High Performance Diamonds (Wink Jones) Review
0.708ct F VS2 Diamond in 6 Prong Solitaire Platinum Setting
Established in 2007, High Performance Diamonds is founded by Winfield Jones (aka Wink Jones) who has more than 40 years of experience in the jewelry industry. He used to operate a physical retail store called Winfield’s in Boise, Idaho and after the Internet came along, Wink moved the business online and rebranded it.
Over the years, HighPerformanceDiamonds.com has built up a solid reputation for selling high quality diamond jewelry to a global clientele base. At present, the company works exclusively with Crafted by Infinity to sell diamonds with the best cut quality and strictest crafting standards.
In this review, we will take a comprehensive look at the business and experience their products first-hand. Given the massive length of this review, we’ve broken it up into smaller segments for easier reading.
- Overview of HighPerformanceDiamonds.com and Wink Jones.
- Review of HPD’s Sales Policies.
- Review of Listings on https://highperformancediamonds.com.
- Full Length Box Opening Video of Shipment Package. (Must See) *
- Examination of Package Contents in Full Details.
- Full Length Video of Engagement Ring Performance. (Must See) *
- Detailed Inspection of Diamond Ring Craftsmanship.
- Stunning Glamour Shots of Diamond Ring.
- Conclusion of Our HPDiamonds Review.
Overview of HP Diamond’s Website Features & User Interface
When it comes to e-commerce and online shopping, keeping things simple and intuitive is very important for the overall shopping experience. This is something that HPD does pretty well as their website design is clean and functional.
And because HPDiamonds only specializes in round cut diamonds and no other shapes, there are no complex graphics or animations in their search interface. This makes the diamond selection process straightforward as you can quickly narrow down choices based on your budget or specifications.
Review of HighPerformanceDiamonds.com’s Sales Policies
High Performance Diamonds is truly a rare gem in the industry. When it comes to their generous sales policies and customer centric guarantees, they are by far the best. Period.
Unique Lifetime Return – For whatever reason that you may need to sell off your Crafted by Infinity diamond in future, you can get back a generous 80% of what you had originally paid for your HPD diamond.
Compare this to trying to sell or return a diamond ring to any other vendor (after their return period) and you will quickly realize how ridiculously hard it is to recoup even a partial amount of your money.
The fact is, most stores DO NOT offer buybacks and those that do, typically do so by low balling prices (e.g. 20-30% of purchase price). In contrast, Wink Jones offers such an incredible return policy because he stands behind the value of the products sold.
Unrestricted Lifetime Upgrades – Upgrade programs are commonly offered by jewelers but the majority have restrictive rules, confusing clauses or even expiration dates. This may mean requirements like spending at least 2 times more of your original purchase price or having an expiry date to exercising the upgrade policy.
Some other vendors may even require you to buy a larger carat diamond size or make mandatory rules on better color/clarity grades or a combination of both.
With High Performance Diamonds, you don’t get any nonsense like this.
Wink Jones offers a simple and easy to understand upgrade policy that is made for the benefit of the clients. If you choose to upgrade ANYTIME, you get 100% of your CBI diamond’s price in credit and this can be used for ANY diamond as long as the new stone costs at least $1 more.
See It to Believe It Program – Wink Jones will send you any Crafted by Infinity diamond to your home completely risk-free. This means they will cover all expenses like shipping and insurance both ways just so that you can experience the diamond in person. This is something that no other vendor in the industry does and goes to show how confident they are of their products.
Sneak Peak: my HPD diamond ring seen displaying incredible sparkle and life
21 Day Money Back Guarantee – HPD offers a no-quibble 100% money back guarantee of 21 days. From the day you receive your package from FedEx, you will have 21 days to inspect and show off the jewelry with zero risk.
Free International Shipping – All items are shipped securely using FedEx Priority Overnight and covered with full insurance. This ensures a safe and timely delivery for you. For customers in the States, delivery time typically takes 1-2 days.
For international clients, delivery time will vary depending on your location. In my case, shipping took a total of 4 days for the parcel to reach Singapore from the United States.
Jewelry Servicing – Your High Performance Diamond jewelry comes with a one year full service warranty which covers repairs for manufacturing defects and normal wear & tear.
