James Allen vs. Whiteflash

Having a large diamond selection available to choose from can be a bit of a double-edged sword. On the plus side, it means that you can almost certainly find exactly what you’re looking for. However, the downside of this is that so much choice can be a little overwhelming.

James Allen offers a vast selection of 166,236 natural diamonds and 61,502 lab-grown diamonds of almost any combination of shape, size and quality that you could want. A large selection allows you to compare many different loose diamonds, narrowing down your filters according to your preference.

Whiteflash offers a modest selection of 12,273 natural diamonds and 2,394 lab-grown diamonds of different qualities.

For a long time, Whiteflash did not offer any lab-created diamonds but have recently expanded their collection to include them.

This is obviously a smaller selection of diamonds than James Allen, but many of James Allen’s diamonds are either smaller than would usually be used in an engagement ring, or lower quality than I would recommend, so Whiteflash’s more curated selection is definitely worth reviewing.

One thing to know about most online retailers’ diamond inventories is that they are ‘virtual inventories’, which means that they are held by suppliers, rather than the retailers themselves. This is the only way that a retailer can offer hundreds of thousands of diamonds – otherwise, it would be too expensive.

The majority of Whiteflash’s diamonds are ‘virtual’, but they also hold around 500 diamonds on-site at any one time, which are diamonds that they have inspected and deemed high quality enough to buy as they are confident that they will be able to sell them.

These ‘in-stock’ diamonds are definitely worth checking out and the advantage is that you can ask the Whiteflash team about each one and they will be able to provide more detailed answers than if the diamonds were held by a supplier.

Certifications and Ethical Sourcing

If you are comparing these two retailers, then I would expect that you are well-aware of the importance if independent grading reports.

Certifications from recognized institutions like GIA, IGI, and AGS provide assurance regarding a diamond’s quality and authenticity – they essentially ensure that you are getting what you are paying for, and also make it easier to compare diamonds across retailers.

James Allen’s diamonds mainly come with GIA and some IGI certifications. The company complies with the Kimberley Process and America’s Patriot Act to ensure that all diamonds are conflict-free and sourced responsibly. Polished diamonds are only purchased through registered jewelry trade members.

Whiteflash provides AGS and GIA certifications for their natural diamonds and IGI certifications for their lab-grown diamonds. While it used to be a separate entity, AGS was amalgamated into the GIA as of 2023, which means that their testing has been brought into line.

Pricing and Value

To understand where you can get the most value, let’s examine the pricing structures of James Allen and Whiteflash.

James Allen offers a vast selection of diamonds, which can result in a broader price range. They are known for providing high-quality diamonds at more affordable prices, thanks to their scale, and James Allen frequently offers promotions and discounts, particularly during specific periods.

On the other hand, Whiteflash tends to be priced slightly higher. However, when assessing value for money, it’s not just about the price tag but also what you’re getting for that price. Whiteflash’s focus on diamond quality can mean that even if the price is higher, the value in terms of the performance of the diamond is also higher.

James Allen True Hearts vs. Whiteflash A Cut Above

At the time of writing, James Allen offered 169 True Hearts diamonds – its patented and branded collection of hearts and arrows ideal cut diamonds.

True Hearts diamonds begin at carat weights as low as 0.34cts and the are available in weights above 3 carats.

True Hearts diamonds command a significant price premium over regular excellent cut diamonds.

This 1.12 carat, G color, VVS2 clarity sound brilliant is priced at $10,380, while an equivalent regular excellent cut would be around $5,500.

One thing that separates True Hearts diamonds from other James Allen diamonds is the distinct hearts and arrows pattern that can be seen when viewed through a special tool, known as the ‘Idealscope’.

A True Hearts diamond aims to feature perfect symmetry and polish, which should theoretically result in more sparkle. You can see in the image above that each heart shape is very similar – although not absolutely perfect, this is a very good ‘hearts and arrows’ diamond.

A recent addition to James Allen is the lab-grown range of True Hearts diamonds, which means you can get the excellent symmetry of True Hearts, with the lower price-point of lab-grown.

Whiteflash’s line of branded hearts and arrow diamonds is the A Cut Above collection. The ACA diamonds at Whiteflash are a curated collection of under 100 super ideal cut diamonds.

Whiteflash also offers Idealscope imagery of each ACA diamond to show the precise symmetry and cut quality of each diamond.

However, ACA diamonds come with additional imagery via ASET which shows the level of light that each diamond reflects back to the viewer’s eyes – essentially showing how much it will sparkle.

