of the same exact diamond (GIA report #7396552727). This diamond is a 0.50-carat round-cut diamond with G color, an Ideal cut, SI1 clarity, excellent polish, excellent symmetry, no fluorescence, a depth and table percentage of 60%, a medium girdle, no culet, and a length to width ratio of 1.00. 

Blue Nile listed this diamond for $1,734:*

As you can see, Ritani offers much better pricing. By buying this diamond from Ritani, you would save $269, which you can put towards your dream setting.

Diamond Shopping Tools 

Diamond Cost Breakdowns 

You deserve to know exactly what you are paying for. Ritani’s Diamond Cost Breakdown shows you exactly that. 

Ritani’s Diamond Cost Breakdown tells you the diamond cost (how much the diamond cost to get from the vendor), fulfillment costs (like shipping duties, customs fees, and more), our markup, and the final retail cost.  

Blue Nile does not give its customers this information.  

Diamond Price Alerts

Ritani gives its customers the ability to set up diamond price alerts, which will notify shoppers via email if the price of the diamond goes up or down.  

Blue Nile does not provide this feature.  

Best Value Diamonds 

To make shopping even easier for customers, Ritani gives diamonds with exceptional value a Best Value badge. These Best Value diamonds are all listed under the Recommended tab so shoppers can easily find them. Ritani uses historical market prices to determine which diamonds are Best Value; each diamond’s 4 Cs and other factors play a role in this.  

Blue Nile does not indicate which of their diamonds is the best value.  

Diamond Information 

Ritani makes the online diamond shopping experience easier and more transparent. The quality of each diamond is summarized in an easy-to-understand way. For example, Ritani informs shoppers if their diamond appears smaller, larger, or equal to its carat weight. This information is calculated from the diamond’s proportions. This information is crucial because it is difficult to see how large a diamond will appear online. Many shoppers also aren’t aware that diamonds can appear smaller or larger than their carat weight indicates, as carat is simply a measure of weight.  

Ritani also helps customers understand if their diamond is eye clean. While diamonds on Ritani’s site have HD imagery and/or videos listed, it is sometimes difficult to tell for beginner shoppers whether the diamond will be eye-clean in person. Ritani also lists which inclusions may affect your diamond’s appearance.  

Blue Nile does not provide this in-depth information on their diamonds.  

Custom Engagement Rings  

Blue Nile can create a completely custom engagement ring for you, but only if you are willing to spend at least $10,000. Those seeking a custom Blue Nile engagement ring must pay a $500 non-refundable deposit for CAD renders of their ring. Blue Nile custom engagement rings are also non-returnable. Their custom engagement rings take about 8-12 weeks to produce.  

At Ritani, we can create custom engagement rings at no additional cost – all you are paying for is the materials (metals and diamonds) as well as the cost to craft the ring. There are no hidden fees, no spending minimum, and there is no extra fee for CAD renders. We want to make your dream ring come to life, whether your budget is $500 or $15,000. Ritani can create a custom ring in as little as 2 to 3 weeks. And best of all, Ritani allows free returns on custom orders. 

Engraving Services 

Some couples engrave a special message on the inside of their engagement ring or wedding ring. At Ritani, you can engrave your ring for free. At Blue Nile, you must pay $30 for this simple service.  

Shipping  

Ritani offers free overnight shipping on ALL orders. This includes Saturday delivery. Blue Nile only offers free overnight shipping when you spend $1,500 or more. Here is Blue Nile’s shipping information from their website: 

The Bottom Line 

At Ritani, we’re honest and transparent – we don’t pay third parties to write us great reviews. Here are some real customer reviews: 

“Ritani is an amazing company. Their customer service is above and beyond. I originally was designing a ring with a round diamond. When I got the ring home I loved it, however, wanted to try a different design. They then helped me through looking at emerald cut designs and ultimately I ended up at a 3 ct pear diamond in a halo setting. I messaged them so much that they knew me by my name and they never made me feel like I was annoying them. They are truly awesome and the quality is incredible. My pear diamond ring is nice and heavy and the stone is beautiful! Could not recommend this company enough! Also, their prices are super competitive and allowed the diamond I wanted to be attainable. Thank you Ritani for such amazing experience and I look forward to future purchases!” -Joshua L.

“Ritani is awesome. I tried to use a local jeweler but the prices and customer service at Ritani were leagues above what I was getting a physical store. I specifically worked with Sylvia to get my girlfriend exactly what she wanted as an engagement ring and I couldn't be more happy with the end result. I am very likely to recommend Ritani to all my friends in the future.” -Saverio V.

“I have nothing but praise when it comes to shopping with Ritani! I love my new ring and the price was amazing. Customer service is always easy and helpful! Just purchased matching earrings and am going to eventually buy a matching necklace, bracelet and engagement ring from them in the upcoming months.” -Anonymous

“I was a little skeptical buying something like this online but it was quick, easy and I had a band customized and they turned it around quickly. I would recommend.” -Anonymous

“The best customer service you can ask for. Will forever recommend to everyone I know. I'm grateful for each and every one of you. Truly a culture well built.” -Giovanni A.

“The site is amazing and easy to use. The ring did not take very long to make! Shipment was fast and requires a signature, ensuring that the customer received it. Amazing and thoroughly pleased with Ritani!!” -Jason K.

View More Customer Reviews 

Learn More about the Ritani Difference 

*Reflects a diamond listed on Blue Nile's site 12/7/21