Should you require repairs or servicing (e.g. due to damage or resizing) beyond the one year period, rest assured that you will never be left high and dry. Wink Jones will still take care of your purchase and provide quality service at reasonable rates.
Review of Diamond Listings at HPDiamonds
Now, let’s take a closer look at a listing on their website and you will quickly see why HPD is a great place to shop at. I encourage you to click the image below to view the full listing for yourself…
Here at Beyond4cs.com, I always advocate the need for tangible data when shopping for a diamond. It pleases me to see HPDiamonds.com providing critical information like the Hearts and Arrows, Idealscope and ASET images for every diamond in their inventory.
When critical info like these are made available, you can make educated purchasing decisions based on hard facts instead of relying on “claims” or BS that salespeople would say just to close a deal.
Pristine hearts and arrows images = Extreme craftsmanship and precision
Idealscope and ASET scope images reveal superlative light performance
Having reviewed HPD’s inventory extensively, I’m going on record to say that the entire line of Crafted by Infinity diamonds are consistently crafted with extreme precision and light performance.
AGS diamond grading report with light performance analysis
Unboxing the Engagement Ring Package
Whenever Beyond4cs.com reviews a company or a product, we do so from the perspective of a consumer. This means we test and experience the service or a product for ourselves first-hand.
At this point, I’m sure you would be curious about the quality of their jewelry and what to expect in your package when placing an order.
Check out the following video recording I made while unboxing the Fedex parcel from HPDiamonds.
Reviewing Package Contents in Greater Detail
Here’s an overview of the package contents you can expect to receive from High Performance Diamonds. Next, we will take a closer look at each of the individual components…
Diamond Engagement Ring in Black Box (With Slide-Off Cover)
The mounted diamond is a 0.708ct F color VS2 clarity with triple ideal cut ratings.
AGS Proprietary Light Performance Report
The AGS diamond grading report comes from one of the most trusted labs in the industry. The gemological lab measures light performance using ray tracing technologies and is extremely strict when it comes to cut grading.
Appraisal Document From High Performance Diamonds
Click here to see an enlarged view of the appraisal document…
For people who intend to cover their jewelry with insurance, this appraisal document is a valuation report you can submit to the insuring company. This basically saves you the cost and hassle of hiring a 3rd party appraiser for such a purpose.
A Message From the Cutter
Paul Slegers hand-signs every one of these messages himself and the unique CBI identification number is written in the card.
Meet The Cutter Invitation
All Crafted by Infinity diamond owners are invited to an annual event where you get to meet the team behind the scenes. This is a nice personal gesture and in my opinion, a great way to maintain goodwill with clients.
Cut Quality Viewers Included in Every Purchase
When you buy an engagement ring or a loose diamond from High Performance Diamonds, you will receive a set of cut quality assessment tools. This bundle of tools comprise of a 10X loupe, H&A viewer and light performance analytical scopes like the ASET and Idealscope.
Let me tell you that Wink Jones from HighPerformanceDiamonds is the only vendor in the entire world that offers this. If purchased separately from a 3rd party, these tools will easily cost you upwards of $100.
But that’s not the point.
The point is, High Performance Diamonds is so confident of their diamonds that they want you to see and enjoy the technical perfection of their craftsmanship for yourself. To me, that’s a very clear sign of a business which has nothing to hide and shows the value they bring to the table.
A standard 10X jewelry loupe.
ASET scope and Idealscope for light performance analysis.
Jewelry cleaner to keep your diamonds sparkly and brilliant
Evaluation of HighPerformanceDiamonds.com’s Setting Craftsmanship
While the center diamond is often in the limelight, the setting plays an equally important role in the overall beauty of the engagement ring. Let’s dive in and perform an indepth review of the engagement ring from High Performance Diamonds…
Stamped platinum cast engagement ring – New York classic solitaire design
When I examine workmanship of a ring, I look at various aspects like prong placements, ring finishing, overall balance, shank symmetry, quality of melees (if any) and etc… under magnification.
Now, I know some may say that I’m overly anal since most people don’t view things in real life like this. After all, would someone look at your engagement ring and scrutinize details with a loupe in a casual environment?
