Five jewelers' upgrade terms, read from their own pages on 23 October 2026: two cover lab-grown stones, two exclude them, one states no program, and the required step-up runs from 1.5x to 3.5x as worded.
Maison Assay finding
On 23 October 2026, of five jewelers' own pages, two upgrade programs covered lab-grown stones (Brilliant Earth and Blue Nile), two excluded them (Whiteflash and Ritani), and Clean Origin's support pages stated no upgrade program; the step-up each requires runs from 50% greater value at Whiteflash to 3.5x greater in value at Ritani, as worded.
Four of the five state a program. Brilliant Earth covers loose natural stones toward a new natural stone of at least 1.5x greater value, and loose lab-grown stones toward a new lab-grown stone of at least 2x greater value. Blue Nile covers IGI- and GIA-graded colorless diamonds like for like, "lab-grown for lab-grown or natural for natural". Whiteflash covers A CUT ABOVE diamonds only and excludes Expert Selection, Other Diamonds and lab-created stones. Ritani covers natural stones certified by GIA or AGSL bought on its site after 11 October 2012, and says lab-grown diamonds cannot be upgraded. Clean Origin's return, resizing, warranty and service-plan pages state no upgrade or trade-in program; that is an absence on four pages, not a statement that none exists.
In short:
The wording differs and none of the pages defines "value", so the numbers are not directly comparable. Whiteflash says the new diamond must be "at least 50% greater value"; Brilliant Earth, "at least 1.5x greater value" for natural and "at least 2x" for lab-grown; Blue Nile, "at least twice the purchase price"; Ritani, "at least 3.5x greater in value". If "value" means price at the time of upgrade, a buyer of a $2,000 natural stone would need a new stone of roughly $3,000 under Whiteflash's and Brilliant Earth's natural rules, $4,000 under Blue Nile's and $7,000 under Ritani's. That arithmetic is an illustration on the wording, not a quote from any jeweler.
Brilliant Earth gives "credit equivalent to the original purchase price" and excludes duty or tax paid on the original. Blue Nile gives "a credit up to the original purchase price" after review, and damage to the original can reduce it or disqualify the stone. Ritani says it exchanges the diamond for credit equal to 100% of its original value. Whiteflash gives the full purchase price of the original "or normalized to current market", less the original shipping, with any discount applied to the original order taken off, and reserves the right to adjust upgrade value after a significant drop in the market value of natural diamonds. The words "up to", "after review" and "normalized" each leave room that the other jewelers' wording does not.
Across the pages that describe one, you contact the jeweler, choose a new stone above the required step, send the original with its grading report, wait for a laboratory or quality check, and the credit is applied. Whiteflash estimates 4 weeks for lab verification, and alone offers to ship the new stone first if you pay for it in full and the original arrives within 30 days. Blue Nile requires the original to be accepted by its quality assurance before the new stone ships, and it is US-only. Brilliant Earth excludes international orders except Canada. Ritani's FAQ says its qualifications were updated in November 2024, so a stone bought before then should be checked against the current page.
If you may upgrade one day, screenshot the program page on the day you order and keep the grading report and the order record: every program here requires the original stone and its documentation back in saleable condition. Ask what "value" means in writing, because no page defines it, and check whether your stone type (natural or lab-grown) is named at all.
Ritani's separate buy-back page says it takes back diamonds of at least 1 carat with SI2 or better clarity and K or better color, GIA certified, for cash or Ritani credit, with lab-grown excluded. We found no buy-back statement on the other four jewelers' pages read. For the laboratory names used in these programs see GIA and IGI; the wording jewelers use about lab-grown stones is measured against 16 CFR Part 23 in the wording check.
For each jeweler's return and warranty terms see the five-jeweler policy comparison and the Clean Origin page.
This page sets side by side what we read, on 23 October 2026, on each jeweler's own pages: Whiteflash's Lifetime Trade-Up and money-back pages, Ritani's FAQ and buy-back pages, Blue Nile's Diamond Upgrade Program page, Brilliant Earth's warranty and upgrade page, and Clean Origin's return, resizing, warranty and Forever Service Plan pages, each read in full on its own entity page here. We did not request an upgrade or contact any jeweler, and we have not tested how any program is applied. We give no opinion on which program is better, because none of the pages defines the "value" the step-up is measured in. Policies change, so read the live page before you buy. Next review: January 2027.
On 23 October 2026, Brilliant Earth's page covered loose lab-grown diamonds toward a new lab-grown diamond of at least 2x greater value, and Blue Nile's covered IGI- and GIA-graded lab-grown diamonds like for like. Whiteflash's trade-up excluded lab-created stones and Ritani said lab-grown diamonds cannot be upgraded.
A loose natural diamond can be exchanged for credit equal to its original purchase price toward a new natural diamond of at least 1.5x greater value; a loose lab-grown diamond toward a new lab-grown diamond of at least 2x greater value. Orders outside the US are excluded except Canada, and the purchase is final sale.
It covers IGI- and GIA-graded colorless diamonds bought from Blue Nile, like for like, with a credit up to the original purchase price toward a new diamond priced at least twice the original. The original must be returned with its grading report and accepted by quality assurance before the new stone ships.
No, per its trade-up page. The program covers A CUT ABOVE diamonds for another A CUT ABOVE diamond of at least 50% greater value, and excludes Expert Selection, Other Diamonds, lab-created and sourced diamonds.
Its FAQ says a natural Ritani diamond bought on ritani.com after 11 October 2012, certified by GIA or AGSL, can be upgraded to a diamond at least 3.5x greater in value, for credit equal to 100% of the original value. Lab-grown diamonds cannot be upgraded.
We found none on its return, resizing, warranty or Forever Service Plan pages. That is an absence on those four pages as read on 23 October 2026, not a statement that Clean Origin offers none.