ASET images aren’t provided by James Allen for True Hearts and in general, Whiteflash ACA diamonds will have slightly better symmetry than the majority of True Hearts diamonds.

While most branded super ideal collections only use round brilliant cut diamonds, Whiteflash has extended their ACA collection to include princess cut diamonds as well.

When comparing the prices between James Allen’s True Hearts diamond and Whiteflash’s A Cut Above diamond, Whiteflash’s diamond comes out a smidge cheaper than James Allen’s.

Both Whiteflash and James Allen have 360˚ imagery on their diamonds, allowing you to control the viewer so you can see it at every angle.

Overall, while both retailers offer premium super ideal cut diamonds, Whiteflash’s provision of ASET imagery, more clear explanation of their standards and higher general standard for symmetry means that if you are choosing between the two, the Whiteflash ACA is usually the one to choose.

However, this may not always be the case and each diamond does need to be considered on its own merits.

One last thing to note is that a standard ideal cut diamond costs significantly less than branded super ideal cut diamonds like True Hearts or A Cut Above, and for most people, the difference will be difficult to see once mounted in a ring and viewed under normal lighting.

If you feel that you may fall into this camp and don’t necessarily need the cachet of the super ideal cut and are focused on competitive pricing then James Allen’s standard diamonds are a great option. If you’re looking for top-tier quality and are willing to invest a bit more, Whiteflash might be the better choice for you.

Customization and Design Options

Both James Allen and Whiteflash offer customization options that allow you to choose from an inventory of loose diamonds and empty ring settings. You can narrow down your filters to the exact grades you want. One of the things I highlighted earlier about the number of diamonds that each retailer offers is that Whiteflash offers far fewer than James Allen, which can mean that if you are looking for something really specific, Whiteflash may not have it available at the time you are looking.

In the picture below, you can see the clarity, cut, and color grades filters are set pretty wide.

The carat weight parameters are set between 0.50ct-2.50. Out of the 12,000 natural diamonds Whiteflash has, only 481 of them are between these popular carat weights.

It’s much less of a selection than it appears at first glance.

When I give similar parameters using James Allen’s diamond inventory, I still have over 65,000 diamonds to choose from. James Allen’s collection is bigger, so it’s not surprising there’s so many.

Out of all of James Allen’s natural diamonds roughly about 39% of them fall between these parameters. Only about 4% of diamonds offered at Whiteflash are within these parameters.

Early on, one of James Allen’s biggest features was their 360˚ degree viewing option on all of their diamonds. Back then, their diamond inventory was larger, with over 400,000 loose diamonds available.

James Allen’s viewing options show your diamond up close and personal at about 40x magnificatio, with the ability to see it from any angle you like.

Whiteflash also has 360˚ video, but it’s different from James Allen’s. Whiteflash has two types of viewers, the sparkle viewer and the brilliance viewer. The sparkle viewer shows your chosen diamond against a black background and the other against a standard background like James Allen’s diamonds. The diamonds are not as magnified either, which can make it difficult to see inclusions in clarity grades like VS2, where the super-zoom images on James Allen really allow you to understand whether an inclusion is likely to be visible or not.

Ring Settings and Precious Metals

Whiteflash offers customers around 530 engagement ring settings. They specialize in designer ring settings including brands like Ritani, Verragio, and Tacori. As expected, this also adds a premium cost to many of their settings.

Ring settings at Whiteflash are available in white gold, yellow gold, rose gold, and platinum. There are many ring settings that cater to a wide variety of tastes and styles.

James Allen offers 680 settings, which honestly isn’t too far off from Whiteflash’s inventory. Compared to how many loose diamonds they have, James Allen’s number of settings stay on the lower end. Most of James Allen’s ring settings cater to popular engagement ring styles that you find in a lot of engagement ring stores. They offer designer settings too, from brands like Verragio, Danhov, and others.

James Allen offers a wide variety of settings, ranging from classic solitaires to intricate vintage designs. They provide a range of metal options, including white gold, yellow gold, rose gold, and platinum.

Both retailers offer an extensive selection of engagement ring settings in various precious metals. However, when it comes to the design-a-ring process, I have to side with James Allen.

James Allen allows you to see your engagement ring setting in 360˚ video while Whiteflash only provides HD images. James Allen also lets you switch out the shape on the same page, just in case you wanted to try a different look for your setting.

If you’re looking for a platform that lets you play around with designs and visualize them in real-time, James Allen might be your go-to. But if you’re after a piece crafted with utmost precision and gemological expertise, Whiteflash won’t disappoint.