Blue Nile Showroom Review
Blue Nile is one of the premier online sellers in the diamond engagement ring space. Founded in 1999, we’ve been a strong supporter of their process and prices since 2000, when we purchased our first engagement ring from them. As Blue Nile has grown, they decided to expand into brick and mortar locations, first with a select in-store display at Nordstrom. Based on the exhibition’s success, they opened their first permanent showroom in Long Island in 2015. With their most recent opening in Aventura, Florida, we finally got a chance to see one of their showrooms firsthand. Follow along as we break down the visit and decide if visiting the showroom adds anything to the experience.
Showroom Growth
As of this article, Blue Nile has opened seventeen showroom locations. For a complete list and the exact showroom addresses, please visit their showroom site here. A quick breakdown shows locations in:
Arizona
California
Colorado
Florida
Illinois
Michigan
New Hampshire
New York
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Blue Nile envisions opening up to 50 showrooms in the coming years. That level of growth is undoubtedly ambitious for the ordinarily conservative diamond ring industry, but the showrooms aren’t stores in the traditional sense.
What to Expect at a Blue Nile Showroom
The first thing you’ll notice is that the showrooms are relatively small. At least the one we saw in Aventura. We would categorize the size as on par or slightly smaller than your average jewelry store mall location. Definitely not as large as some of the freestanding Jared locations we’ve visited. At first, this feels a bit odd as Blue Nile is known for its incredible inventory. But, you won’t find that inventory in the showroom. In fact, you won’t find anything to buy in the showroom at all.
What you will find is an excellent selection of diamonds, rings, and gems used to represent what you could be purchasing from Blue Nile. As such, the buying process is still conducted online. What you get in effect is a personal “Ring Adviser,” for lack of a better comparison, who walks you through the process. Once the purchase is made, the jewelry can be shipped either to the store or your home. The manager at the Aventura location told me they could possibly have the piece in the store the next day, depending on the item ordered and the time of day. There will also be on-site personnel to clean or repair any of your previously purchased Blue Nile jewelry. You’ll find the showroom to be clean and comforting, although the Aventura location could do with some seating (perhaps this was a Covid related consideration). For the best experience, Blue Nile suggests setting up an appointment with a Personal Jeweler. While we were there, we got our engagement ring cleaned, chatted a bit with the personnel, and felt very welcomed.
It’s always nice to get your ring nice and clean! The pros at the Aventura Showroom were able to clean my ring in only a few minutes. In hindsight though, my ring needs a good polishing as well!
Is it Worth going to the Showroom?
This is the point where our review will get a bit more interesting. The fact that there is no sellable inventory in the showrooms is peculiar, to say the least. We know that the crux of the showroom is for the knowledgeable Blue Nile personnel to use their Build Your Own Diamond Jewelry Tool to walk you through creating your custom piece of jewelry. However, we had anticipated that there would be something to buy on the spot. Perhaps this differs across showrooms, especially since the Aventura showroom was freshly opened. We inquired about buying basically anything, a Pearl pendant, Topaz earrings, a Ruby ring, and nothing. There is no space for an impulse or quick purchase at a Blue Nile showroom, which feels a bit shortsighted since you are physically there.
This begs the question, who is the store actually for? With no on-site inventory, it’s not for everyone. However, the showroom does serve a very unique and focused purpose. I’d say that the majority of Blue Nile shoppers fall within a few particular buckets. They tend to be individuals who feel comfortable buying online, are price conscious if not necessarily frugal, and are self-confident in their ability to make a wise purchase decision. However, these characteristics encompass just a small portion of the total engagement ring buying public. Thus, Blue Nile has devised the showrooms to help bridge the gap between all buyers and those who share these characteristics. In the case of the showrooms, they are alleviating the apprehension that a potential buyer would feel if they are not comfortable buying online. In the same way that most people want to test drive a car instead of just ordering one directly, Blue Nile is helping buyers test drive a ring. Is it the exact ring you will purchase? Probably not. But, It’ll almost certainly be close enough that you’ll feel comfortable spending thousands of dollars.
The Blue Nile Aventura Showroom is located on the second floor and offers customers a clean and luxurious experience.
With the store’s goal in place, I also find the location to be strategic. At least in the case of the Aventura store. Aventura is one of the nicer neighborhoods in South Florida, but it is not the upper echelon of glitz. We’d say that it is affordable enough that someone would spend $25k on an engagement ring but still want to make sure they got their money’s worth. The location is close enough to the high-dollar neighborhoods without being somewhere like the Bal Harbour Shops in Miami Beach. While Blue Nile provides an outstanding level of service, I don’t categorize them as competing with De Beers, Harry Winston, or Tiffany & Co. It’s an intriguing balancing act between affordability and luxury.
On a different note, a feature that didn’t strike me as significant at first might be just as important as pricing. That is the ability to ship to the store. There is a two-prong advantage to this. First, at least in the case of Aventura and the surrounding communities, there are a lot of apartments and condominiums in the area. Many people wouldn’t feel comfortable having a $10k ring dropped off at the front desk. As a secondary benefit, as more and more people live together before getting married, you wouldn’t want your future fiancé to find the engagement ring you ordered in the mail! Picking up your purchase at the store then brings with it a level of security as well as discretion.
Is it worth going to a Blue Nile showroom? We’d say it can’t hurt, although finding a personal ring adviser such as ourselves is just as good if not better, and more transparent as we don’t strictly work for Blue Nile. Ultimately, if you want to get your hands on a few engagement rings in a no-pressure atmosphere, a Blue Nile showroom is a great option to have.
Looking to Buy an Engagement Ring?
Looking to buy an Engagement Ring and don’t want to make a costly mistake? Contact us and we’ll assist you in our step-by-step process to ensure you get the best ring at the best price. We use a number of sellers, including Blue Nile, to find you the Engagement Ring of your dream.