My counter argument is: if a ring is truly well made and the bench jeweler cares about finer details (even if they are things that can’t be seen with the naked eyes), it will automatically translate into a great piece of jewelry. Furthermore, knowing that you have a high quality diamond ring on your hand will enhance your overall experience of wearing and owning it.
Without further ado, check out the following video for an overview of the ring examination…
Review of Diamond Ring’s Head from HP Diamonds
A zoomed in view of the ring’s head and prongs reveal superb finishing
Perfect face up diamond orientation and symmetrically spaced prongs
Prongs are cleanly made and have good consistency in size and ratio
Significant effort has been put into polishing the under gallery and inner surfaces
Examination of HPDiamonds Ring Profile and Shank
Workmanship can make or break the beauty of the final product. Granted, this solitaire ring that was made for me is a popular design and relatively easy to fabricate compared to pave or halo rings.
However, if there is any signs of sloppy workmanship, it would lead to an irregular profile that could be picked up even for a layperson.
After performing the examination, I’m pleased to see that the shanks display a streamlined curvature and that the ring is indeed well made.
The shanks (+ prongs) of the ring are beautifully made and display great consistency
Inspecting the ring’s cross section from the bottom
Checking the ring’s profile view for roundness and symmetry
Slightly tapered shank flows smoothly and maintains a nice round shape
PLAT and HPD stamp on the inner surface of ring shank
Diamond specifications are also inscribed on the inner shank surface
A well balanced and expertly crafted platinum ring that is built to last
Review of HighPerformanceDiamonds.com Ring Performance
Wink Jones from HPDiamonds works exclusively with Crafted by Infinity in order to maintain a strict consistency in diamond cut quality. The platinum solitaire engagement ring that I am reviewing is mounted with a 0.708 carat F color VS2 CBI diamond.
Using analytical tools like the hearts and arrows viewer, Idealscope and ASET scope, I captured the following images of the ring.
The optical symmetry of this diamond is extremely good
Idealscope image indicates good contrast and strong light return.
ASET image reveals extremely strong light performance.
A Video to Showcase Diamond Ring Performance in Real Life
For people who are familiar with the Idealscope and ASET scope, the images above have given you an idea of how sparkly this diamond would be like in real life.
However, if you are new to diamond shopping, have no worries. This video will enable you to see how the actual diamond ring looks like in different types of lighting conditions.
* Spoiler: get your eyes ready for a serious treat.
Professional Glamour Shots of Your Diamond Ring
With every diamond ring from High Performance Diamonds, you would receive a set of glamour shots of the finished jewelry piece. And let me tell you that Wink Jones does a great job at capturing stunning photographs.
Also, I personally find that it adds a nice touch to the overall buying experience. Not only can you save these as keepsake for the special occasion, you could also show off these images proudly on your social media pages!
Check out the glamour shots of the platinum solitaire ring I received and leave a comment to tell me what you think of them…
Conclusion of Our Review – Simply Great!
My wife gracefully volunteered her hand for this picture. (finger size 7)
In the diamond industry, it’s very rare to find a vendor who is willing to to stand behind their products much less to say one who truly cares about the value their clients receive. Quality is an attribute that is synchronous with High Performance Diamonds and you can see this in every facet (pun intended) of their business.
From the CBI diamonds they offer, their excellent bench craftsmanship, the exemplary level of customer service to their superior sales policies, you can rest assured you are in great hands. Wink Jones takes his work very seriously and will go beyond the extra mile to make you a happy customer.
Having reviewed their engagement ring in person, I’m blown away by the diamond’s sparkle factor and the workmanship of the finished product. And as someone who makes purchase decisions based on tangible facts and data, the browsing experience on site is fantastic.
Here’s the bottomline: if you are looking for an exceptional diamond ring that will make her say “YES!”, you definitely want to get in touch with Wink. Click here to visit HighPerformanceDiamonds.com and start browsing for your dream ring today!
With that, I hope this review has provided useful insights for you. Feel free to leave a comment below or email me if you have any questions.
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One Comment
Hello Paul,
I just would like to say big THANK YOU :) for sharing interesting information. It requires a lot of time, especially nowadays, when “it was too late yesterday”. I really appreciate that. This kind of information (videos, photos) of hpd diamonds is nowhere else available.
All the Best,
Matej